Hungry Monkey - Paperback

by Matthew Amster-Burton (Author)

A memoir from restaurant critic and food writer Matthew Amster-Burton about the joys of food and parenting, and the wild melange of the two.

Matthew Amster-Burton's experience with food has changed...a little. Since becoming a full-time, stay-at-home Dad to his daughter, Iris, he's come to realize that kids don't need puree in a jar or special menus at restaurants and that raising an adventurous eater is about exposure, invention, and patience.

He writes of the highs and lows of teaching your child about food--the high of rediscovering how something tastes for the first time through a child's unedited reaction, and the low of thinking you have a precocious vegetable fiend on your hands only to discover that a child's preferences change from day to day (and may take years to include vegetables again).

Sharing in his culinary capers is little Iris, a budding gourmand and a zippy critic herself who makes huge sandwiches, gobbles up hot chilis, and even helps around the kitchen sometimes.

Hungry Monkey takes food enthusiasts on a new adventure in eating and offers dozens of delicious recipes that "little fingers" can help to make.

Front Jacket

One of my greatest fears is imagining my daughter insisting on nothing but crustless grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken" McNuggets. "Hungry Monkey" goes a long way to allaying that concern. I finished the last page and immediately set about making her Thai Shrimp Curry." --Anthony Bourdain, author of "Kitchen Confidential"""Matthew Amster-Burton was a restaurant critic and food writer long before he and his wife, Laurie, had Iris. Now he s a full-time, stay-at-home Dad and his experience with food has changed a little."Hungry Monkey" is the story of how Amster-Burton came to realize that kids don t need puree in a jar or special menus at restaurants and that raising an adventurous eater is about exposure, invention, and patience. He writes of the highs and lows of teaching your child about food--the high of rediscovering how something tastes for the first time through a child s unedited reaction, the low of thinking you have a precocious vegetable fiend on your hands only to discover that a child s preferences change from day to day (and may take years to include vegetables again). Sharing in his culinary capers is little Iris, a budding gourmand and a zippy critic herself--who makes hug sandwiches, gobbles up hot chilis, and even helps around the kitchen sometimes."Hungry Monkey" takes food enthusiasts on a new adventure in eating-- with dozens of delicious recipes and notes on which can accommodate help from "littlefingers." In the end, our guide reminds us: "Food is fun, and you get to enjoy it three times a day, plus snacks!""

Back Jacket

A memoir on the wild joys of food and parenting and the marvelous melange of the two

"Amster-Burton is equal parts Mario Batali, Ray Romano, Dr. Spock of toddler cuisine, and Mr. Spock of toddler logic. He's a national and intergalactic culinary and literary treasure." -- Steven Shaw, author of "Turning the Tables" How lucky for Iris that she landed in the Amster-Burton family and how really lucky for us that we can tag along on their adventures and learn how to make pretzels and pad Thai, too. -- Dorie Greenspan, author of "Baking: From My Home to Yours""This charming, funny book is full of great ideas for family meals. In a world of culinary pandering to kids, where vegetables in disguise pass for cuisine, Amster-Burton gets the recipe right."--Neal Pollack, author of"Alternadad"

"With its incisive wit and hilarious stories about Iris, "Hungry Monkey" made me want to have a child-- just so I could start feeding her." -- Shauna James Ahern, author of "Gluten-Free Girl"""Hungry Monkey"reads so well you won't be able to put it down...except when overcome by a need to rush to your kitchen and execute one or another of his winning recipes." -- Paula Wolfert, author of "The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen"

"Amster-Burton cast some sort of enchantment over me as I read about his all-too-real-life culinary adventures with his daughter. The proof? I actually found myself thinking: if Matthew were my dad, I don't think I'd mind being a little girl... or even a sock monkey... if I got my share of every meal." -- John Thorne, author of "Outlaw Cook" and "Mouth Wide Open ""

Author Biography

Matthew Amster-Burton is a restaurant critic, food writer, and former rock journalist with credits in The Best Food Writing, The Seattle Times, Gourmet, Seattle Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Parent Map, culinate.com, and egullet.com--as well as his food blog, Roots and Grubs. He lives in Seattle with his wife Laurie, a school librarian, and his daughter Iris.