From School Library Journal
Gr 3–7—This colorful instructional guide to planting and cooking vegetables offers a wide range of healthy recipes and gardening tips for kids. The opening pages detail what plants need to grow, how seeds germinate, how to sow seeds indoors and compost, and other related topics, all presented in a clean layout accompanied by color photographs. The authors include several helpful suggestions, such as using glass jars to protect young seedlings from birds, or planting lavender and buddleia near a garden to attract bees. The "Let's Get Started" section, which makes up the bulk of the book, features spreads on how to grow particular types of vegetables, followed by a related recipe. Dishes include potato pancakes, kale pesto pasta, onion soup, pea gnocchi, bean burgers, and chocolate beet cake. The recipes are presented with clear step-by-step instructions and photos of the finished product, and generally call for fresh, easy-to-find ingredients. Many pages note interesting facts about the nutrients or medicinal uses of different vegetables. VERDICT This attractive, well-organized guide to gardening and cooking would make a strong addition to most library collections.—Ashley Larsen, Pacifica Libraries, CA
Review
A horticulturalist (from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, no less) and a food writer partner to produce a kid-friendly guide to growing and preparing food. Their collaboration is packed with all the basic information would-be green thumbs need to start a garden. They’ll learn about the importance of soil health and composting, tools and equipment, as well as wildlife friends and foes. After a brief intro to plant anatomy and reproduction, the book walks kids through the tasks necessary throughout the growing cycle, from sowing and planting, watering and weeding, to, finally, harvesting. Whether gardening in the backyard, in containers or window boxes, or in a community-garden allotment, tips and tricks galore demonstrate how easy it is. Kids can then delight in transforming home-grown produce into delicious meals. Step-by-step growing guides to individual vegetables precede recipes. Learn how to grow tomatoes before making tomato, feta, and basil pizza or peas for pea gnocchi. All the recipes are simple, tasty, and definitely not boring! This book shares a tactic valued by parents in the know—kids are typically actively excited to eat the foods they grow and cook themselves, thus cultivating healthy eating habits. Vibrant photographs featuring culturally diverse youngsters, sprightly decorative illustrations, and a well-organized layout make the book easy to digest and enjoyable to read. In the back, suggestions for growing varieties and a plant glossary take away the guesswork. Part gardening how-to, part healthy cookbook, this effort offers budding young gardeners (and their adults) a comprehensive, hands-on guide to gardening and cooking.
—Kirkus Reviews STARRED review
An ideal do-it-yourself instruction guide and manual for children ages 7 to 10, and collaborative compiled by Joe Archer (who is head Horticulturalist at England's Kew Cardens) and Caroline Craig (a food writer from London), "Plant, Cook, Eat!: A Children's Cookbook" is replete with vibrant photo-illustrations and clearly organized sections. Young readers will discover how to plant seeds in patio containers, window boxes, or on an allotment; harvest fruits and vegetables; determine which plant parts are edible; spot pests in the garden; and use home-grown crops to cook everything from bean and bacon spaghetti to polenta chips to tomato, feta, and basil pizza. Thoroughly 'kid friendly' in organization and presentation, "Plant, Cook, Eat!: A Children's Cookbook" is especially and unreservedly recommended for family, elementary school, and community library collections.
—Midwest Book Review
About the Author
* Joe Archer works at Kew Gardens as Head Horticulturist in the kitchen garden and has appeared on BBC in the Kew on a Plate television program with Raymond Blanc.
* Caroline Craig is a food writer from London and the author of The Little Book of Lunch adult cookbook (Regan Arts) and The Cornershop Cookbook (Random House UK). She's also a columnist for Guardian Cook.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Carrot Scramble
serves 4
2 large sweet potatoes
x slices bacon
1 large leek, white part only, sliced
Salt and pepper
8 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 lemon, halved
2 tablespoons butter
Drizzle of olive oil
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Bake the sweet potatoes for 45 minutes to an hour, until a fork goes in easily.
3. While the sweet potatoes are baking, cook the bacon in a frying pan until browned. Drain.
4. In a separate frying pan, cook the leek, sprinkled with salt and pepper, for 5 to10 minutes on medium heat, stirring often, until softened. Chop the bacon and stir it in.
5. Cook the carrots in a pot of boiling salted water for 10 minutes, until tender. Drain them and mash them in a large bowl.
6. When the sweet potatoes are cooked, halve them and scoop out the flesh. Add the sweet potato to the carrot and roughly mash them together. Season with salt and pepper and the juice of half the lemon.
7. Add the butter and olive oil, followed by the bacon and leek mixture. Add the juice from the other half of the lemon if you wish.
