Hungry Monkey by Matthew Amster-Burton
How a Food Writer Raised His Daughter on Sushi and Spices
Aug 12, 2009
Matthew Amster-Burton is a food writer and restaurant critic, so it makes sense that he wants to raise his daughter, Iris, to enjoy food. He eschews the traditional pureed baby food and chicken fingers and tater tots for toddlers. Instead, he lovingly prepares and feeds his daughter food that any adult would be lucky to taste.
Child Friendly Recipes
In each chapter of Hungry Monkey, Amster-Burton writes about cooking several meals his daughter enjoys, then includes the recipes at the end. The recipes aren't exclusively for children, and they include interesting ingredients and spices. The recipes are varied, from pad thai to steamed milk to muffins.
For each recipe, Amster-Burton describes which parts children can help with. Including them in the cooking process can make them more interested in eating, and gives them something to be proud of. The author gives his daughter an electric hot plate for her to cook alongside him.
Food Hits and Misses
Amster-Burton describes the foods he cooks, then serves to his daughter. Some meals are successful, others are not. But the author shows how parents don't have to cook separate meals for picky children. By trying new things regularly, children will learn to eat just about anything.
The author also shows how getting fresh ingredients and cooking at home can result in tasty and healthy meals. Preparing fresh produce doesn't have to be any harder than microwaving frozen chicken nuggets.
Hungry Monkey also showcases a lot of the Seattle area, including restaurants and specialty markets. Readers might get overwhelmed learning how the author purchases exotic or expensive ingredients, such as Neuske's bacon, but it's fun to see how even a child can tell the difference between quality and cheap ingredients.
Hungry Monkey Review
Amster-Burton doesn't really give advice to parents. The book is more of a memoir, and cookbook. The moral of the story is that kids can eat whatever they want, and they'll usually eat what is put in front of them. The recipes included don't have any theme to them, but it gives parents some good ideas to help broaden their children's palates, or even broaden their own palates.
Hungry Monkey is a humorous book to be enjoyed by people with or without children, as long as they like food. Amster-Burton is a great writer, who shares funny anecdotes involving his daughter, who he is raising to be a happy and confident child. Readers will hope there will be a sequel, which shows whether or not Matthew Amster-Burton was successful in raising Iris to be a "foodie."
Hungry Monkey was published by Houghton Mifflin Co. on May 19, 2009. Its ISBN is 0767916255 and its ISBN-13 is 978-0767916257. For more information about Matthew Amster-Burton, please visit his blog, Roots and Grubs.
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