The Mix-It-Up Cookbook

Tom and Karin gave Marley The Mix-It-Up Cookbook for Christmas, and Marley has made three of the recipes in the book now. This is a good cookbook for young children - those old enough to read and tall enough to work in the kitchen without the aid of a step-stool or chair. It starts off with basic information, the kind of things I forget my children don't already know, such as: keep pothandles turned in; never touch electrical plugs or sockets with a wet hand; don't slip a sharp object into soapy water - someone might get cut because she can't see it. Also included are "Chef Smarts," which are basic measuring facts; "Chef Tips," which are helpful ideas covering how to cut onions without crying, how to soften brown sugar, etc.; and "Chef Terms," which are basic definitions for cooking and for ingredients.

The recipes themselves are divided into ten sections:

Eggs

Pancakes

Quick Breads

Tortillas

Noodles

Chocolate

Popcorn

Ice Cream

Mix a Meal

Last week Marley made the chocolate pudding. Unfortunately, we ate it all before I remembered that I should get a picture of it, so the picture from the book will have to suffice.

This was our "one new recipe" for last week.

Chocolate Pudding

3/4 c. sugar

2 T. cornstarch

2 T. cocoa powder

1/4 t. salt

2 c. milk

1 T. butter

1 t. vanilla

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium saucepan, stir well, and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent milk from scorching. Turn off heat and add last 2 ingredients. Stir well. Allow to cool a bit before pouring into dessert bowls. Chill before serving.

The cookbook suggests several different toppings, and Marley decided to go with those shown in the picture: Gummi Bears and Teddy Grahams (but Steve brought her Annie's Bunny Grahams so she used those instead).

The pudding was delicious, and Marley did it all by herself. I think we're going to enjoy more recipes from this cookbook this year, because Marley likes to cook and she can do many of these recipes without any help.