Homeschool Reviews For You

Marmee’s Kitchen Primer
Author: Martha Greene
Publisher: Greene Acres Publications
For more information or to order: www.marmeedear.com

With so many families on the go these days, cooking and baking at home seems to be losing ground to the convenience of take-out and microwave dinners.  Marmee’s Kitchen Primer focuses on instructing young ladies in the art of cooking, baking and keeping a kitchen so they may bless their family and others. And who better to write such a helpful tool than a mom of 11 and grandma of two?!?

Marmee’s Kitchen Primer is spiral bound to lay flat and organized into eight sections and begins with The Cook’s Primer, which covers rules for the cook, setting the table, doing the dishes, basic kitchen items (with pictures), reading a recipe, courtesy for the table, cooking terms and more.  The Cook’s Primer is my favorite part of this book!  As a young girl I never helped much in the kitchen and even as an adult I didn’t know some of the “basics” presented in this section. 

The next several sections feature easy to follow recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks and sweets.  In addition to the ingredients, Martha also provides a list of utensils the young cook will need to use for the recipe.  The font used is very readable and she allows lots of space between each direction so a child can keep their place as they are reading and doing.  I really like how easy she has made the directions.  Instead of saying “combine the first 4 ingredients”, she uses boxed text to set off the list of items that are to be pureed, combined, etc.  The recipes are not only easy to prepare - they are delicious too! 

The last three sections of Marmee’s Kitchen Primer have menus and ideas for special days such as a birthday dinner for Dad, pages for the child to add her own recipes and a Test & Projects section.  Of course, the tests and projects are not “required”, but some may find them useful if they are using the Primer as part of a formal Home Economics or cooking course and their state requires tests to prove progress.

With quotes and scripture sprinkled throughout, Marmee’s Kitchen Primer is a delightfully written and illustrated book your daughter will want to keep as her very own for years to come, perhaps even using it with her own children someday!

Making the Grade: A+
Cost:  $18.95
Value for your homeschool dollar: 10