One of the many delights of Mollie
Katzen's book, Salad People, is that it turns the parent-child
relationship upside down. Written to allow a child to be the star chef
with a parent cast as a knowledgeable assistant, Katzen has found a
way to reverse roles while charming both generations.
Salad People is a sequel
to Katzen’s popular Pretend Soup and is designed for children
aged three to six. Each recipe gets a double treatment. Two pages are
for the adult, followed by a pictorial version to guide the young cook.
The adult pages give detailed setup instructions, a clear recipe and
cautionary advice, while the young cooks have pictures to guide them.
There are recipes such as Polka Dot Rice, a rice dish loaded with chopped
veggies, Pesto-Macaroni Soup, Egg Salad, Cool Cucumber Soup - a blender
recipe. The recipes are oriented to the visual appeal they will have
for children as well as for their workability in the kitchen.
Katzen understands more than just
the practical elements of working with children and food. She knows
the workings of the young child's mind, that a toddler will not be goal-oriented,
or have the intention of getting a meal on the table at a specific time.
Children are more involved in the process, Katzen states. She allows
that a child's attention can wander or that the young cook might not
even be interested in eating the meal. Though the recipes are tasty,
the focus is always on process rather than product, a process that forges
bonds between parent and child.
As an amusing bonus, Katzen has
a page entitled "Kid's Own Rules," as well as children's comments
on food on the recipe pages. Here you can find words of wisdom from
children themselves, pithy advice such as, "You can't stand on
a stove. It's not a climbing structure." There is wisdom as well:
"The eggs have a shell so they won't spill," or "Don't
put food on your arms."
About
the author: Mollie Katzen is an award-winning illustrator
and designer as well as best-selling author, public speaker, and food/nutrition/cultural
history scholar. She is best known as the creator of the vegetarian
classic Moosewood Cookbook. She is both a consultant and co-creator
of Harvard University's new, groundbreaking Food Literacy Initiative.
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