ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN TAKES THE CAKE!

Something's cooking in Idaville. In fact the whole town has kitchen fever, and Encyclopedia and his friends are right in the midst of it. Among the stolen items he and Sally recover in this set of cases are Josh's birthday cake and garlic bread, two electric mixers, and Twitty's autographed potato. (They are too late to retrieve Candida's watchgoose, however; it's already served as someone's "chicken" dinner.) And Encyclopedia is able to identify the real thief of the school clubs' money because the alibi presumes the presence of a table knife at a Chinese restaurant. What's more, between cases Encyclopedia and his friends enjoy a spaghetti dinner, a Fourth-of-July picnic, a Mexican fiesta, and more; and readers are provided with the recipes to duplicate their feasts. Alas, with ingredients like canned refried beans, canned vegetables, and, worst of all, packaged shredded cabbage, this isn't the best introduction to cooking. But the mere presence of food adds a festive note. . . and who could resist the hero's own Encyclopedia Brownies?