Too Many Cooks – Book Review and Giveaway

You might remember back in May I mentioned that I had Too Many Cooks: Kitchen Adventures with 1 Mom, 4 Kids, and 102 Recipes on my Kitchen Book Wishlist. After hearing about this book I wrote the author, Emily Franklin, to tell her how wonderful it sounded that if she’s like me to do a blog book review I’d be happy to oblige. I’ve since read and loved the book, and I think many of you will too. One thing I really appreciated was how short the chapters were. It made for a great book to read a little bit of here and there, which is mostly how I have to read these days. Read on for my review and how you can win a copy of your own!

Emily’s attitude about the everyday has made me want to seek the beautiful in what sometimes ends up feeling like mere routine. I loved all the heartwarming family stories. It’s not to say she sugar coats everything. Expect to empathize with her on the frustrations of motherhood and observe as her family is deeply saddened by the loss of a loved one. The point is, Emily doesn’t seem to dwell on the tragedies of life. She embraces life and makes the most out of it.

Before I started goodLife {eats} I had high hopes of creating a fun family blog. A place to record the cute stories and fun memories. To show some perspective on what daily life is like, though sometimes tough, seeking to find the good in life. Though the concept sounds great on paper, I couldn’t get motivated, instead moving on to another project – goodLife {eats}. She has set a great example of how to combine the family aspect with the food memories. I don’t think I’ll feel the pull and guilt of family blogging anymore. My love of food is something I share with my family on a daily basis and there are more than enough family memories found in my kitchen. After all, the kitchen is where we spend much of our day.

And let’s not forget the food! Emily seems to have a cooking style similar to mine. We like to make up things as we go. Alter this and that. Make new variations. Every chapter left my tummy grumbling for a bite or two of what I’d just read about. I’ve made a couple of her recipes so far and they’ve all been fantastic. We especially loved her recipe for Rosemary-Sage-Apricot Crispy Chicken. I used the leftovers for the Roasted Chicken, Apricot, and Brie Panini

Emily shows you how to make real food for real families without having spaghetti every other night. She’s dedicated to teaching her kids about food culture and testing the limits of their tastebud preferences all the while making it feel like a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

Thanks, Emily, for sharing your family and recipes!

The Rules:

• Leave a comment on THIS post by 11:59 pm July 4th for a chance to win a copy of Too Many Cooks.
• Anonymous comments: leave your email address and first name in the comments.
• 1 random winner will be announced July 5th.
• Entries that do not abide by the rules will be deleted.
• Contest open to anyone, anywhere!

Extra Entries:
Additional entries can be earned by doing any of the following, giving you up to 2 extra entries. Leave a separate comment for each of these items.

• Tweet about this giveaway. Include @goodLifeEats and a link to the giveaway in your tweet. Leave the link to your Twitter post in a comment.
• Vote for goodLife {eats} for Best Eye Candy Blog in the BlogLuxe Awards (you can vote daily).

Congratulations, Kristen! You are the lucky winner!