I have an exceedingly clear and horrifying memory of a Visiting Teacher who sat very calmly on my couch and described how she would make five different meals to suit the tastes of her five different children. Daily. No, make that three times a day.
Pardon my French, but, NO FREAKING WAY! I don't believe it's a parent's job to entertain their children, nor do I believe they should cater to the kid's every whim.
Or any whim.
At all.
Makes me shudder to think about it even now.
What is she rambling on about and how does it relate to books? you ask.
What is she rambling on about and how does it relate to books? you ask.
Ah! But my ramblings are indeed relevant, because the book I want to introduce you to is
"Hungry Monkey - A Food-Loving Father's Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater" by Matthew Amster-Burton.
One part cookbook, one part Northwest Travel Guide and several parts Adoring Father memoir, this book is a great way to spend an afternoon. Or several. I didn't end up reading this book from cover to cover, instead I found myself picking a chapter at random (open and point method) and that was just fine.
The author and his wife raise little Iris to eat what they are eating - she was noshing down sushi before age one. Their adventures move us through gourmet hot spots around the Pacific Northwest and provide a perfect backdrop for kid (and parent) friendly recipes. Even those with lobsters.
While reading this book I remembered a passage from "Toujours Provence" (the sequel to the wonderful "A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle), where a French friend tells the author why the English have such appalling taste in food. May I quote?
So true! In a personal yet slightly skewed example, my mother, bless her heart, required that we eat her homemade (and not particularly accurate but oh some yummy) versions of Chinese food with chopsticks. That wonderful habit has stuck with me my entire life. Asian food just tastes wrong if I don't eat it with chopsticks. Score one for Mom!
As I mentioned, this book is part Northwest Travel Guide, and that's really a good deal of fun. If you have ever lived in the Pacific Northwest you'll find yourself jonesing for the places described - Pike Street Market in Seattle, Vancouver's amazing restaurants and markets, even little hometown Beaverton. I was just down at Uwajimaya last week, picking up some homemade tofu and udon. Made me smile to think I knew exactly what the author was going on about.
What if you aren't a parent, you haven't been to the Upper Left Coast and you can't particularly cook? Never fear, the descriptions of little Iris' adventures are well worth your time and you'll find yourself chuckling along as you devour this tasty book.
"Hungry Monkey - A Food-Loving Father's Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater" by Matthew Amster-Burton.
One part cookbook, one part Northwest Travel Guide and several parts Adoring Father memoir, this book is a great way to spend an afternoon. Or several. I didn't end up reading this book from cover to cover, instead I found myself picking a chapter at random (open and point method) and that was just fine.
The author and his wife raise little Iris to eat what they are eating - she was noshing down sushi before age one. Their adventures move us through gourmet hot spots around the Pacific Northwest and provide a perfect backdrop for kid (and parent) friendly recipes. Even those with lobsters.
While reading this book I remembered a passage from "Toujours Provence" (the sequel to the wonderful "A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle), where a French friend tells the author why the English have such appalling taste in food. May I quote?
"[Régis] had made a study of the English and their eating habits, and during dinner he told us exactly where we went wrong.
It starts, he said, at babyhood. The English baby is fed on bland mush, the kind of pabulum one would give to an undiscriminating chicken, sans caractère, sans goût. The French infant, however even before he has teeth, is treated as a human being with taste buds. As evidence, Regis described the menu offered by Gallia, one of the leading baby food manufacturers. It included brains, fillet of sole, poulet au riz, tuna, lamb, liver, veal, Gruyère, soups, fruits vegetables, puddings of quince and bilberry, crème caramel and fromage blanc. All of that and more, said Régis, before the child is 18 months old. You see? The palate is being educated."
So true! In a personal yet slightly skewed example, my mother, bless her heart, required that we eat her homemade (and not particularly accurate but oh some yummy) versions of Chinese food with chopsticks. That wonderful habit has stuck with me my entire life. Asian food just tastes wrong if I don't eat it with chopsticks. Score one for Mom!
As I mentioned, this book is part Northwest Travel Guide, and that's really a good deal of fun. If you have ever lived in the Pacific Northwest you'll find yourself jonesing for the places described - Pike Street Market in Seattle, Vancouver's amazing restaurants and markets, even little hometown Beaverton. I was just down at Uwajimaya last week, picking up some homemade tofu and udon. Made me smile to think I knew exactly what the author was going on about.
What if you aren't a parent, you haven't been to the Upper Left Coast and you can't particularly cook? Never fear, the descriptions of little Iris' adventures are well worth your time and you'll find yourself chuckling along as you devour this tasty book.
Chapter 19 - The Lobster Chronicles
"Do Lobsters have crabby hands?" asked Iris, clicking her fingertips together like castanets.
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