Reviewed by Gwen O’Neill

“Hey Kids! Here’s a cookbook just for you — but don’t be surprised if Mom and Dad borrow it once in a while! Real recipes, you can really make yourself. Learn to cook fun and easy meals and get to eat all the cool results.” Rachael Ray.

Cookbooks for children have come a long way in the last 10 years! I miss having younger grandchildren to shop for because I’ve always been drawn to the vibrant, colorful art usually found in books for younger children.

Cooking Rocks has a lot to offer families since the recipes are grouped by age. Section 1 is for ages 4 to 6 with a grown-up helper. Ray says readers should “feel free to make these same recipes if you are way older, too. I am 35 and I still make them all.” Recipes range from pizzas and soups to Chicken Toes and Birds in a Nest with Blankets.

In Section 2, recipes for ages 7 to 11, you will find introductions to ethnic cuisine and explanations for terms such as cacciatore. Recipes include cheese fries, Green Noodles & Ham and three different rice bowls — Mexican, Chinese and Middle Eastern.

Section 3, for ages 12 to 16 and up, has a suggestion by Ray to “Take these recipes away to college one day, and you’ll be the most popular kid on campus!” These are going to be popular with adults. Reading the first one in this chapter — Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna Roll-ups with gorgonzola cream sauce, steamed lemon-scented asparagus, and broiled tomatoes — had my mouth watering immediately.

Ray titles another chapter “Really Boss Beverages and Super Snackers” and includes interesting chapters for “grown-ups.” The “Heads Up, Kids!” and “Kitchen Basics” will help get children off to a good start and teach some independence along with the knowledge that it’s fun to experiment with food.

The fun experience is helped along with Ray’s inventive names for recipes. Hollow spaghetti that looks just like worms is used in Worms and Eyeballs, and marshmallows, puffed rice cereal and fruit roll-ups are used for the Candy ‘Sushi.’

Something that is often missing from children’s books is a good index. Cooking Rocks lists ingredients as well as recipes by name.

Lunch Box Turkey “Sushi”

Makes 1 serving (from Section 1)

1⁄2 cup Minute Rice

1 spinach flour tortilla

2-3 tablespoons ranch or Russian dressing

3-4 slices turkey breast

Handful of pea shoots or bean sprouts

2 red bell pepper strips 1⁄4 inch wide

2 slices cheddar or provolone cheese, cut into 1⁄2 inch strips

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Have your Grown-up Helper prepare Minute Rice according to package directions.

Heat a flour tortilla for 15 to 20 seconds on high in the microwave oven. Spread out tortilla on a work surface. Coat the tortilla evenly with dressing. Cover with slices of turkey. Arrange the pea shoots, pepper strips, and cheese strips in a line on top of the rice. Season it up with salt and pepper. Wrap and roll the sandwich up around the rice, veggies and turkey, making the ingredients resemble a sushi roll with the cheese and veggies at the center of the rice. Cut the sandwich wrap into 2-inch-long pieces. Arrange in Tupperware or on aluminum foil and pack up for your school lunch.

Reviewer’s note: Replace Minute Rice with pre-cooked brown rice for a healthier dish.

Potato-and-Apple Home Fries

Makes 4 servings (from Section 2)

3 tablespoons butter (tablespoons are marked on the wrapper)

1 sack diced breakfast potatoes (24 ounces, available on the dairy aisle)

1⁄2 pound ham steak, diced

1 green apple, such as Granny Smith, chopped

1 tablespoon grill seasoning, such as Montreal seasoning by McCormick or Mrs. Dash seasoning

Place a nonstick skillet on the stove over medium high heat. Add butter and melt it. Add potatoes, ham and apples and season them with grill seasoning blend. Turn every 5 minutes or so, letting the potatoes brown up on all sides. Cook 20 minutes, then serve.

Cooking Rocks! Party Pointer (from the Super Snacks Section)

If your friends are coming over to cook up something good with you, check out this tip:

Call up your local newspaper and ask them if you can have the ends of their paper rolls. Most newspapers will be only too happy to give you these hundreds of feet of scrap paper on a roll. Cover any dining or big coffee table with long sheets from the roll and tape edges down to secure. Decorate the table by drawing on the paper with crayons or washable markers. For an easy seating idea, surround your coffee table with big pillows.

Cherry-Tricky Lime Rickey (from the Super Snacks Section)

2 tablespoons lime syrup, such as Rose’s lime juice

1 teaspoon grenadine syrup or 1 tablespoon cherry juice

Ice

8 ounces cherry soda or cherry sparkling water

1 maraschino cherry

Pour lime syrup and grenadine or cherry juice into a tall fountain glass. Add ice to fill the glass. Pour in cherry soda or cherry-flavored sparkling water to fill up the glass. Drop in a cherry and a straw.