Niam! Cooking with Kids: Inspired by the Mamaqtuq Nanook Cooking Club

by Kerry McCluskey

Overview

“Niam” is an Inuktitut word that means “yum,” and the recipes in this book are kid-tested for tastiness—a sure sign that they will live up to the name!

From simple smoothies to jerk chicken to pizza from scratch, there is something in this book for all taste buds and skill sets. All the ingredients are readily available in Nunavut communities, and all the recipes can be made with country food, so kids both north and south can learn how to create the perfect palaugo (a delightful hybrid of pogos and palaugaaq, traditional Inuit bannock) or make a mean meatball.

Inspired by the Mamaqtuq Nanook Cooking Club, this cookbook isn’t just about simple, delicious, kid-friendly recipes. Woven in amongst the tacos and the sugar cookies are ways to use cooking to give back to the community, traditional Inuit knowledge about country food, and lists of skills that kids will develop as they work their way through each recipe. With recipes for even the littlest chef, this book offers the most delicious kind of learning. Niam!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781772272550
Publisher:	Inhabit Media
Publication date:	04/28/2020
Edition description:	English Edition
Pages:	60
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.38(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Kerry McCluskey is a long-term resident of Iqaluit, Nunavut and has no plans to return to southern Canada. Kerry and her son River like spending time outdoors, at the rink, and in the kitchen.

Table of Contents

Introduction About This Book Smoothies Sandwiches Mini Quiche Stuffed Potato Skins Pizza Palaugos Bird Fingers Jerk Chicken Tacos Meatballs Meatlove Chili Love Muffins Sugar Cookie Gingerbread Cookies No-Bake Surprise Cookies Start Your Own Cooking Club

Editorial Reviews

"McCluskey’s cookbook offers kid-friendly recipes while providing a glimpse into the Inuit way of life...So much more than your typical kids’ cookbook!"—Kirkus Reviews

"You can hear the “Niam” (the “Yum”) practically bounding off the page...this is a delightful and socially conscious cookbook for kids."—School Library Connection

From the Publisher

04/01/2020

Gr 2–5—This short cookbook is inspired by the author's experiences developing a school cooking club in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada. Primarily written with adults in mind, this book acts as a guide to developing a cooking club for children that focuses on food preparation and healthy eating. Sixteen kid-tested and approved recipes cover perennial favorites like tacos, pizza, and sugar cookies. Each colorful, easy-to-navigate recipe includes ingredients, directions, and skills learned while cooking; adult assistance is needed for most recipes. Photographs of the Mamaqtuq Nanook Cooking Club stand out amidst a multitude of impersonal stock photos, adding a personal element to the book's otherwise generic design. Short "Community Involvement" segments occasionally share interesting Inuit food culture knowledge. Though this book has potential as a learning tool, it lacks mass appeal as a children's cookbook due to its limited scope. VERDICT An additional purchase for large libraries looking to diversify children's cookbook collections.—Pearl Derlaga, York County Public Library, VA

School Library Journal

2020-03-01
McCluskey’s cookbook offers kid-friendly recipes while providing a glimpse into the Inuit way of life.

Inspired by a kids’ after-school class the author leads in Apex, Nunavut, this cookbook is suited for use at home or in a group environment. While the direct audience is Inuit communities, any child who loves pizza or meatballs will enjoy learning and cooking from it. Each recipe aims to teach basic kitchen skills such as measuring ingredients, cracking eggs, and dicing vegetables, and little cooks will find the simple recipes easy to follow. Sugar cookies require only seven ingredients and are ready in nine easy steps. Certain recipes highlight Indigenous ingredients like caribou, musk ox, and seal meat. Readers below the Arctic regions need not worry—there are always store-bought substitutions. Palaugos—hot dogs or sausages wrapped in traditional Inuit palaugaaq (bannock)—is one recipe children will devour. Additionally, many recipes offer examples on community involvement. Cookies and muffins can be served at school events; the mini-quiche recipe can be timed with egg-gathering season in Nunavut or World Egg Day. Full-page photographs and a well-organized layout make the cookbook fun and easy to use. Backmatter offers practical steps to setting up a cooking club, from finding funding to developing a weekly schedule and community involvement, plus a glossary of Inuktitut terms.

So much more than your typical kids’ cookbook! (Nonfiction. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews