Ready, Steady, Spaghetti

Cooking For Kids and With Kids

by Lucy Broadhurst

Price: $19.99
ISBN-13: 978-0-7407-8087-5
ISBN-10: 0-7407-8087-5
Format: Paperback
Size: 9 X 11 in.
Page Count: 192 pages

“Ready, Steady, Spaghetti is a real cookbook for children, complete with  inviting food photography that sets the stage for beautiful presentation. This book takes seriously  the earnest  interest of a young, aspiring cook. The recipes are creative and show how to think in the kitchen, and how to balance flavors, textures, and tastes.” ––Food Muse Media http://foodmusemedia.com/blog/?p=114

“For young cooks who are just beginning to learn their way around the kitchen, this book offers solid advice and creative insight into learning culinary skills. Starting out with suggestions on proper cooking technique, nutrition and safety and hygiene, the book gave my 13-year-old and 8-year-old the basis for knowing that cooking involves more than standing over the stove putting something in a pot. Ingredients and directions were laid out simply and the girls easily followed along with a little bit of direction from Mom” ––South Bend Tribune http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20091206/Lives/912059946/-1/XML

“This colorful, brightly photographed volume is a perfect cookbook for a budding young chef and his or her parents. … The recipes are basic; most have only five to 10 ingredients and can be prepared within an hour. Simple, half-page to one-page instructions cater to child-sized attention spans, so that theoretically, kids can prepare these recipes themselves. … Most kids will need some parental guidance. But this cookbook allows children and their parents to discover the joys of cooking perennial favorites with few tears and a whole lot of fun.” ––The Austin Chronicle http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid%3A924615

“A youngster who’s shown an interest in learning how to cook tasty, “from-scratch” foods will like the colorful Ready, Steady, Spaghetti: Cooking for kids and with kids by Lucy Broadhurst (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $19.99, paperback). Broadhurst, a food stylist and children’s book author from Australia, packs her 191-page book with easy-to-follow triple-tested recipes. Each recipe is accompanied by a photograph of the completed dish and many are illustrated with step-by-step photos.” ––2 The Advocate http://www.2theadvocate.com/features/food/59500267.html

“Recipes for “little food” such as after-school snacks, breakfast, soups, and sammies go a long way in Broadhurst’s clever Ready, Steady, Spaghetti. Broadhurst makes cooking with kids easy and entertaining. Kids will fill up on fun and food with cool and exciting recipes like Spaghetti with Chicken Meatballs, Stir-Fried Chinese Vegetables, Moo Juice, Lemon Butterfly Cakes, Fairy Wands, Martian Cookies, Chocolate-Cherry Spiders, and more. She even makes preparing (and eating) vegetables a treat. And the excitement doesn’t stop there. There’s also a party food section that will have kids celebrating.” ––Cooking With Kids Online http://cookingwithkidsonline.com/4/ready-steady-spaghetti-cooking-for-kids-and-with-kids/

“This big, user-friendly paperback cookbook full of color photos is all about food with major kid-appeal…. Whether your little one is in the kitchen cooking along or just needs some dishes tailored to his or her developing palate, this looks like a winning book.” ––A Mingling of Tastes http://www.aminglingoftastes.com/2009/06/giveaway-ready-steady-spaghetti.html

“This is one cookbook that, if you have kids, you’ll be pulling out often, especially if you like working with them in the kitchen.” ––Raisin Toast http://raisintoast.typepad.com/home_and_garden/2009/03/ready-steady-spaghetti—cooking-with-kids.html

“Ready, Steady, Spaghetti is full of  doable and delish recipes that make for a fun afternoon in the kitchen.  We had a blast making the Orange & Ginger Chicken Stirfry.  Getting our tot involved in the chopping and cooking actually inspired her to have her first bite of chicken…ever.  Proof that even picky eaters will enjoy this cookbook.” ––Celebrity Baby Clothes http://www.celebritybabyclothes.com/2009/05/get-in-the-kitchen-have-fun/

