Weekend Cooking: The Green Teen Cookbook edited by Laurane Marchive and Pam McElroy

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Earlier this summer when I was at BookExpo America, I spent some time looking through the booths for cookbooks. Laurane Marchive and Pam McElroy's The Green Teen Cookbook caught my eye because I know so many high schoolers and college students who are interested in cooking but want recipes that suit their modern tastes and sometimes limited skills.

There is a lot to like about The Green Teen Cookbook, especially because the vast majority of the recipes were submitted by and tested by real-life teens. And even better, the focus is on grown-up food, not glorified PB&Js.

The first thing I wanted to know when I started reading this collection is what was meant by green. This is not a vegetable cookbook or even a strictly vegetarian cookbook; instead, it's all about eating ecologically responsibly. And that translates to eating locally, seasonally, and organically. In fact, each recipe is tagged with icons to let you know when the called-for ingredients are at their peak.

Although the recipes assume you have some familiarity with the kitchen, they are quite doable, and the range of flavors and techniques is impressive. Here are some examples:

• Easy: granola, Caesar salad
• Regional: chicken and waffles, Spanish tortilla
• More involved: risotto with arugula pesto, fish curry with spiced rice

The directions are clear and straightforward, and there is a full-color photo of each teen-submitted recipe. The beginning of the book includes basic information about ingredients, eating responsibly, and stocking the pantry. At the back of the book, cooks will find a useful index, resources for farmers markets, and the URLs for some popular food blogs.

If you click on the scan (from page 70), you'll get not only a very easy hummus recipe but a peek at the clean, green book design. I love that each recipe has a picture of the teen contributor plus a quote, quick tips, seasonal icons, and an appealing photo of the finished dish.

You don't need to be a kid to get some good use out of The Green Teen Cookbook. For example, this would be a great gift for a young adult moving into his or her first apartment. Experienced cooks who want to wean themselves from processed foods will also find many good dishes in this book.

Vegetarian alert: Although there are a number of vegetarian recipes in the book, vegans will want to look before buying.

Published by Zest Books, 2014 (US edition)
ISBN-13: 9781936976584
Source: Review (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)