Zojirushi's Umami® Micom Rice Cooker GIVEAWAY

The winner is....Serena Victoria

Zojirushi's Umami® Micom Rice Cooker 5.5 cup (you only win one)

I am so glad that you can't see my office, it's really cute but you'd never know it because it is almost always filled with boxes! The boxes are full of good stuff though, great products people send me to review and give away. This is where you come in, you as reader could be you as winner! I always have something to give away and this time it's pretty amazing.

One of the appliances I can't do without in my kitchen is my rice cooker. When I was at the ABC Baby and Kid show last year the people at Zojirushi were so kind to send me two machines!  I am a multitasker and for some reason can't be trusted to make rice stove top. I ALWAYS burn it, yes even trained chefs burn stuff. Once I experienced one of these rice cookers I couldn't dream of going back to burnt rice. This is by far the best my favorite appliance, well, I love my coffee grinder too but that is for another time. The Zojirushi Micom Cooker has a timer so all you do is add the rice and water, set it for the time you want it to be done cooking (a great feature) and press a button. This machine is so smart, it's like a PC that just happens to cook food.  Truth be told this is not only cute, portable and perfect every time but it plays the cutest little tunes. Yes it plays music...when set, it plays Twinkle Twinkle and when the rice is done it plays another tune but no one seems to know what that tune that is. For about 15 minutes I made it my mission to find out but came up short, let me know if you know what the little song is.

My daughter says that I love this machine too much, "it's just not right you shouldn't hug a machine mama!" The retractable cord is great and it has a handle so you can take it with you, just strap it in to the front seat!  Not because you don't want to be parted from it, but for bringing warm food to a potluck or dinner party.  The warm setting is great, my rice stays warm and doesn't over cook.  It even has a battery which means you can unplug it when not in use and it keeps track of time.

You can make porridge or congee, a thick rice soup popular as a breakfast in some Asian countries. I have not made soups but you can make pretty much anything in it, it even slow cooks.Tapioca works well but we use it for steel cut oats. If you add the oats and water the night before it will be done in time for breakfast! Now that's an easy healthy breakfast, add fruit and you can't go wrong.

The one I own is the 3 cup perfect for our small family, don't think I haven't thought of opening the 5.5 cup that's been in my office! I have will power, not much but I have some. I kept it perfectly preserved for my winner, it's brand new and ready to be shipped. [Rice cooker stats below]

I thought I'd also add a great new cookbook to the giveaway from Michelle Stern.

Her new book is called the Whole Family Cookbook and is available on Amazon.   I am a bit biased since I food styled the book and my husband Matthew shot the photos. It is a great book because all the steps in the recipes are broken down into age appropriate tasks making it easy for all ages. Her Purple Rice recipe will work really well in your new rice cooker!! So have fun with your new rice cooker and cookbook. Rules for entry are below.

Requirements to enter the Zojirushi's Umami Micom Rice Cooker GIVEAWAY:

This giveaway ends on Wednesday, November 9th, 9am PST.
The winner will be generated with Random.org
When leaving a comment make sure you leave your e mail address, if I don't have it I can't contact you.

1. Subscribe to my email updates - enter your email in the box on the upper right of this blog 

and

2. Leave a comment on this blog post telling me you subscribed to my email updates. Tell me what your family's favorite rice add-ins are or what your kids favorite rice dishes are.

To increase your chances to win and receive additional entries, do the following:

• Tweet about this giveaway. Add @chefjen and #toddlercafe to the tweet
• Share on Facebook. Make sure you tell me you shared by commenting on my Facebook page that you did! Make sure to 'Like' my Facebook page!

Blah blah blah...
NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER THIS DRAWING

One winner will be chosen at random. Winner will be chosen in Novato California on November 9th 2011 at 10 am. The winner will be notified via email within one week after the draw. The winner will be required to provide an address to ship the two prizes to the address only be used for shipping purposes.

