Saturday, May 19, 2012

Nostalgic


On this Food Revolution Day I'm feeling all nostalgic about my journey and looking back on some of my favorite blog posts. Boy, have I come a long way.

Enjoy! And I hope today you'll decide to start a Food Revolution in your own kitchen.

My first post….

And some other favorites…








Friday, May 18, 2012

Strawberries at My House


Hello! Happy Food Revolution Day Eve! Here's another great idea for tomorrow night. 
Here's our menu:
Tray Baked Chicken
Squashed Potatoes
Creamed Spinach
Strawberry Slushie
So, how about a trip to your local farmer's market tomorrow morning for some fresh ingredients including yummy local strawberries and make this for your family and friends tomorrow night? We have big strawberry news at my house! The strawberry plant that we planted in a pot and neglected all winter has come back and has lots of berries. The Kid squealed with delight last night when she tried the first red one! Happy cooking!
from Jamie Oliver's Meal in Minutes page 102
Ingredients:
Potatoes:
1 1/2 pounds small red-skinned potatoes or baby white potatoes
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary
A couple of fresh bay leaves
6 cloves garlic
Spinach:
A bunch of scallions
3 cloves garlic
A few fresh thyme tips
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
A large pat of butter
1 pound prewashed baby spinach
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 ounce Parmesan cheese
Chicken:
Dried oregano
Sweet paprika
A pat of butter
4 (6-ounce) skinless chicken breasts
1 lemon
2 ounces cherry tomatoes
4 slices smoked bacon
A couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary
Seasonings:
Olive oil
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt & black pepper
Drink:
1 pound strawberries, fresh or frozen
A few sprigs of fresh mint
1/2 lemon ice cubes
Sugar, to taste
Directions:
TO START: Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Fill and boil the kettle. Put a medium saucepan on a medium heat, a large frying pan on a low heat, and a large shallow pan on a medium heat. Turn the broiler to full blast.
POTATOES: Wash the potatoes, then halve lengthways (or leave whole if using baby white potatoes), and add to the saucepan with a pinch of salt. Cover with boiled water, put the lid on, and boil hard for around 12 to 14 minutes, or until cooked through.
SPINACH: Trim and thinly slice the scallions. Add to the large shallow pan with a splash of olive oil. Crush in 3 cloves of unpeeled garlic and add a slug of boiled water. Pick in the leaves from a few sprigs of thyme, finely grate in 1/4 of a nutmeg, and add the pat of butter. Leave to tick away for around 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
CHICKEN: Turn the heat under the empty frying pan to high. Get out a large sheet of parchment paper. Sprinkle over a good pinch of dried oregano, salt & pepper, and paprika, then drizzle over some olive oil and add a lug to the hot frying pan now too, along with the pat of butter. Lay the chicken breasts on top of the parchment paper and roll them in the flavors. Add to the hot pan and fry for 4 to 5 minutes, or until golden on both sides. While this is happening, clear away the parchment paper and wash your hands.
SPINACH: Pile the spinach into the pan with the scallions and leave to wilt. You may need to do this in batches, but it will wilt quickly. Keep stirring so nothing sticks.
CHICKEN: Get out a nice roasting pan, then quarter the lemon and chuck it in the pan along with the tomatoes. Tip in the chicken breasts and any juices from the pan. Use tongs to arrange everything nicely, then lay the bacon on top of the breasts. Put the frying pan back on a medium heat, add the sprigs of rosemary to the pan, and move them around so that they get coated in the juices. Pop them into the pan, then put the pan under the broiler for at least 14 minutes.
POTATOES: Check the potatoes are cooked, then drain and let them steam dry for a minute or two. Add a couple of lugs of olive oil, leaves from a few sprigs of rosemary, and the bay leaves to the empty frying pan. Put the potatoes on top of the herbs in a flat layer, drizzle over some olive oil, and sprinkle over some salt. Crush in 6 unpeeled cloves of garlic, then turn the heat up to high. Get a flat lid from a smaller pan and really press down so you burst and squash the potatoes. Leave to color, then toss after about 3 minutes and squash down again.
SPINACH: Stir to help it along. Pour in the cream. Turn down the heat to low. Finely grate in the Parmesan and stir well.
POTATOES: Keep checking, squashing, and turning so the potatoes get golden all over.
DRINK: Hull the strawberries and add them to the blender with a handful of ice cubes, a few mint leaves, and the juice of 1/2 lemon. Add enough water to cover and whiz. Meanwhile, half fill a large pitcher with ice. Taste the mixture in the blender and sweeten if necessary. Pour into the pitcher and stir with a wooden spoon. Take to the table.
POTATOES: Check and squash down again.
TO SERVE: Take the pan of chicken out from under the broiler. Check the breasts are cooked through, then take straight to the table with the pan of spinach. Tip the potatoes onto a platter, take to the table, and tuck in!
Serves 4
Meals cooked: 4
Meals left: 46
Weeks left: 48


