Review: George Washington's Breakfast

After our trip to Mt. Vernon, my Mother-in-Law picked up a copy of George Washington's Breakfast for our 7 year old.

What a wonderful book! Besides cleverly teaching history about George Washington, it does an excellent job of modeling problem solving. Not to mention, it's well written enough that the whole family could enjoy listening to the story.

*** SPOILER ALERT ***

My only complaint with the book is that after revealing George Washington's simple breakfast, it neglects to give the recipe for the main course: Hoecakes. However, thanks to the power of Google, I was quickly able to find the recipe. So, here it is:

2 cups corn meal
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups boiling water
oil for frying

Put the tea kettle on to boil. In a large bowl combine the corn meal and salt. When the water boils, measure it in a metal or tempered-glass measuring cup. Pour the boiling water over the cornmeal and stir it up. The cornmeal will swell up, absorbing the water, and making a very thick mash.

Heat some oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. You can use as little as two tablespoon of oil per panful, but it is a little easier to use 4 or 5 tablespoons of oil for each panful. ...

Read the entire recipe here.

All in all an excellent book. Can't wait to actually try the recipe.