100 Ingenious Recipes That Make the Whole Family Happy, Including You!
June 1, 2015
The constant need for easy, family-friendly meal ideas brings multitudes of home cooks to the bookshelf, and this new addition to the genre warrants prominent placement. Cookstr cofounder Workman (The Mom 101 Cookbook) knows a little something about pleasing a four-top with diverse palates. She offers some basic principles for getting kids to eat, as well as suggestions for getting them involved in the kitchen. Recipes are enhanced with a "fork in the road" suggestionâa vegetarian version, flavor variation, or serving remix. In addition to the dinners of the title, there are chapters devoted to versatile breakfast and sandwich ideas such as egg wraps, coffee cake that doubles as muffins, and Creole shrimp rolls. While appetizers seem like a stretch for a weeknight, the zucchini tart and wings might make simple meals in and of themselves. Meanwhile, roast leg of lamb can be embellished with two different sauces, there are burger ideas galore, and vegetarian eaters have plenty of options. While the layout can be a bit confusing and some of the recipes are more like reminders of ingredient combinations, this savvy collection features enough clever ideas to keep readers coming back. Photos.
July 1, 2015
Sharing easy meals for parents and kids, Workman (The Mom 100 Cookbook) is all about flexibility. Each of her 100 new recipes (e.g., berry banana smoothie, Asian rice bowl many ways, lazy vegetable one-skillet lasagna) includes at least one variation and can be adapted to accommodate a range of diets and preferences. Workman sticks mostly to homey crowd-pleasers (tacos, pastas, cookies) and popular proteins (chicken, shrimp) but occasionally forays into more exotic territory, urging families to take a chance on ingredients such as quinoa, tofu, and wasabi. In sidebars, she suggests make-ahead strategies and ways to involve kids in the cooking process. VERDICT Families can use this practical, mix-and-match recipe collection to lessen the stress of meal planning.
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.