I LOVE to cook, so imagine my delight when a new book arrived at my door by Chef Michael Smith (Food Network Canada star and the man who taught me how to properly cut a bell pepper)! The first thing readers will notice and appreciate about Chef Michael’s latest book is that it has built in directions to get the kids involved with the family cooking! It is so important to educate kids on where their food comes from and the value of making good quality homemade food. This cookbook is not just for those who have big families but in fact, as a person with no children (unless you count the fur babies) this cookbook does not exclude anyone! The first thing I noticed about the recipe’s in Chef Michael’s cookbook was that they are SIMPLE with a small amount of ingredients. I love this! There is nothing worse then buying a new cookbook only to find that all the recipes include obscure and expensive ingredients that leave you scouring the city all weekend. In fact, Chef Michael even has recipes that include the first night meal and a meal to make with the leftovers… GENIUS!
I was so excited to try one of the recipes for this review and so I choose Weekend Pancakes, the perfect meal for the Canadian long weekend. This recipe has built in instructions for two children to help, since I don’t have children, I enlisted two of my friends (who, let’s face it are really just big kids anyway) to help me. It’s amazing how you throw around the word “Pancakes” and people are lining up! We all had a lot of fun cooking in the kitchen together and even more fun chowing down on tasty fluffy pancakes. The pancakes were delicious, nutritious and were fast and easy to make… everything a weekend breakfast recipe should be.
Whether you have lots of kids and or no kids, pick up ‘Family Meals’ by Chef Michael Smith and have a little fun in the kitchen!
‘Family Meals’ by Chef Michael Smith is out today at local bookstores!