By Bonnie S. Benwick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 6, 2008

What a smart mix of Utopian fantasy and culinary reality is "The River Cottage Family Cookbook" (Ten Speed Press, 2008; $32.50; 100-plus recipes), the fourth in a series named for the farm of its British co-author, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Written with Fizz Carr, a farmer and animal welfare advocate, the book has the appropriate tone and information to capture an audience of adults and 'tweeners. Together, they can learn to bake bread, plant salad gardens and shop for free-range meat. It looks like fun, with interesting bits of history contained in 10 ingredient-driven chapters.

That's no minor accomplishment. Granted, the authors live on farms with their families in rural England (with three and five children, respectively). But directions for food-related activities have been composed with modern family life in mind.

In fact, modernity is one of the reasons why this cookbook comes at a key time. Parents who are raising children in the 10-to-14-year-old age bracket probably have had less contact with sources of real food than their parents or grandparents did. "The River Cottage Family Cookbook" attempts to reestablish simple practices: the whys and hows of kneading dough and ways to make sausage and butter at home.

Recipes are written in a real-time format so that preparation steps are clear and thorough. They are as specific as an "oven gloves on" preface to placing a sheet of cheese straws into a hot oven and "how to eat" tips once the food is ready. Refreshingly, there's nary a mention of chicken fingers.

Some dishes are decidedly British; custards and jellies and creamy fish pie might not play to American palates. But the recipes that feature sugar and honey, milk and chocolate are bound to satisfy.

In a way, it's a small shame that the book cover and so many photos inside depict the authors' children cavorting in culinary ways. The basics of food production are covered so well here that anyone, not just those blessed with offspring, should feel welcome to dive in.

Will a family schedule bound by soccer practice, music lessons and allergy shots be able to fit in every River Cottage activity? Unlikely. There are no rules about how many projects should be tackled. However, this month might be a good time to jump in and try a few.