“The recipes are inventive, but simple with lots of healthy vegetables and other ingredients. Show your kids the photographs and they’ll get excited, too.” ––Super Chef http://superchefblog.com/2009/05/lucy-broadhurst-ready-steady-spaghetti.html

“With dozens of gorgeous full-page pictures in vibrant color, a smooth, heavy paper stock and a clean, elegant design, Ready, Steady, Spaghetti has abundant aesthetic appeal.” ––Omaha World Herald, by Pam Miller-Jenkins http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3945&u_sid=10632762&u_rss=1&

“The book not only has recipes that kids love to eat, but recipes that kids can help you MAKE, because they’re pretty simple with a minimum amount of steps and ingredients.” ––Cafe Mom, by Cafe Cynthia http://www.cafemom.com/dailybuzz/toddler/3233/Toddler_Meal_Vegetarian_Ch

Cooking and eating have never been more kid-friendly than in Lucy Broadhurst’s cookbook Ready, Steady, Spaghetti (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $19.99, April 2009).  Kids will want to do more than lick the spoon after looking through the easy-to-understand recipes and appetizing photographs.

Before the cooking begins, Lucy gives great tips to keep the kitchen and kids safe and clean. Basic organizational tools are explained to maintain an easy and enjoyable cooking process. A simple explanation of nutrition highlights the positive effects of certain foods.

All recipes are accompanied by savory photographs that will make the whole family’s mouth water.  The serving size of each recipe is included along with the straightforward, simple instructions and some step-by-step pictures to keep the young chef on track.

The six chapters—Little Food; Dinner Time; Eat Your Greens; Sticky Treats; Cookies, Cakes and Sweets; and Let’s Party—bring variety to every snack or meal. Recipes for Moo Juice, Lemon Butterfly Cakes, Sticky Chicken Drumsticks, Fresh Spring Rolls, Honey Carrots, Baked Apples, Chocolate Truffles, and many more will make cooking a delightful experience and satisfy every hunger pang.

Whether parents are looking for new recipes or kids want to develop their cooking  abilities,  Ready, Steady, Spaghetti is  the cookbook that brings learning and entertainment to the kitchen.  The whole family will be amused and  intrigued till the very last bite.

MAKES 10

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
7 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, melted
10 Popsicle sticks
small dragées, to decorate

1 Beat the butter, sugar and egg with electric mixer until creamy. Add the flour. Using your hands, press the mixture together to make a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 2 minutes, or until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

2 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush a large baking sheet with melted butter or oil. Roll out the dough between sheets of waxed paper to ¼ inch thick. Cut the dough into twenty stars, using a star-shaped cutter. Arrange on the baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden. Cool on the trays.

3 Place 1/2 teaspoon of melted chocolate on the flat side of half the cookies. Spread out to cover.

4 Attach the stick and sandwich the remaining cookies over the chocolate and press together. Allow the chocolate to set.

5 Drizzle the remaining chocolate over the stars. Decorate with dragées and allow to set.

—From Ready, Steady, Spaghetti/Andrews McMeel Publishing

SERVES 4

Tomato Sauce:
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 ½  cups (28 ounces) canned crushed tomatoes

Chicken Meatballs:
1 pound ground chicken
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 pound spaghetti
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 To make the tomato sauce, heat the oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until just turning golden. Add the tomatoes and season. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until thickened.

2 Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. To make the meatballs, combine the chicken, garlic, bread crumbs, basil, and cayenne in a large bowl and season.

3 Using damp hands, roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls and place on the baking sheet.

4 Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the meatballs in batches, turning, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden. Transfer the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for a further 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Add the basil.

5 Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain well. Toss the spaghetti with the meatballs and sauce and serve with the grated Parmesan cheese.

—From Ready, Steady, Spaghetti/Andrews McMeel Publishing