I Cooked Like a Superhero for a Week and It Wasn’t a Total Disaster

Peeling the integrative disconnected a microwave meal is usually the grade of my culinary efforts. But for 5 days, I decided to marque an exception.

There person been respective superhero-themed cookbooks implicit the years. I conscionable grabbed the archetypal 1 I recovered portion searching eBay: The Official DC Superhero Cookbook by Matthew Mead. It was published successful 2015, which amazed me. All of the creation passim the publication is taken from Bronze Age comics (and the occasional vintage doll/action figure), giving it an older, classical feel.

(I could person bought a shiny caller mentation from Barnes & Noble for $25 bucks oregon so, but I got this transcript disconnected eBay for $4. If you program connected utilizing the stencils successful the back, though, you whitethorn privation to bargain caller conscionable to marque definite they’re clean.)

As you whitethorn imagine, this cookbook is aimed astatine kids, and the recipes bespeak that. They’re beauteous basic, truthful adjacent young children tin grip them with an occasional assistance from a “sidekick”/adult. But hey, similar I said, I don’t truly navigator much, truthful the simpler, the better. I’m besides not immoderate of the fabulous folks down Cookbook Showdown, truthful don’t expect beauteous nutrient photos either. What you spot is what the nutrient volition astir apt extremity up looking similar if an existent kid makes it. Consider this a nationalist work announcement.

This pasta crockery gets its Plastic Man taxable from reddish and yellowish peppers (matching the colors of his costume) and melted shredded food (which stretches!).

The Result

Going by the representation successful the book, I didn’t enactment astir capable cheese. There should beryllium a shroud of shredded food implicit the pasta. It besides looks similar they added capsicum and parsley, which I besides did not put.

In my defence (get utilized to that phrase), there’s nary existent look with this one: the publication fundamentally conscionable goes “put these ingredients unneurotic successful this order, it’ll beryllium fun!” It’s a elemental crockery that your cheese-loving kid volition astir apt like, though they mightiness prime retired the peppers if they’re fussy. Honestly, I was tempted.

Fortunately, my dada was a nonrecreational cook and managed to salvage it into thing vaguely presentable, oregon astatine slightest edible.

They tasted conscionable fine, though: they’re sandwiches successful a antithetic form, which could marque lunchtime much exciting.

I deliberation I’ll effort these again different time to spot if I tin bash better.

This 1 besides didn’t spell rather according to plan: the look says to chop the pistachios earlier adding them to the batter, and I, uh, forgot.

The Result

Thank the Guardians, they sensation good! A batch similar carrot cake, actually.

You volition enactment that it is not green. Despite putting what seemed similar an exorbitant magnitude of greenish icing gel into the mix, the batter lone hardly changed color. (The look says “add greenish icing gel arsenic desired.” NOT HELPFUL, SIR.) So conscionable cognize that, if you marque these, you volition request to beryllium braver with the gel than I was, oregon you volition request to find…stronger gel? Is that a thing? Maybe effort nutrient coloring.

I besides changed the topping from what the look calls for (on intent this time). It says to premix sweetener and pick food for frosting and past enactment halved greenish grapes connected top. I don’t similar elaborate toppings connected cake-like foods, and determination was already a batch of sweetener successful the mix, truthful I conscionable enactment a small pick cheese, doodled a Green Lantern insignia connected top, and that was bully for me.

I could easy devour them plain, too, but if you’ve got a emblematic kid, they’ll astir apt similar arsenic overmuch sweetener arsenic possible.

Day Four: Wonder Woman Pizza + Pinwheel Redux

First happening I did contiguous was effort the Magic Pinwheels again. I changed up the filling, though: I enactment turkey, jelly, and pick food to marque thing approximating an Elena Ruz. My main extremity present was to get the pinwheel portion right. And I did! Redemption!

Okay, present for the main event. There are respective pizza recipes successful here, but I picked this 1 due to the fact that it involves making a mini pizza retired of an English muffin. I’ve made pizza bagels before, but I’ve ne'er heard of an English muffin pizza, truthful present you go.

The Result

Despite a deficiency of instructions akin to the fettuccine recipe, this 1 is beauteous basal and came retired astir precisely the mode it looks successful the book, but that I couldn’t chopped the halves evenly.

We again usage reddish and yellowish peppers — this clip chopped into vaguely star-like shapes — to lucifer the colour of the hero’s costume. Peppers service this intent a lot successful this book, truthful if your kid hates peppers, possibly find a substitute oregon conscionable instrumentality to the recipes that don’t usage them.

Unless your kid is precise young, this astir apt won’t marque a implicit repast for them, truthful you mightiness privation to brace it with 1 of the featured broadside dishes, specified as…

Also, the rubric of this crockery is simply a lie: you microwave frozen corn, past sauté it with butter, salt, capsicum (the spice), and — you guessed it — peppers (the veggie). There is nary roasting going on. How could you prevarication to me, Ronnie! Or Jason! Or whoever you are now!

The Result

In the book, they suggest cutting orangish and yellowish peppers into triangle shapes and putting them astir the maize truthful it looks similar a sun. But if there’s 1 happening I’ve learned this week, it’s that I don’t similar peppers arsenic overmuch arsenic I thought. So alternatively of wasting peppers, I enactment the maize connected a achromatic sheet truthful it resembles the prima hanging successful the bleak, bare wasteland of space. This maize represents man’s eternal solitude successful the universe.

Maybe it’s conscionable due to the fact that I usually devour maize plain, but I liked the operation of flavors successful this one. And it was truthful casual that adjacent I could bash it!

I liked however forgiving these recipes were. I botched 3 retired of five, but they inactive turned retired edible, which I deliberation makes The Official DC Superhero Cookbook a amusive prime for kids and incompetents novices. Some of the recipes bash necessitate existent work, and immoderate are hardly recipes (tie a reddish napkin to a blistery canine truthful it looks similar a cape!), but if you’ve got a superhero instrumentality successful the house, this is decidedly a amusive mode to spice up mealtime and/or promote your kid to devour peppers.

If you’re looking for much bookish cookbook adventures, cheque retired I Cooked My Way Through a Jane Austen Cookbook. Here’s How It Went.