Take one part artist, one part chef, one part stylist, another part mom, and you have Jennifer Carden. Actually, I'm sure there are many other parts worthy of a mention, but in relation to her latest project, Toddler Cafe - these are the parts that really shine through. Let me back up a bit - Jennifer and I were introduced by mutual friends year ago, and we bump into each other here and there. I knew she was working on a kid-friendly cookbook, and was excited to finally get a good look at it at a recent book party. After trying on many different culinary hats, Jennifer got into food styling alongside her husband, photographer Matthew Carden. In one of those instances where life and work converges, they began working on Toddler Cafe: Fast, Recipes, and Fun Ways to Feed Even the Pickiest Eater. The book was shot by Matt, and as the title indicates, it's a fun book all about cooking for (and involving) kids in the kitchen. As she says,"one of the hardest jobs around." I asked Jennifer to share her favorite cookbooks with us today, and she happily obliged.
JENNIFER'S COOKING STYLE (in her own words):
I have to say, to my surprise, after working on this I realized that most of the books I chose were about joy and happiness. Before doing all this cooking with kids I think I may have chosen different titles. Thanks Heidi, I learned something about myself!
My cooking style is currently dictated by cooking for and with a toddler. My core belief lies in, texture, texture, texture and color. I started as a sculptor and collage artist and my cooking style reflects that. It is all about what looks good and how the textures intermingle. I'm a terrible recipe follower so my most successful meals come from ingredients I already have on hand or want to experiment with.
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