Dinner? It’s child’s play

Most cookbooks aimed at children have several huge flaws. The first — and most fatal — is the presumption that there is such a thing as “kid food.” This notion — that every comestible has to be shaped like a cartoon character, multi-(and artificially) colored and smothered in cheese or chocolate — is downright insulting to children everywhere, and deprives them of the joy of tasting. The corollary to the “kid food” notion is the equally damaging idea that all children hate all vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish and lamb, and that these foods especially have to be artfully disguised or outright banned from the child’s plate. As any parent knows (and parents are often the pickiest eaters in the family — but that’s another story), each child’s taste buds are different, and the youngster who can’t abide fresh tomatoes will be the one to develop a jones for hot peppers, or sushi, or quinoa.