Deceptively Delicious, an Aptly Titled Cookbook

Last year my husband bought me Jessica Seinfeld’s book Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food for Christmas.  Marketed to parents who need to hide vegetables in standbys like Macaroni and Cheese, and treats like brownies for their veggie resistant kids, this book is also an excellent resource for those of us who find ourselves vegetable rich in the summer months. In addition to recipes, this book is packed full of nutrition, storage, and food processing information while maintain a light conversational tone. The gist of the book is simple, obtain a bunch of vegetables, cook them up puree them and then use the purees in the recipes provided.

So far, my family’s absolute favorite recipe from the book is Blueberry Lemon Muffins, which calls for a ½ cup of squash puree.  My daughter Maggie and I made these at the height of summer squash season and I even upped the squash content to ¾ of a cup. I cannot rave enough about these muffins. Something about the squash makes them incredibly rich and buttery, even though the recipe utilizes only 4 Tbsps of margarine. They passed the ultimate test when my husband came home from work and gobbled down four of them in rapid succession. I waited until he was done gorging before I told him the secret ingredient.  This man hates squash almost as much as I hate spiders, and I had to show him the recipe before he believed me.

Whether veggie eating is a battle in your house, or you’re just looking for an interesting way to use up an overabundant harvest, this book is a great addition to any cookbook library.

Kate Kastelein is a stay at home mom, freelance writer, and life long Mainer. When she’s not writing or chasing her daughter, she works on a farm part-time, cooks, scours yard-sales, knits, and tries unsuccessfully to keep her free range chicken flock off the porch. In order to keep up with everything she drinks way to much coffee.