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Goes Great with Children

Fresh Ingredients, Simple Steps in New Cookbook

Yet another cookbook for kids has arrived on the front burner, but this one actually comes from the kitchen of two young chefs. Isabella, 11, and Olivia, 9, are the sisters behind cooking site Spatulatta.com, where viewers can watch videos of the girls preparing simple, fun recipes. For their work on the site, they became the youngest winners of a James Beard Foundation award.

“The Spatulatta Cookbook” takes the same playful approach to cooking and eating well. Recipes include “Cloudy with a Chance Meatballs,” “Yumbo Gumbo” and “Strawberry Rosebuds.”
With an emphasis on fresh, whole ingredients, 50 recipes are sorted into chapters based on the four seasons. The attractive layout and multitude of photos may convince even the dubious to try new foods, such as the endive in “Curly Creole Salad” or the fresh ginger in “Crunchy Chicken Yakitori.”
Richmond Parents Monthly asked “Hannah, Help Me!” columnist Hannah Keeley to try out a few of the recipes with her own kids. With several Rachael Ray appearances under her belt, a bunch of popular recipes on her own website, TotalMom.com, and a table-ful of children to feed, Keeley’s no stranger to the kitchen.
She chose “Go Bananas!” and “Tuscan Bean Dip” and found a few volunteer helpers among her family of seven children. As for volunteer tasters… well, there were many.

The Spatulatta Cookbook
By Isabella and Olivia Gerasole
Scholastic, 2007
Spiral-bound, 128 p., $16.99

The Keeley’s Kid-Friendly Thanksgiving

Here’s an idea to bring the family together and get even the littlest ones involved. Buy a new, white tablecloth for the festivities and pick up some permanent markers in a rainbow of colors.
Spread out the markers on the dining room table and get everyone to write down or draw pictures of the things they are thankful for during the meal. This is sure to be a great conversation starter, as well as a cherished memento for years to come.

Hannah’s Top Ten Tips for Kids in the Kitchen

 
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