The Baking Cookbook for Teens

The Baking Cookbook for Teens

YA/adult cookbook
"Welcome, new bakers! I had a serious sweet tooth as a kid,
which is why I started baking at a pretty young age. As soon as I was
old enough to use the electric mixer and stove on my own, you can bet
the first thing I did was start whipping up sweet treats any time my
mom would let me. I found that baking satisfied something in me that
went beyond appetite--it became a creative outlet, a way for me to
show my love for family and friends, a way to honor and celebrate
people I cared about on special occasions, and quite honestly, a way
to impress people. Also, it was lots of fun."
I sure can relate to those words from Robin Donovan's
introduction to her The Baking Cookbook for Teens. When I was a kid
using cooking appliances was a privilege that had to be earned. I was
thrilled when I was deemed responsible enough to bake solo. I decided
to bake something no one in my family had ever seen. I scanned my
friends' mothers' women's magazines until, right before Valentines
Day, I learned how to make a heart shaped cake. I did it with such
secrecy! Decades later I can still remember the excitement my
creation generated.
I has a mother who introduced me to baking. Lots of today's
teens and young adults, growing up in a time of mixes and store bought
treats, didn't have that luxury. The Baking Cookbook for Teens is a
great addition to home libraries or first apartment gift. The
pictures will hook the reader into at least scanning the recipes:
*candy bar cookies;
*red velvet cheesecake bars;
*a lemon pudding cake that separates into two layers while baking;
*giant soft pretzels,
*thin crust pizza...
With over 75 recipes, there's something for everyone. The first two
chapters, which I would strongly urge new bakers to not skip over,
provide a wealth of background information.
When Donovan hit her teens, she wanted to expand her repetoire.
Only there were no teen specific cookbooks. She had to scan adult
cookbooks for recipes that weren't totally out of her league skills or
ingedients wise just like I scanned women's magazines. As an adult
she wrote the book she'd wished she had back in the day.
We can be very glad that she did.
On a purrrsonal note, I learned about Kentucky falling through just
hours before class when it was my week to lead a starter activity I
had designed. The topic of the week was classism. I chose two
articles I felt people in my social justice class would find engaging:
one on the admissions cheating scandal and the other on rising food
insecurity on college and university campuses. I had questions that
tied the articles in with the textbook readings. My grade would be
based on my ability to engage my classmates. They were very animated
and engaged. My professor said I did an excellent job. So I didn't
let the bad news make me screw up.
Well things aren't as bad as they looked. There will be a
conference in Maine (as in driving distance) by that same group fall
semester I'll probably be able to present my poster at. And in April
I'll probably get practice showing it at a symposium on campus.
But it would have been so great to network and get ideas in
Kentucky. Where I won't be going anywhere and most of my friends will
be away and I might actually be caught up with homework, what in the
world will I do with nine days? I've warned my advisor I might
spending them in a geek orgy--reading, reviewing, playing with
Tobago, and maybe making a thrift shop run. For some reason she does
not seem alarmed.
jules hathaway


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