"Madhouse Cookbook" by Jo Pratt

My rating: 2 of 5 spoons

gg

I was really looking forward to this cookbook. I love British cooking, I'm a mother of four so I understand the whole "madhouse" concept, but it fell really flat to me. I realize this is Britain and they do things differently, but I had a real problem with cooking for the kids and adults separately--make this for the kids, get them in bed, then cook for the two of you alone. That's half the problem with families these days. People don't sit down and eat together as a family. It's also based on the mom working, kids in school, etc. As a homeschooling mother, that doesn't really fit our family.

I realize the importance of children eating their vegetables, but it was insane the number of recipes she was sticking in either corn or peas. Some of them just sounded nasty! Here's a novel thought--why not just teach your children to obey you and eat their vegetables?! Worked great for us. I don't mind some recipes that use fruits/vegetables to replace unhealthier alternatives (unsweetened applesauce for oil, thin slices of squash for lasagne noodles, etc). Some people consider this "hiding" healthy foods for their kids to eat without knowing it. I think it's just healthier cooking. I don't hide from my kids what I've done. Sorry, that's just a personal opinion.

This may seem small, but to fit the "Madhouse" title, some of the recipe names are a weird mix of uppercase and lowercase letters that, to me, were just annoying. However, this is a digital edition--it could be different in the print edition when it comes out.

I received this book from Watkins Publishing, Ltd through NetGalley.com for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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