Cooking the Books

When my soon-to-be stepfather was cooking for my brother and me one day, he offered to whip us up some green eggs and ham. Skeptical about his ability to pull off this feat, we accepted. And with the help of a little blue food coloring added to our scrambled eggs, he delivered. I was eight years old, and very impressed.

Seeing things from books come to life can be almost as magical as the story itself. Cooking the foods we encounter in our reading is an easy way to accomplish this magic. Because as much as I would enjoy it, I never have been able to figure out how to conjure up a dragon, make a cat talk, or reveal a fantasy world in the back of our closet.

People who love words often seem to love food as well, so children's literature is ripe with yummy options for culinary journeys:

• Mr. Putter and Tabby write the Book made me hungry while I was reading it - quite a few comfort foods in there.
• After reading The Gingerbread Man, why not see what happens when you bake a batch?
  
• Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle is the logical companion for a cozy weekend breakfast.   
• Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola could inspire some simple pasta.
• You can find a recipe for Amelia Bedelia's Lemon Meringue Pie on Real Simple's website.
• And there are even cookbooks based on children's literature!

So if it's cold and cloudy where you are this weekend, it might just be the perfect time to warm up the oven and cook up some fun with your family.

Comments

[AnnaBeth]

thanks for the inspiration to take reading off the couch and into the kitchen ... it only makes sense since literature transports us to other places that we should do the same with it! love the site ;)

[Lori Bailey]

Thanks, AnnaBeth, and welcome!