Salad People, Mollie Katzen’s third cookbook for “preschoolers and up,” is simply adorable. This meant, of course, that I resisted it at first.

Among the aspects I appreciated were the relevance of the recipes (many seemed to be things my children would actually like to make and eat), my children’s enjoyment in looking at the cookbook together (the 5-year-old sat and “read” the picture-based recipes to the 3-year-old), and useful advice from the “Owner’s Manual” section, such as: “Before you begin, read through the adult section of the recipe and get everything—right down to the last spoon—ready and in place.” And an important reminder: “Adults tend to see cooking as primarily goal-oriented (dinner on the table), but for small children the main event is the process itself… Try to stay neutral about the eating part.”

Many of the recipes called to me, such as Tiny Tacos, Polka Dot Rice, Rainbow-Raisin Cole Slaw, and Chewy Energy Circles. I will focus on two that we tried with groups of kids: Counting Soup and Salad People.

I was eager to try Counting Soup because it looked quick and easy (traits which warm my heart), though I was dubious as to whether the cute concept of having the kids make the soup in their own bowls would actually work. Nonetheless, work it did. The six children we assembled, ranging in age from 22 months to almost eight, all liked making their own selections and enjoyed the results, except for two kids who were busy outside building a road in the yard.

Ellen, mother of a college-age daughter, marveled at how the kids “all stepped forward to put things in their bowls. They’re really involved and comfortable with it. For a recipe they’ve never had before, for kids this age, I’m very impressed. I also appreciate how the parents are allowing them to make their own choices.”

Brad, an adult who chose to add all the ingredients, praised the soup as “immensely practical and delicious,” adding that “a little salt or tamari is the only thing I thought it needed.”

Despite our success with Counting Soup, I was adamantly opposed to making Salad People, a recipe which lists almost 20 ingredients. Only after my daughter was flipping through the cookbook and pleaded with me to let her make Salad People did I relent. I must confess that I was so amazed by the results, that, with various kids ranging from almost two to six, we made Salad People again and again over the next few days until the key ingredients (pear bodies, cottage cheese for heads, curly noodles for hair, sliced cheese for limbs) ran out.

Andrika, mother of two testers, commented, “This was delicious and it was a lot of fun to see them putting their plates together. They got a lot of satisfaction from it—and every plate was empty. And if I had put it together for them—no way.”

Running out to the Co-op to buy all the ingredients, as I did, was perhaps a lot of effort, but those with a well-stocked kitchen could probably make Salad People by substituting ingredients on hand. Some choices—such as curly noodles, strawberries, matchstick-sliced carrots, dried cranberries, and olives—proved more popular than others. Debby, another test mom, suggested that this would be a fun project for a birthday party if each guest brought one ingredient.

Despite my concerns about how relatively vegetable-averse kids would react, my 3-year-old assured me, “Salad People is dessert!” The five-year-old insisted later, “I didn’t choose any vegetables, only cheese and carrots and fruit.”

Mollie Katzen’s first cookbooks (Moosewood and Enchanted Broccoli Forest) got me through my college cooking. I’m glad that now she can help me feed my kids as well.

Mollie Katzen, Salad People and More Real Recipes (Berkeley: Tricycle Press, 2005). 95 pp. $17.95.

COUNTING SOUP

2 cups peas, fresh and lightly steamed, or frozen
2 cups corn, fresh and uncooked, or frozen
2 cups diced tofu
2 cups grated carrot
1/3 pound green beans, cut into 1” pieces and steamed or blanched until tender
2 cups cooked alphabet noodles (2/3 cup uncooked, boiled until tender and drained)
4 cups vegetable broth, heated

If you are using frozen peas or corn, place each in a strainer or a colander and run under room-temperature to thaw. Drain thoroughly and transfer to separate bowls. Place all the ingredients except the broth in separate bowls. Arrange them on the table in the following order: tofu, carrots, peas, corn, green beans, noodles. Place a regular dinner spoon (nothing larger) in each bowl. Let the children go through the lineup with a medium-sized bowl, counting in the prescribed number of spoonfuls of each ingredient (1 spoon tofu, 2 spoons carrots, 3 spoons peas, 4 spoons corn, 5 green beans, 6 spoons A-B-C noodles). Ladle warm broth over the top (adult adds broth, child blows 7 times and stirs 8 times), and eat!
Yield : 4-6 servings.

SALAD PEOPLE

Cored pear halves, peel optional (fresh and ripe, or canned and drained)
Cottage cheese or very firm yogurt
Strips of cheese (cut wide and thin, to be limbs)
Sliced bananas (cut into vertical spears as well as rounds)
Cantaloupe or honeydew (cut into 4-inch slices)
Celery sticks (plain or stuffed with nut butter)
Shredded carrots (in long strands, if possible)
Cooked angel hair pasta, or a “curly” variety
Sliced strawberries; Raisins; Dried Cranberries; Pitted cherries; Cherry tomatoes; Blueberries; Peas; Parsley sprigs; Small spinach leaves; Sliced black olives; Sliced radishes.

Place a pear half in the center of each plate, flat side down. Arrange a round scoop of cottage cheese or very firm yogurt above the narrow top of the pear, so that the cheese or yogurt looks like a head and the pear looks like a torso. Create arms and legs from strips of cheese, banana spears, melon slices, or celery sticks (stuffed or plain). Create hair, facial features, hands, feet, buttons, zippers, hats, and so forth from any combination of the remaining ingredients. Name it and eat!

Judy Sobeloff is director of the Moscow Community Creative Writing Workshop.