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Annabel Karmel Family Cookbook, Winter and Christmas

By dulwichmum | December 9, 2009

Name of product: Annabel Carmel Family Cookbook, Winter & Christmas

Price: £5.99

The blurb: “It is full of fun and healthy recipes for all the family during the cold winter months.”

The book includes everything from baby purees through to foods from around the world, in an effort to encourage parents to introduce different flavours to children from an early age. There is everything from high taste low effort lunch box ideas for busy parents to advice on allergies, visually exciting and creative ideas for scrummy dishes which are fun and engaging for children to help to create, for Halloween, Christmas and bonfire night.

First impressions: This magazine type book, is written by the trusted children’s food writer, Annabel Karmel. I must admit that just a few years ago, I adored the idea of cooking with my poppets, but that was until they began to toss eggshells in the magimix and sift icing sugar onto the cat (OHMYGOD). Until recently, I developed a nervous twitch in my bottom slapping hand at the very thought of cooking with Max and Freya… I had never found cooking with them anything but stressful and found that the only way to construct fairy cakes with their assistance, was if they sat quietly on the naughty step while I did everything. This book has provided me with lots of fresh and engaging ideas! There are several recipes which my darling progeny actually helped to cook and agreed to eat. Despite my early successes with butternut squash puree when they were tiny, my darlings became very fussy eaters and until recently, refused to allow anything to pass their lips that did not come to the table enrobed in crispy breadcrumbs or smothered in tomato ketchup (OHMYGOD)!
The ideas for Halloween baking were incredibly good fun, my poppets had a ball cooking with me (we looked like an advertisement for the Cath Kidston catalogue!), and they were a huge success at our annual Halloween party. We have tried many dishes from the book now, including baked macaroni cheese with ham and tomato, tasty salmon balls and toasted tuna muffin. I really can’t gush about this book enough. It has genuinely helped us to turn a corner, but I must admit that some of that was about the fact that the photos of the fun looking dishes, made us all excited about our projects together.

Ease of Use: All of the recipes in this book are great to construct with the help of my children. I am really quite inspired by it.

Pros: This book has given my children a new lease of life with regard to their diet. I am really feeling rather tearful…

Cons: None, although I suppose I would be happy to buy this book if it was a book so that it is more hardwearing. Little sticky fingers are all over it!

Value for money: I think it is a complete bargain.

Dulwichmum verdict: