Wow I’ve done it – I have my first book in the iTunes Apple iBookstore!

I’ve spent much of my university holidays working on a series of new publications for you – this first one is now available.

You are going to love this – for any of you are iPad fans this is so so cool! This first book is summer stuff – light summery food, barbecues, salads and in of course there are some sweet treats too!

I have five review copies to give away – if you would like a free copy to review please email  glenda@foodsavvykids.com and she will send you a code.

Click here to see the blurb etc in iTunes…

Teenager Claire Gourley shares her food discovery journey with easy, quick recipes and tips to get kids food savvy. For kids aged 9 – 16, this book reflects Claire’s food motto – “I don’t do complicated” and is all about making cooking fun and achievable.
Claire recipes work, taste great and are really really easy. If she didn’t find them reliable, tasty and easy, she ditched them! She has added lots of photos, tips and things kids will probably want answered as they are cooking… for anything a bit tricky she links to her YouTubes.

Claire wants to know enough about food to take good care of herself. She figures lots of kids are the same as her – they love eating food but they’re always busy with friends, school and sport, so they can’t really be bothered spending too much time cooking – but that doesn’t mean want to settle for average food!

It’s My Turn To Cook takes kids on Claire’s food journey as she has worked out what she needs to know to get food savvy! She has gathered quick, easy recipes made a lot of YouTubes, and asked a lot of questions. She intertwines food and nutrition tips so that while kids are cooking they also get skills to make good food choices.

Many cookbooks are written by adults for adults and while they may look beautiful they are often boring… Claire doesn’t do boring!! This informal chatty approach has much appeal with kids of all ages.

The other two titles are now finishing off are

• It’s My Turn to Cook Quick Food and
• It’s My Turn to Cook Bread

You guys have to use mince so the biggie here is making sure your meat pattie is cooked properly. Not too hard but quite a few kids get this wrong so listen up!

The patties can’t be served undercooked, rare or pink. You need to make sure the internal temperature gets to 70^oC (minced meat and hamburger patties should be thoroughly cooked to an internal temperature of 70^oC.) You need to know how long it takes, at what temperature to get a pattie your size to that temperature. Check it when you practice.

btw – If you really want to impress the judges you will  likely get noticed for using a temperature gauge as it highlights your knowledge of cooking!!

The other trick is that the outer surface of the pattie looks and tastes best when it is caramelized to a gorgeous golden brown colour.

So the rule – fry rather than stew.

I have found if you put too many patties in the pan and don’t have it on a medium high heat then you get into trouble. Turns into a stew and is a sort of greyish colour. Not good.

FOR MORE TIPS ABOUT COOKING CHECK OUT BEEF + LAMB SITE

Girlfriend magazine has named the young NZ list  - Young, Awesome and Kiwi As!!! – and guess what …  I am on it! Along with cool names like Shannon Ryan, Gin Wigmore, Brooke Fraser and Maria Tutaia – they say we are successful, inspiring young Kiwis who are remarkable and doing this country proud in their unique way!!!  How cool is that!???

I’ve been asked a bit lately how I got involved in this cooking stuff…

Halfway through 2009 I decided I wanted all my favorite recipes together in one place before I left home. As I was doing that I decided it would be fun to write a book – at that stage I didn’t know that writing a book is a LOT of work!??

My mother has always worked  in food, nutrition, education and cooking areas and I love eating so it seemed a good idea to me. We’ve come to a cool understanding – she knows more about food than me and I know more about what teenagers think and I love speaking and motivating kids my age. So I picked my mothers brain for food ideas and I had ideas of how to present it.  So it has worked out to be a pretty good combination.

I think if you can cook you have a huge advantage. I know there are hundreds of  other food sites and recipe books that are beautiful, but from my perspective, boring. I wanted something with personality  that will make you laugh and make you want to try to cook.

Heaps of fantastic opportunities have happened in the last year – its  hard to believe it is only just over a year since we thought we would do this. Our  first hard copy book Who’s Cooking Tonight? will be available at the end of this month – we are really excited about what the next year will bring!

THANKS SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HAVE  BEEN SO SUPPORTIVE!

To all my friends in Christchurch…  I  have watched in horror as we have seen the earthquake news and what you guys have been going through – I can’t even imagine how tough it must be for you. I hear that research shows that people choose potatoes when they want a bit of comfort – so guys I reckon you should hook into potatoes and you might just feel a bit better. I thought the best thing I could do for you is to share my favourite potato meal – without a doubt a meal of bangers and mash makes the world seem a better place! I have updated the recipe page with my bangers and mash recipe. Thinking of you all – take care, Claire.

This week on Studio 2 I shared my favorite bacon and egg pie recipe – you’ll also be able to get the recipe in my new book which is out very soon!!!  But I give it to you on the video clip anyway.

With Fathers Day this Sunday – how about you make this for his lunch… speaking from experience I know your Dad will love it and he will be very impressed that you made it for him.  With a smile on your face and a plate full of pie it will the best present he will get?!!

Hey  these are my 5 top reasons I think you should  learn to cook before you leave home….