Monday, September 13, 2010

Annabel Karmel: You Can Cook {Review and Giveaway}- CLOSED

Over the weekend my daughters and I decided to try out some of the recipes from the book I received by Annabel Karmel. The cookbook is called, “You Can Cook” and it’s specifically written for kids. After watching an episode of Master Chef last week my five year old daughter told me that she wanted to be a chef so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. Initially I was a little disappointed with the book I was sent because my favorite part of cookbooks are the pictures and this one had the first few pages in color but then the rest of the book printed in a somewhat pixely black and white grayscale print, I assumed this was only because I was receiving a copy to review and that the one in stores will be in full color. There was also a duplicate page spread in my book but again I assumed it was just a rough draft of the book itself and I was just grateful not to be missing any pages.
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I liked that the beginning of the book talked about kitchen hygiene, safety and equipment. My five year old and I went over all of this before starting anything. The first thing we decided to make was the Tomato and Cheese toast. It looked delicious and it was time for lunch so it worked out perfectly! It was an easy thing to start with and grandma and grandpa ate it with us too- everyone loved it! My five year old was so proud that she had made most of it all by herself with only mom’s stand by guidance.
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The next day we decided to bake something, both my 5 year old and 6 year old helped with this one. Now I must first say that I consider baking a technical art and that it is so important to be precise with measurements. We decided to try the “Best Muffins Ever” and the variation we chose was for Double Chocolate ones. The directions, ingredients and measurements were fairly easy to understand and laid out well but when it came to the substitutions you needed to make for the double chocolate muffins it was a little confusing. They referred to the flour and cocoa powder measurements in tablespoons rather then in cups like the original recipe laid out. Now being one who loves to bake I knew that 1/4 cup is 4 T. The recipe called for 1 1/4 cups of flour and the substitution said to replace 2 tbsp flour with 2 tbsp cocoa powder. There was also something else that was worded similar to that we had to sit down and figure out. To me that’s quite confusing and being a book for children I would think that it would be written in a little easier terms. So it did take me a few minutes to figure everything out but the muffins ended up great! We actually baked them right before hosting a football game party at our house so they were gone within minutes and we didn’t even get a picture.
There were a few things in the book that my kids thought didn’t look very good- specifically the fish dishes but I like the variety of recipes they had and I liked that they weren’t too simple but still great for kids. My kids begged to make the smoothies in there but we weren’t stocked with the correct ingredients so we’ll be pulling the book out again in the next few days.
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Giveaway ends 9/30 at Midnight (Pacific Time). Winner will be chosen via random.org and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Winner will be posted on this post- if an email is given, they will be contacted. Open to US contestants only.
Disclosure: This review is based on my own honest unbiased opinion of Annabel Karmel’s You Can Cook Cookbook. You may or may not agree with my opinion. I was sent product free of charge to review. Annabel Karmel or anyone associated with the production of this book was not involved in the writing of this post.

40 comments:

ericksonzone

I follow sms
jcinthezone@gmail.com

ericksonzone

I have your button. ericksonzone.blogspot.com

ericksonzone

I have your button.

ericksonzone

I entered the Tinkerbell giveaway.

keller

I would get the family plan one or the kid cooking one. I am always looking for new things to cook and my kids love to cook in the kitchen with me. So I would love both books.

keller

I follow. jlkeller3@verizon.net

keller

I entered Tinkerbell. jlkeller3@verizon.net

keller

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Dawn W

I'd get the kids cooking one - our kids love the kitchen.

Dawn W

I follow too.

Dawn W

Tinkerbell giveaway.

Dawn W

English Trifle giveaway.

The Green MomSter

I would also love to try the Top 100 Baby Purees with my little one. He is 4 months and will be moving to solids any time.

elkmeese at yahoo dot com

The Green MomSter

I'm gfc follower Lindsie

elkmeese at yahoo dot com

The Green MomSter

I'm an email subscriber

elkmeese at yahoo dot com

The Green MomSter

I entered the tinkerbell giveaway

elkmeese at yahoo dot com

Heather R

I would like to have the Annabel Karmel's Complete Family Meal Planner. It will help me to plan ahead and create healthy meals for the whole family.

thransom@gmail.com

Anne

I would like to try her Superfoods for Babies and Children cookbook.
annemolino at hotmail dot com

Anne

SMS FB Fan

Anne

follow SMS on twitter

Anne

I entered english trifle giveaway

Anne

I entered tinkerbell prize pack giveaway

Anne

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Emily Robison

I would like to try out the complete family meal planner
erobison09@gmail.com

Emily Robison

I follow SMS on Fb
erobison09@gmail.com

Emily Robison

I follow SMS on Twitter @erobison09
erobison09@gmail.com

Ruth

The Fussy Eaters Recipe book sounds like what we need!

ruthaw_1974@yahoo.com

Ruth

I forgot to say why I wanted the book--my daughter is a fussy eater.

your facebook fan

ruthhill74

Lauren

I like the Toddler Cookbook.

Lauren

Follower of SMS blog

Lauren

Fan of SMS on FB

Lauren

Entered the English Trifle giveaway

Lauren

Entered the Giggle Gumdrops giveaway

HomemadeBaby

The Fussy Eaters Recipe Book sounds fantastic!
marysa at marysa dot com

HomemadeBaby

I follow your blog with Google Friend Connect (“HomeMadeBaby”)
Marysa Nicholson
Marysa at marysa dot com

HomemadeBaby

I follow you on Facebook.
Marysa Nicholson
Marysa at marysa dot com

HomemadeBaby

I entered your English trifle giveaway.
marysa at marysa dot com

HomemadeBaby

I entered your Tinkerbell giveaway.
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HomemadeBaby

I entered your Giggly Gumdrops giveaway.
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