A vegetarian family dinner menu to accompany the children’s book The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.
This year, our Family Dinner Book Club theme is Books and Movies Through the Ages. This month is the 1920s with The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. Growing Book By Book has a booklist and conversation starters for you. Sunny Day Family created a cute craft just for the occasion!
The Velveteen Rabbit is a sweet book about a boy who loves a stuffed rabbit, and a rabbit who loves the boy and wants to become a real rabbit through the magic of the nursery. This book is a tear jerker! It is a quick read, and any child who has a beloved stuffed animal will relate to the story.
So What’s on This Table?
This vegetarian dinner menu is designed with the rabbit in mind. Rabbits love carrots, right? Right! So we have a fresh pasta made with real carrot juice. You can make this pasta fully by hand with no special equipment, although a pasta roller makes the process easier. A simple sauce of olive oil, parmesan cheese, cherry tomatoes, and asparagus rounds out this carrot pasta dish to make a stunning and satisfying main course.
Strawberry Spinach Salad is a colorful nod to the Spring season here in Southern California. I’m sure rabbits would love to nibble on some fresh spinach and sweet strawberries. A few sliced radishes add an interesting peppery crunch while the balsamic lime dressing is both sweet and tangy.
Bunny Rolls have got to be the cutest way to add some tasty carbs to a meal. This idea came from Plated Cravings, and I just had to add them to our Velveteen Rabbit dinner menu.
Carrot Cake! What bunny doesn’t love something sweet for dessert? Carrot cake is a spring time classic and a much loved recipe in our family. I hope it becomes a favorite for you, too.
Get the Kids Involved!
Kids absolutely can and should help with the cooking. It can get crowded and messy in the kitchen, but I always love when we’re all cooking together.
The bunny rolls are perfect for little hands to roll and shape. They might not come out looking exactly like bunnies, but your little bunnies will love the process and the end result! Kids of all ages can help roll the pasta dough using a rolling pin or a pasta machine. Older kids can help saute the cherry tomatoes and asparagus for the pasta sauce. Measuring and mixing ingredients for the carrot cake is a great introductory cooking lesson. This is where it will get messy, but will be so much fun!
I would love to see your family in action! Tag me @chefsarahe on social media with photos of your family cooking, eating, and reading together. Let me know what everybody’s favorite parts were.
The Velveteen Rabbit
Family Dinner Book Club
Dinner Menu
Carrot Pasta with Spring Vegetables
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Bunny Rolls
Honey Vanilla Lemonade
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Oh my goodness, this menu looks amazing. I can’t wait to have it.
I can’t find the pasta recipe. Is it linked somewhere else?