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Good books, old friends

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By Kara G. Kvasnicka

Tuesday, November 29, -0001

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However, they both take pride and pleasure in the small feats they are allowed to perform in the kitchen. When I visited them at Halloween, they showed me an alternative method for preparing hot dogs — rolling and baking them in crescent roll dough. Amazing!

They further demonstrated their culinary expertise while spending Christmas at Grandma's house. Five-year-old Ryan learned how to make nonmicrowaveable popcorn and two-year-old Lauren helped frost a cake.

Helping a grown-up in the kitchen is much more than fun for kids (not to mention a good way to distract them from an impulse to push each other off their tricycles). It teaches them survival skills, self-confidence and self-reliance.

To encourage Ryan and Lauren to continue mastering the art of food preparation, I have selected a cookbook to give each on their next birthday.

In keeping with Ryan's preference for action-adventure movies, I have selected for him The Star Wars Cookbook: Wookiee Cookies and other Galactic Recipes (Chronicle Books, 1998, $14.95) with text by Robin Davis and photographs by Frankie Frankeny.

For Lauren, who loves classic children's stories and songs, I have selected The Mother Goose Cookbook: Rhymes and Recipes for the Very Young (Morrow Junior Books, 1998, $11.95) with text by Marianna Mayer and illustrations by Carol Schwartz.

The Star Wars Cookbook contains a variety of easy-to-make recipes with imaginative names that will give your young Jedi knights all the strength they will need to fight off the Darth Vaders of their worlds.

Start with Princess Leia Danish Dos or C-3PO Pancakes for breakfast and have a snack later of Hoth Chocolate and Jabba Jiggle or Yoda Soda and Dark Side Salsa.

Main course options for lunch or dinner include Obi-Wan Kebabs, Han-burgers and Galaxy Grilled Cheese. And who could resist for dessert Darth Vader Dark Chocolate Sundaes or R2-D2 treats?

The ingredients and steps for each of these and the book's other recipes are simple and easy to follow. Photographs, incorporating Star Wars action figures and toys, show you how most finished products should look.

I question whether little kids would really tolerate black olives in the filling for Greedo's Burritos, but I am sure they could be eliminated without destroying the overall effect.

In addition to irresistible recipes, this book has an excellent introduction in which it cleverly lays out, in strictly Jedi jargon, safety rules children should observe while cooking.

"As you journey into the dangers of the kitchen, you will want the wisdom of The Star Wars Cookbook to help you find your way. Adventure awaits as you develop the skills you need to bring the life force of food to all who hunger for it. Accept the challenge, young Rebel, and feel the Force!"

Adults will be relieved to know that its extensive guidelines include the necessity of their supervision, especially when sharp objects and hot surfaces are involved.

Shiny foil stickers for food containers are included at the end of this perfect tool for showing little Lukes and Leias how to wield the Force in the kitchen.

Ironically, although it is designed for a younger audience, the recipes in The Mother Goose Cookbook are a bit more complex than those in The Star Wars Cookbook. Author Mayer's intention is that children assist an adult cook by measuring, adding and stirring ingredients.

While The Star Wars Cookbook helps kids increase their kitchen IQ, this book's charm lies in its seamless pairing of what most civilized people consider to be two of the greatest pleasures in life: food and literature.

Each set of facing pages in the book's recipe section includes a familiar Mother Goose rhyme and a recipe that has been inspired by that rhyme. For instance, "Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater …" is paired with a recipe for Peter Pumpkin's Pumpkin Muffins, and "Little Miss Muffet …" with Miss Muffet's Cottage Cheese and Fruit Topping.

With rhymes and recipes elegantly framed by cheery, colorful illustrations in which soft, cuddly bears, bunnies and other warm fuzzies are the Mother Goose characters, it could double as a bedtime storybook.

It's comforting tone gives new meaning to "comfort food," a phrase that could easily be used to describe any of its cakes, muffins, puddings and tarts.

Like The Star Wars Cookbook, this book also lists health and safety standards that should be observed "in Mother Goose's kitchen."

Good luck in heeding each book's counsel to keep the kitchen tidy. The combination of kids and ingredients like flour and water is bound to be messy. And most kids will strategically lose interest when it is cleanup time.

You will find several other cookbooks which attempt to match children's taste buds with their literary and other interests at book stores and libraries. They include
• The Narnia Cookbook: Foods From C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia (Harper Collins, 1998, $16.95) written by Douglas Gresham and illustrated by Pauline Baynes.

• The Tea Party Cookbook (Random House, 1993, $12.95) written by Lucille Recht Penner and illustrated by Jody Wheeler.

• My Little House Cookbook and Apron (Harper Collins, 1998, $14.95) written by Amy Cotler and illustrated by Holly Jones, inspired by the Little House books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

• Fannie Farmer Junior Cookbook (Little, Brown and Company, 1942, $19.95) written by Joan Scobey and illustrated by Patience Brewster.

• Teatime with Emma Buttersnap (Henry Holt and Company, 1998, $16.95) written by Lindsey Tate and illustrated by Linda Bronson.

• Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes (Tricycle Press, 1994, $16.95) written by Mollie Katzen and Ann Henderson and illustrated by Katzen.

Kvasnicka, a former East Village Magazine

news editor, has been the magazine's contributing editor and research consultant since 1989. She has a master's degree in information and library studies from the University of Michigan and works for the Genesee District Library.

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