DISCLAIMERS: All federal, state, and/or local rules and regulations apply; void where prohibited by law. Jennifer Carden is not responsible for late, misdirected or illegible entries. Winners are responsible for any and all taxes associated with their acceptance of any prize. Jennifer Carden is not responsible for technical, hardware, software, telephone or Internet access failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed or incomplete, garbled or deleted computer or network transmissions which may limit the ability to participate in this sweepstakes. Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel or suspend this sweepstakes or any part thereof should virus, bugs, unauthorized human intervention or other causes beyond its control corrupt or affect the administration, fairness or proper conduct of this sweepstakes, including terminating just one phase or portion of the promotion. 

Rice Cooker stats:

The Umami® Micom Rice Cooker Warmer comes with Zojirushi's exclusive Umami setting that soaks and steams the rice longer for enhanced flavor. It also has a Slow Cook function that allows the rice cooker to work like a slow cooker.

• Micro computerized Fuzzy logic technology
• Zojirushi's exclusive Umami setting soaks and steams rice longer for enhanced flavor
• Versatile slow cook function to cook soups and other menus
• Automatic keep warm, extended keep warm and reheating cycle
• Spherical inner cooking pan and heating system
• Delay timer (2 settings)
• Menu settings include: white, umami, mixed, sushi, porridge, sweet, brown, GABA brown, rinse-free, quick cooking and slow cook
• cETLus listed

Model No.	NS-YAC10
Capacity	5.5 cups / 1.0 liter
Dimensions (W x D x H)	10-1/8 x 15 x 9-1/4
Electrical Rating	120 volts / 610 watts
Color	Pearl White
Model No.	NS-YAC18
Capacity	10 cups / 1.8 liters
Dimensions (W x D x H)	11 x 16 x 10-5/8
Electrical Rating	120 volts / 820 watts
Color	Pearl White

The Sea-Saw - How feeding your kids can take you for a ride!

The sea-saw was never my favorite piece of playground equipment. It required two people, and you really had to trust the other kid not to jump off and leave you like the look of the Coyote in the Road Runner cartoon when he realized that he was running with no ground under him. Wide eyed you'd fall to the dusty ground with a disappointed thunk. Now me, I much preferred the swing, smooth, easy to control and you could do it alone but it was even better when a friend was swinging next to you. You could practice jumping off in mid swing and get good air, something to be proud of. Not like the run and dump of the sea-saw.

Feeding your toddler can be something like the sea-saw, first off, it takes two. One is usually very excited (that would be you) and proud of the food you made for this little experiment with a taste-bud studded tongue . "Let's take it for a test drive you say, this kid will love the elaborate recipe I have prepared, I am sure of it." So you set up, the kid is swathed in plastic so you can be sure not one drop of food will touch the tiny pristine shirt. You have worked so hard all day to keep it clean, it would be a shame now to get a stain on it, so close to bedtime. You have a wet cloth and a dry one close at hand, in case a drip or g-d forbid a morsel falls to the floor. You have spent the proper amount of time blowing on the entree to cool it perfectly for your little ones mouth. You approach the hungry one and place some of the food on the tray of the space ship capsule like highchair. You stand back and wait, nothing happens. You try again, snubbed, "don't like it mamma." You are flabbergasted, you feel the mercury rising, the look in her eye, she is going to get off the sea-saw and leave ME wide eyed in mid air. Don't you do it, don't get off, you think to yourself. The flurry of thoughts are bouncing around your head, no, what will she eat...how could she not like this...this is a personal attack on my culinary skills...maybe there is to much oregano, that's it to much oregano. You find yourself tasting it, "hey this is good, what is your problem kid this is delicious." Although you would never say it you are thinking it. (#$@!@#!) Ok, compose yourself, remember you are not on the playground, you are not eight and Jimmy didn't just leave you in the dust.
This is your child, they need to learn how to taste and enjoy food. You can't expect them to just eat every vegetable, or sip every soup just because you made it with love. They need interaction, remember the "airplane, open wide here comes the plane, " that works for a reason. The child needs contact, so put them close to you in a similar chair or even on your lap.
Swing with them, you go up, they go up and you can pass each other on the way down. Make eating like recess, play, talk enjoy and share.