Carol Odell - Once Upon a Time in the Kitchen: Recipes and Tales from Classic Childrens Stories

Recipes and Tales from Classic Childrens Stories

Carol Odell
Illustrated by Anna Pignataro

When you read a story by a good writer you can sometimes hear and see and smell the story! You know exactly what Pooh sounds like when he is humming to himself in rather a sticky voice. You can soar away with Peter Pan out of your bed into the night sky. And don't you wish you could have some of the jam tarts from Alice in Wonderland?

Now you can eat the food enjoyed by your favorite storybook characters!

Once Upon a Time in the Kitchen gives you the recipes to make the food inspired by famous, well-loved stories.

Here's a tip to remember when cooking: always use your imagination. Add your ideas to the recipes. Never be afraid to make mistakessometimes they are just as nice. Be adventurous in trying new things, just like Pinocchio learned to do.

Best of all, enjoy the taste of these lovely stories, and look for the books in libraries and bookstores. They have been around for a long, long timeso they will be waiting ...

Carol Odell

Here is a list of standard kitchen equipment and utensils that you will want to have on hand as you prepare these tasty recipes:

assorted large and small mixing bowls

a wooden spoon

a bread knife for spreading and a knife for slicing

scissors

a fork

a tablespoon

a spatula

dry and liquid measuring cups

measuring spoons

a small saucepan

a large baking dish

foil or plastic wrap

waxed paper or paper towel

If specific equipment or utensils are needed, they are listed in the recipe'sWhat You Will Needsection, along with the ingredients.

Always think carefully when you cook. Adult supervision is advised, particularly when using the oven, hot liquids, or fats.

Hold sharp knives carefully and watch out for your fingers. Leave plenty of room between the knife and your fingers while holding the vegetable, fruit, or meat you want to chop or slice. If you are walking around the kitchen, hold the knife pointing downward toward the floorbetter still, leave it on the table.

Use wooden spoons for mixing and stirring. A wooden spoon squashes the mixture together more easily and doesn't become hot if you are stirring hot liquids in a pan.

A flat spatula is what you need for removing fried eggs, pancakes, hamburgers, etc., from the frying pan.

A round sieve with a handle or a colander can be used for draining liquid from spaghetti, vegetables, etc. If the liquid is hot, lean away as you pour so that you don't get the hot steam in your face.

A strong plastic or wooden cutting board should be used for cutting, chopping, slicing, rolling out piecrust or shaping biscuits rather than using the kitchen counter. This is so you won't scratch the counter and, because the counter is used for many other things, it's easy to pass germs from one thing to another.

If you have an electric mixer, blender, and beaters, they will save a lot of time, but be extra careful with your fingers. Never put your fingers inside the bowl! Not only are the blades very sharpeven when they're not whizzing aroundbut someone else could mistakenly switch the appliance on.

All weights and measurements shown are in standard U.S. units.

Most serving sizes are approximate, depending on whether you are cooking for children or adults, and big or little appetites.

HUGH LOFTING

Doctor Dolittle was a most unusual doctor because not only did he talk to the animals, but he also understood everything they said to him. He travelled all over the world, and found some very strange-looking animals, and they had some very funny things to say.

Ah, said the Doctor. The sausages are done to a turn. Come alonghold your plate near and let me give you some.

Then we sat down at the kitchen table and started a hearty meal.

It was a wonderful kitchen, that. I had many meals there afterwards and I found it a better place to eat in than the grandest dining room in the world. It was so cozy and home-like and warm. It was so handy for the food too. You took it right off the fire, hot, and put it on the table and ate it. And you could watch your toast toasting at the fender and see it didn't burn while you drank your soup. And if you had forgotten to put the salt on the table, you didn't have to get up and go into another room to fetch it; you just reached round and took the big wooden box off the dresser behind you. Then the fireplacethe biggest fireplace you ever sawwas like a room in itself. You could get right inside it even when the logs were burning and sit on the wide seats on either side and roast chestnuts after the meal was overor listen to the kettle singing, or tell stories, or look at picture-books by the light of the fire. It was a marvellous kitchen. It was like the Doctor, comfortable, sensible, friendly and solid.

Have another sausage?

The Doctor turned and said a few words to the dog and duck in some strange talk and signs. They seemed to understand him perfectly.

Can you talk in squirrel language? I asked.

Oh yes. That's quite an easy language, said the Doctor. You could learn that yourself without a great deal of trouble.

Sausages at breakfast are delicious served with eggs and toast. Poke the sausages with a fork to help the fat run out orto let them cook more quicklyslit them with a knife along their length before you put them under the broiler. If you are barbecuing or camping, cook the sausages on a stick over the campfire. Doctor Dolittle made toast by holding the bread on a fork in front of a fire. If you do this, be very careful not to toast yourself. A long barbecue fork is a good idea, if you have one.

MAKES ENOUGH FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

1. Turn on the broiler.

2. While it is heating, prepare your sausages for cooking. If they are still connected in one string, cut them apart at each twist so you have single sausages.

3. Arrange sausages on a broiler pan and place the pan under the broiler, or arrange the sausages directly on the barbecue grill. Cook for 10 minutes, turning frequently, or until sausages are golden and cooked through.