~ MMGM Non-Fiction Feature 'MAKE: Edible Inventions' ~

~ MARVELOUS MIDDLE-GRADE
MONDAY NON-FICTION S.T.E.A.M.
EDUCATION FEATURE ~
-- 'Make: Edible Inventions--Cooking Hacks and
Yummy Recipes You Can Build, Mix, Bake, and Grow'
Written by Author/Educator Kathy Ceceri -- LEARN MORE ON GOODREADS

ABOUT THE BOOK {from Goodreads}:
Believe it or not, there's a lot of inventing going on in the kitchen. Unless you only eat fruits and veggies right off the plant, you are using tools and techniques invented by humans to make food more tasty and easier to digest. When you cook food, you start to break it down into a form your body can absorb. When you add chemicals to make it thicker, gooey-er, or puffy-er, you turn a bunch of boring ingredients into a mouth-watering snack. Edible Inventions: Cooking Hacks and Yummy Recipes You Can Build, Mix, Bake, and Grow will show you some unusual ways to create a meal, and help you invent some of your own.

Projects include:
--3D printing with food
--Chemical cuisine and molecular gastronomy
--Prepared foods like jellies and pickles at home
--Growing your own ingredients
--Cooking off the grid

ABOUT THE AUTHOR {from Goodreads}:
Kathy Ceceri is the author of activity books for kids and families including "Musical Inventions," "Paper Inventions" and "Making Simple Robots" from Maker Media, and "Robotics: Discover the Science and Technology" and "Video Games: Design and Code Your Own Adventure" from Nomad Press. Online, she was the Homeschooling Expert for About.com (now Thoughtco), a founding editor of GeekMom.com, and a top writer for the GeekDad blog. When she's not busy writing, Kathy presents hands-on STEAM workshops based on her books for kids and educators.

**Please note: Kathy was my guest on 'Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic' in early February 2018. Please follow this link to read my interview with this awesome author: Interview with Author/Educator Kathy Ceceri  


MY REVIEW:  I have been cooking since I was about eleven years old, and I learned so much about the science behind cooking from reading this book!

I learned about the invention of baking powder in 1869 by Eben Norton Horsford. This simple combination of two chemicals made a product that was quicker than waiting for yeast to rise and it also had a long shelf life. The author points out on page 85 that this invention 'made convenience foods like pancake mix possible.'

Other favorite projects included the chapter titled, Grow Your Own Ingredients, where students are taught how to grow celery, sprouts, onions, herbs, etc. in jars and pots. The aquaponic jar project is amazing and uses several recycled items from around the house.

My favorite chapter is Cook Off the Grid. Readers will learn how to cook with the sun by building a solar cooking unit, construct a thermal cooker, and assemble an outdoor tin-can cooker. Detailed instructions with photos are given for each project. Information about the science behind the projects is included in detail. Delicious recipes to cook in the various off-the-grid cookers are included.

As an adult, I appreciated all of the safety tips the author carefully places admidst her instructions. There is a lot to like about this book. Highly recommended for families, teachers, scout leaders, and others who enjoy combining science with food to have some good old-fashioned off-screen fun!
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I borrowed this book from the Children's section of the local public library.
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COMING UP SOON ON 'READING, WRITING & STITCH-METIC':
-- Monday, April 2nd: My Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday Non-Fiction S.T.E.A.M. Education Feature will be: 'MAKE: Edible Inventions' by Author/Educator Kathy Ceceri.

-- Friday, April 6th: My Friday Fiction Feature will be a picture book entitled 'Aliens Get the Sniffles Too! by Katy S. Duffield and Illustrated by K.G. Campbell.
--  Monday, April 9th:  Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday Feature:  Title TBA.
--  Tuesday, April 10th:  Book spotlight and review of a gardening book written by authors Chantal Aida Gordon & Ryan Benoit.
--  Wednesday, April 11th:  Cedar Fort Author Nedra Secrist will be my guest on the blog for an author interview and spotlight on her new book about perennials.# # # # #