"My seventeen year old daughter is the only one in our neighborhood who knows how to put gas in her car," said my dental hygienist, Sandy.

She had me laid back in a dental chair and was making my teeth as clean and white as she could get them. I stared up at her expressive dark-brown eyes and her dark brown hair that here and there showed a streak of silver gray. But as usual when I'm sitting in a dental chair, I couldn't say more than "Uh-huh" which in this case meant "How strange!"

"None of the other girls knows how," Sandy continued, "because their dads take their cars to the gas station every Monday morning before school, fill them up, and drop them off at home before leaving for work."

I managed to squeak out another "Uh-huh" while trying to curb my swallow reflex until Sandy could vacuum out my mouth. This time, I meant, "I'm sure the dads are doing it because they love their daughters. But what will happen when the dads aren't around?"

Sandy, in the appropriate style for a dental hygienist who is used to carrying on one-way conversations, continued her line of thought. "My oldest daughter called the other day. She said, 'Mom, my microwave is broken!' She was frantic. I didn't think it was a big deal but I said, 'That's too bad!' She said, 'But Mom, I don't know how to use the stove in my apartment!'"

I continued to listen while my teeth got cleaner. By the time we were through, I learned about other teenagers who didn't know how to sew on a button, knit or crochet, change a flat tire, or plant flowers in a garden.

"With both parents working, who has time to show the kids how to do all these things?" Sandy asked.

"Well," I thought to myself, "perhaps that's why our grandkids have grandparents."

Our seven year old granddaughter, Kira, ran up to me on our last visit and held up a cookbook. "Let's make breakfast," she said.

In the kitchen, Kira opened her cookbook to a recipe for Pretend Soup. It was divided into nine simple steps. Each step appeared in its own little square on the page. I was amazed at how easy it was to follow the recipe.

Without any help from me, Kira got out orange juice, yogurt and other ingredients as well as a mixing bowl and spoon. Then, following the recipe, she quickly created a delicious breakfast for the whole family. She had never made the recipe before but she did it in about fifteen minutes with no trouble. Even then, probably half the time went to chatting about school and friends rather than directly into cooking.

The name of the cookbook is Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes by Mollie Katzen and Ann Henderson. Katzen is the author of the famous Moosewood Cookbook. Charmingly written and illustrated to make each step understandable and simple, Pretend Soup is the sort of book that any grandchild, from preschooler to ten-year-old, would love. The recipes make delicious dishes that grandparents, parents and siblings will enjoy tasting. Besides the recipe for Pretend Soup, there are such recipes as Number Salad, Bright Pink Fruit Dip and Green Spaghetti. As you can see, the names are fun and interesting.

If you've read Seven Activities You Can Do with Your Grandchildren When They're a Thousand Miles Away,you'll recall that cooking is something you can do together over the phone. This book is excellent for that purpose. It makes cooking fun.

You can learn more about Pretend Soup by Mollie Katzen and Ann Henderson at Amazon.com or at your local bookstore.