Delicious Vegetarian Main Dishes

Gr 1–4—These recipes manage to hit a sweet spot in kid cookery: they require little in the way of expertise, yet are complex enough to be interesting. None of your "Ants on a Log" nonsense here. Young chefs will be taking a stab at "Tasty Pad Thai Noodles," "Chicken Wonton Soup," and "Terrific Turkey Burgers." The instructions are detailed and thoroughly illustrated with clear color drawings; photos show the enticing final products. The ingredients are readily available and include very few processed foods and only one or two convenience items-after all who could blame cooks for buying a bag of shredded carrots instead of julienning two cups of carrots themselves? The 9 or 10 recipes in each book focus on nutritious ingredients but aren't stingy with the cheese. Most of them have a suggested "Try This!" variation that gently encourages kids to get creative with their cooking.