Friday, August 15, 2014

Summer Bloggin' Blog Tour: Pam McElroy, editor of The Green Teen Cookbook

I'm so excited to be involved in Zest Books' Summer Bloggin' Blog Tour! I was fortunate enough to snag interviews with Sophie Maletsky (of Sophie's World fame), and Pam McElroy, who are respectively behind the two featured books. Make sure you check out both posts!


It's time for an interview with Pam McElroy, editor of The Green Teen Cookbook: Recipes for All Seasons - Written by Teens, for Teens.


     1.   The Green Teen Cookbook sounds like a great resource for college students - I remember graham cracker nights in the dorms! What was the impetus for putting this book together?

Because of a similar experience! One night I dumped 1/2 a bottle of cheap Italian dressing on a piece of dry chicken breast, and I knew there had to be something better! There are so many things I could have been eating instead, for about the same cost...even less! Mostly, I was under the assumption that I needed fancy cooking tools and utensils, lots of money, and a culinary degree in order to prepare a quality dinner, and was I ever wrong! I hope The Green Teen Cookbook will give young and new adults confidence when it comes to cooking for themselves and their friends. A great meal is just a few dollars and a few ingredients away.

     2.   I think eating seasonally is something that not a lot of people consider - would you mind quickly explaining what it is and how it makes a difference?

Choosing to eat seasonally is one of the easiest and most effective ways to preparing a delicious meal. Fruits and vegetables are their tastiest and juiciest at the peak of their season - think tomatoes and corn in the summer, Brussels sprouts and pumpkin in the fall. Besides fresh ingredients, not much else is needed in preparing a dish. Also, seasonal ingredients are also way less expensive - how much do you think it costs to ship those peaches to your big-chain supermarket in the middle of December?

     3.   If you had to choose a favorite recipe from the book, which on would it be and why?

I am a big fan of recipes that can be enjoyed all year-long by adjusting a few ingredients depending on the time of year. For example, soups that swap out spring peas for green beans from spring to summer, or grapefruit to apricots from winter to spring. Throughout the book there are suggestions and tools to help readers do this themselves. The tomato sauce, for example, should be made with fresh tomatoes in the summer, and high-quality canned and jarred tomatoes in the winter. There are many variations of pesto throughout the book as well - pesto with arugula, basil, etc. Pesto can be made all year long: simply switch out the flavorful leaves, herbs, or greens for whatever is in the height of the season. Happy cooking!


My grandmother has been trying for years to get me cooking - these straightforward, affordable recipes are exactly what I needed to dip my toes in the water. Yum! Grab your copy of The Green Teen Cookbook today and start eating well.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pam McElroy, co-editor of The Green Teen Cookbook, is an editor and caterer living in San Francisco, California. She edits books of all genres and caters under the name Meatball Maven. She has also been involved in the food industry since she was a teen - in restaurant kitchens, as a caterer, and as an editor for dining magazines. Her hobbies include reading cookbooks cover-to-cover, shopping at farmers markets, and cooking epic and seasonal meals for friends and family.

Product Details
  • Reading level: Teen Nonfiction
  • Paperback: 144 pages
  • Publisher: Zest Books (July 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-13: 978-1-936976-58-4

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