Tamar Ansh has con­fect­ed a deli­cious treat for chil­dren and their sig­nif­i­cant adults to share and enjoy in their Passover kitchens. It’s a children’s cook­book filled with Passover recipes which seem delec­table and appeal­ing even on the page. The whim­si­cal and charm­ing graph­ics as well as the clear and live­ly fonts draw in the read­er and would-be cook and nudge one toward the kitchen to start mix­ing and stir­ring, pre­heat­ing and skew­er­ing. This review­er, who wears anoth­er chef’s hat as grand­moth­er, can’t wait to invite the kids for a fun and tasty time. 

The recipes are all quite sim­ple and some require no cook­ing at all. Ingre­di­ents are read­ily avail­able and pre­sen­ta­tion is addressed as an impor­tant part of the meal. The direc­tions couldn’t be clear­er; each recipe lists the ingre­dients in a ​“Let’s get to it” sec­tion, spells out the sim­ple prepa­ra­tion steps in a ​“And here’s how you do it” sec­tion, des­ig­nates whether the recipe is meat, dairy or pareve, and tells how many the recipe serves. Safe­ty tips in the kitchen are empha­sized through­out the book both in writ­ten and graph­ic form. Par­ents will be glad to see that oth­er sim­ple lessons such as help­ing to clean up are not for­got­ten either.

There is an arts and crafts project sec­tion so the table can look as beau­ti­ful­ly home­made and child-ori­ent­ed as the fin­ished recipes once they are plat­ed, gar­nished and served. 

It’s nice to remem­ber that Pesach prepara­tions need not feel like drudgery. They can be fun, edu­ca­tion­al fam­i­ly expe­ri­ences which can enhance the hol­i­day and bake in some won­der­ful, long-last­ing memories.

Tasti­ly and high­ly rec­om­mend­ed for chil­dren ages 7 and up and par­ents (or grandpar­ents!) to enjoy together.

Read Tamar Ansh’s Posts for the Vis­it­ing Scribe

Recipe: Moroc­can-Style Gefilte Fish For Passover

Make Passover Cook­ing a Fam­i­ly Affair

Recipe