Monday, November 3, 2014

October Corn Chowder



Our last October Food Revolution Ambassador Challenge was to make Jamie’s Corn Chowder recipe. My family loved this one! Not only did they love eating it, my oldest also loved helping to make it. She pretty much made this on her own while I read the recipe to her. It is a great comfort food recipe that is quick enough for a busy week night. I also love that it uses 1% milk instead of heavy cream. So give this a try on a crisp, fall night. Add a green salad and some fresh bread and as Jamie says, “tuck in.” 

Jamie Oliver’s Corn Chowder

Serves 4

Ingredients


1 celery stalk
1 medium onion
1½ tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 cups 1% milk
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, peeled and cut into little cubes
3 scallions
2 cups frozen corn 
¼ cup chopped fresh chives and/or parsley (optional)


METHOD


  • Pull the leaves from the celery stalks and set them aside. Chop your celery and onion.
  • Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the celery (not the leaves), onion, and thyme. Stir until the vegetables start to brown.
  • Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir for a few more minutes. Pour in the milk, add the cut potatoes and bring to a boil, stirring the whole time so the soup doesn’t stick to the pot. Cook until the potatoes are tender, but not mushy – this will take around 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, chop the celery leaves, trim the ends off the scallions and slice them thinly. When the potatoes are tender, stir in the corn, scallions and celery leaves. Bring the soup back to the boil, then serve.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Throw Back Thursday!

October totally got away from me and that’s a shame because I loved October’s Monthly Challenges for the Food Revolution Ambassadors. Since I’ve run out of time I’ve decided to cheat a little bit and take advantage of the fact that today is Thursday. So, here’s a little Amy’s Food Revolution Throw Back Thursday to answer two of this month’s challenges.

1. Using leftovers! Make something awesome from what you have left in your fridge and or cupboards without heading to the shops. 

Answer: One of my favorite leftovers recipes is from Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Cookbook. Here’s the post from when I made Leftover Curry Biriani during my food revolution.


2. Scare yourself this Halloween! Try out a recipe that has always scared you. 

Answer: This one is easy, before I started my Food Revolution I was scared to death to roast a chicken. 



Tune in tomorrow for the last challenge!


Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Soup’s On!



The weather is getting cool and crisp and I’ve been fighting my first cold of the season…and craving Jamie Oliver’s sweet potato and chorizo soup. This soup recipe is a favorite in our house and has been since I first made it during my Food Revolution. It is made with my favorite food on the planet, sweet potatoes, and the spicy chorizo sausage is great for clearing out your sinuses when you are sick. Since then I’ve made it so many times and have even included it in some of my cooking classes.  Our second challenge this month was to share a recipe that you like to make for specialty diets.  I had so many great ideas for this ( I love spaghetti squash as pasta for example) but once I was sick this is the recipe that kept coming to mind for this challenge. Creamy soups in the fall are the best but my kids and I can be a bit sensitive to dairy. This recipe is great because it is dairy free but tastes so creamy after you’ve blended it. Enjoy!


Sweet Potato and Chorizo Soup
From Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution
Ingredients
1 3/4 quarts chicken stock 
olive oil
2 large carrots, peeled
2 celery stalks, sliced evenly
2 medium onions, peeled and rough chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 3/4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and rough chopped
7 ounces chorizo sausage, sliced
small bunch fresh parsley, fine chopped
1 heaped teaspoon Madras curry powder
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 fresh red chile, fine diced (This is just for garnish at the end, I bought very spicy sausage so I actually topped mine with either plain yogurt or grated cheddar and also some nutmeg)

Bring the stock to boil in a saucepan. Let it simmer on the back burner.
Bring a large pot to medium-high heat. Pour in the olive oil. Put all the chopped and sliced foods (all the veggies and the chorizo) into the hot oil. Add the curry powder and mix it all up.
Cook until the carrots have softened but are not falling apart and the onions have turned a little golden, about 10 minutes.
Pour in the hot stock. Give the soup a stir and let it come to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the soup until the sweet potato is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Season the soup with salt and pepper. Stir. Taste. Season it to your taste.
Blend the soup with an immersion blender (easiest) or by pouring it into a large blender or food processor. This part is very important and totally "makes" the soup!
Jamie says top with diced chile and serve but I used some plain yogurt and nutmeg.




Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Let Them Eat Cake



The Food Revolution Ambassadors are celebrating our second anniversary this month. So, for our first challenge for September we were tasked with making a celebratory food. We've just finished up birthday season at my house so I know a little something about celebrating. Eight family birthdays in six short weeks. Of course, CAKE is the first food that comes to mind when you think of the word celebrate. That's a lot of cake! We get creative and do ice cream cake, cookie cake, cupcakes of course and this year - a new one - my son picked whoopie pies for his celebratory treat. Now, I'll admit, I'm not a fabulous baker. During the 365 days that I worked my way through the Food Revolution Cookbook there (luckily) wasn't a whole lot of baking involved. But that means my baking muscles haven't been worked like my cooking muscles have.  I've never had a successful "bake a cake from scratch" experience but I was intrigued by the Hummingbird Cake recipe that came with our challenges this month. I love the name and I love that it is a sneak peak of Jamie Oliver's new cook book, Jamie's Comfort Food, which is being released in the US today.
Not to give away the ending first, but I actually did it! This Hummingbird Cake was the first cake I've made that was not from a box that didn't end up in the trash. 
The cake, like most comfort food, involves time but the result is a refreshing cake that was perfect on a late summer day. The bananas and the pineapple make the cake so moist and although cream cheese frosting isn't my favorite I loved that this frosting has lime zest and juice in it. Now, the last part of the recipe is to make a pecan brittle topping. It might be tempting to just skip this part. Don't do it! One thing I learned from my Food Revolution is don't skip anything in a recipe.  Look at it as great practice in the kitchen and another step towards being a better cook. It may sound intimidating but the pecan brittle was easy to do and it made the cake so delicious!
So, if you are looking for a special occasion treat, give Hummingbird Cake a try! You'll be glad you did.

Hummingbird Cake 

Cake: 1 cup olive oil, plus extra for greasing, 2 1/4 cups self-rising flour, 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon, 3 cups superfine sugar, 4 medium very ripe bananas, 1 x 15-oz can of pineapple chunks, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 oz pecans
Icing: 3 cups confectioners' sugar, 2/3 cup unsalted butter (at room temp), 7 oz cream cheese, 2 limes. 
Brittle: 1/2 cup superfine sugar, 2 oz pecans

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 9-inch cake tins. Sift the flour and cinnamon into a mixing bowl, then add the sugar and a large pinch of sea salt. Peel the bananas and mash them up with a fork in another bowl. Drain and finely chop the pineapple and add to the bananas with the oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until combined, then fold into the dry mixture until smooth. Finely chop the pecans and gently fold in, then divide the batter evenly between your prepared tins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until risen, golden and the sponges spring back when touched lightly in the centre. Run a knife around the edge of the tins, then leave to cool for !0 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Meanwhile, to make the icing, sift the confectioners' sugar into a free-standing electric mixer, add the butter and beat until pale and creamy. Add the cream cheese, finely grate in the zest of ! lime and add a squeeze of juice, then beat until just smooth – it’s really important not to over-mix it. Keep in the fridge until needed. To make a brittle topping, place the superfine sugar and a splash of water in a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. Shake flat and don’t stir it, just swirl the pan occasionally until dissolved and lightly golden. Add the pecans and a pinch of salt, spoon around to coat, and when nicely golden, pour onto a sheet of oiled greaseproof paper to set. Once cool, smash up to a dust (you’ll need about half to top the cake)

To assemble the cake, place one sponge on a cake stand and spread with half the icing. Top with the other sponge, spread over the rest of the icing, then grate over the zest of the remaining lime. Scatter over the brittle dust and decorate with a few edible flowers, such as violas, borage or herb flowers, if you feel that way inclined. With a cup of tea on the side, this will make everyone who eats it extremely happy. 

Recipe taken from Jamie's Comfort Food.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Happy Birthday Food Revolution Ambassadors!

It’s hard to believe but the Food Revolution Ambassadors are celebrating their 2nd birthday. I remember two years ago when I was asked to be an ambassador and I’ve loved getting to know my fellow ambassadors from all over the world. We keep in touch in our group on Facebook, have google hangouts and follow each others cooking adventures on Twitter and Instagram. It is a great group of humans and I’m so lucky to be a part of it. A huge thank you on this anniversary to Jamie Oliver and his amazing staff who keep us up and running and inspire us too!
Happy Birthday JOFR Ambassadors!
Hugs,
Amy

And now…on to the September Monthly Challenges! Here are the challenges I’ll be working on this month. Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Twitter and let me know if you’re trying any of these out as well. I’d love to hear from you!

September Monthly Challenges
1). Celebrate! Wish the awesome Food Revolution ambassadors a happy 2nd birthday and do some celebratory cooking. 
2). Speciality diets. Whether it is vegetarian, diary-free, gluten-free or vegan, share recipes and photos of your go-to special diet recipes.

