Everybody Cooks Rice

Rice with steamed vegetables and tofu for dinner last night. Then we pulled a couple books and all sat on Madeleine’s bed to read. (Charlotte was being a bit of a pip but we managed).

Everybody Cooks Rice
Norah Dooley 1991
Illustrated by Peter J. Thornton

Carrie is sent to find her brother and on her search she stops at all the neighbors' houses while dinner is being made. It turns out each neighbor is making some sort of rice dish distinctive to the country they are from (like Haiti, India, Vietnam, China). Wonderful representation of multiculturalism for children. And the last page has recipes for the dishes.

Mr. and Mrs. D. are from Barbados. It was Thursday, so their grandchildren, Sean and Stephanie, were over having their favorite dinner- black-eyed peas and rice. At the front door I could smell fried onions and bacon. It made my mouth water. I ate a small cup of rice and black-eyed peas while Mr. D. told stories about Barbados. People swim there and go fishing- even in December!


There was a big party at the Krishnamurthys' house last weekend, so Rajit's mother cooked a fancy, colorful Indian dish called biryani. It's made with peas, cashews, raisins, lots of spices, and a special kind of rice called basmati rice.

I wonder who lives on such a multi-cultural block? I sure wish I did!