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Pregnant Jools' Pasta


Our next menu:

Pregnant Jools' Pasta
Crunchy Red Endive & Watercress Salad
Little Frangipane Tarts

I can totally relate to this one! My pregnancies brought strange cravings of marinara sauce and pasta, not something you think of wanting when you are feeling nauseous 24-7. On days when I could barely think about even walking into a grocery store, I wanted pasta with marinara sauce. I think Jools and I would be great friends!

My mom is visiting for this one and I'm super excited that she gets to eat with us, not to mention having two extra hands in the kitchen. Sometimes my Meals in Minutes cookbook makes me wish I had eight arms.

This would be a great one to try on Saturday, May 19 for Food Revolution Day!

I think this sauce is going to be a forever favorite:

Pregnant Jools's Pasta

4 spring onions
1 carrot
1 stick celery
1-2 fresh red chillies
1 x 6 pack good quality sausages 
1 heaped teaspoonful fennel seeds
1 teaspoon dried oregano
500g Penne
4 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
a few sprigs of Greek basil, or regular basil

Put a large frying pan on a high heat.  Trim the spring onions, carrot and celery.  Roughly chop all the vegetables, then blitz in the food processor with the chillies (stalks removed).  Add the sausages, 1 heaped teaspoon of fennel seeds and 1 teaspoon Oregano.  Keep pulsing until well mixed, then spoon mixture into the hot frying pan with a lug of olive oil, breaking it up and stirring as you go.

Fill and boil the kettle.  Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.

While the pasta is cooking, crush 4 unpeeled cloves of garlic into the sausage mixture and stir in 4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and the tinned tomatoes. (I'd make sure your sausage mixture was nicely cooked and golden brown before adding the tomatoes).  Add a little of the starchy water from the pasta to loosen it if needed.

Drain the pasta, reserving about a wineglass worth of water.  Tip the pasta into the pan of sauce and give it a gentle stir, adding enough of the cooking water to bring it to a silky consistency.  Taste, correct the seasoning, then tip into a large serving bowl and take straight to the table.

For how to make the whole yummy menu:

Meals cooked: 3 
Meals left: 47 
Weeks left: 49




Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Food Revolution Day


Amy's Food Revolution part 2 is going extremely well. I'm on target (Just finished meal 7), I'm learning a lot but you wouldn't know that from my blog, would you? When I decided to take this project on for Round 2 I had a lot of doubts. Most of those doubts were in the cooking department. Even though I am more confident in the kitchen than when I started in March 2010, cooking through a cookbook is still a huge commitment. So, I was surprised when the cooking seemed to be the easy part and writer's block set in. I have two and a half unpublished blog posts because they are just not up to snuff. Why can't I translate to my computer screen this time around? Even though I am learning a lot about a new way of cooking, I just feel uninspired when it comes time to sit down in front of my computer. I know that inspiration is the cure for my writer's block. Who would have thought that the inspiration would come from Jamie Oliver and the Food Revolution team themselves on the other side of the Atlantic?

May 19, 2012
Food Revolution Day!

Jamie Oliver has declared this Saturday, May 19, Food Revolution Day! And his team has asked me to be one of its ambassadors!

Food Revolution Day is a day where people who love food can share their knowledge and pass it on to inspire others and educate their communities about good food habits and support the mission for better food and education for everyone, everywhere.

How can you participate? That's the easy part! This week, in my effort to cure myself of writer's block (and catch up on my blog) I'm going to give you some ideas and recipes. Maybe you can plan a trip to a local farmer's market next Saturday with some friends? Or plan a dinner party but invite the guests to come and help you make a new recipe (check back this week for some menu ideas). Most of all, I really hope you'll make a pledge to start a Food Revolution in your kitchen, just like I did two years ago.

If you do decide to host an event, the amazing Food Revolution Team has created a Food Revolution Day website where you can register an event you are hosting or where you can look for events in your area. 

As our area's ambassador, its my job to encourage participation in Food Revolution Day. Check back regularly this week for some great ideas and also information about some folks in our community that are already working on their events. I'm on Facebook too, so "like" Amy's Food Revolution page for updates on when I've posted something new.

Thanks for reading and happy planning!