3). Back-to-school! This year as US schools head back they are improving the snacks and beverages sold through the #smartsnacks rule. Find out what changes have been made at your local schools.

Monday, September 1, 2014

Cook More.

The end of August snuck up on me and I didn’t get my last post up yesterday but I couldn’t let such an important challenge sneak by so here it is…

August Challenge #3 Share with us your top tip for food education. What one skill or piece of advice would you teach to/share with others?

I love this challenge. When I started cooking my way through Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Cookbook four years ago, I had no idea how to cook. Fast forward four years later and I’ve cooked my way through the book, had a pretty successful blog, taught cooking classes, written articles for Jamie’s website and the Food Revolution Ambassadors are about to celebrate their second anniversary. My favorite and probably the most unexpected part of my journey though has been the emails and comments from family, friends and strangers who have been inspired by what I did. The most common thing I hear is “I’m JUST like you were and I don’t know where to start!” 

What I always tell them is that you don’t need to do something crazy like I did. My idea actually started very simply with a New Year’s Resolution to “Cook More.” That’s it. Just decide you are going to cook more. Get your family involved. Don’t be scared. Just jump in there and do it. If you’ve read my blog from the start you will know that things did not always go smoothly in the kitchen when I was learning to cook. Give yourself permission to laugh and have fun. As long as you don’t burn the house down (I’ve had a few fires during my Food Revolution) it will all be okay. Once you’ve decided to “Cook More” you can add a bit at a time. Try a new recipe a week. Go to the Farmer’s Market. Get your kids in there to help you in the kitchen. It will come. Just laugh, have fun and cook more.

Friday, August 22, 2014

Last Day of Summer Frozen Yogurt Pops



It is the last day of summer vacation for my kids. The summer flew by. To mark the occasion we made Jamie’s Frozen Yogurt Pops today, August Challenge #2. 

Jamie’s Recipe:
2 small ripe bananas
6 ounces frozen strawberries or 1 cup frozen blueberries
2 cups non-fat plain yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
Blend together in a food processor or blender. Use any ice pop molds or even paper cups and popsicle sticks and freeze. 

I knew that being a kitchen gadget queen would come in handy eventually! We made them in our blender and then put them in the zoku ice pop maker. My sister gave it to my daughter for her birthday a few years ago. It’s a cool, creative and fun gift for any young chefs with a birthday around the corner. 

Feel free to play around with the recipe and make it your own. Here’s what we did:

1 medium ripe banana
6 oz. frozen mixed “Berry Medley” (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries)
2 cups non-fat plain yogurt
2 Tablespoons honey


They looked pretty and were super yummy too! 

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Birthday Outdoor Dining

For the first August Food Revolution Ambassador Challenge (Share photos of family and friends dining outdoors)....


We take advantage of our patio a lot for dining from Spring to late Fall. A favorite outdoor dining event each year is my daughter’s birthday party. She plans the party all by herself. She scours Pinterest and plans everything from the decorations to the menu. We do the shopping together and then spend the day in the kitchen working on making the food on her menu. She’s very creative and its a great way to spend time together. On this year’s menu we had quinoa salad, rainbow fruit kabobs, meatballs and birthday punch. Past menus have included tomato, mozzarella, basil skewers and fruit cornucopias (fruit salad served in waffle cones). 


Her dad and I hang twinkly Christmas lights in the back yard and she puts tea lights in mason jars.  Her friends always have a great time and I love spending time with her in the kitchen!

Here are some photos from her big event!










Saturday, August 16, 2014

August 2014 Food Revolution Challenge Overview

August is always a busy month for us and, as you'll see in the upcoming weeks, these challenges fit right in!

Here are the August Food Revolution Ambassador Challenges:

1. Share photos of family and friends dining outdoors.
2. Make Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution frozen yogurt pops.
3. Share your top tip for food education.

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Real Food Inspiration



Food Revolution July Challenge #3: “Why do you eat real food? What inspires you to eat real?”

When I read the last Food Revolution challenge for July, I immediately knew what I wanted to write about. Before I started my Food Revolution in 2010, I was in a book club and we read Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. I loved it. I immediately wanted to read more of his books. My favorite is Food Rules. One of his rules rings so true and I think of it very often. “Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.” I was lucky enough to live close by and grow up with two of my great grandmothers. I think of them often when I’m in the store looking at go-gurts, fruit snacks and blue anything. It makes me giggle. What would my great grandmother think of blue go-gurt? 

My oldest was only eight when I started cooking my way through Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution cookbook but she is almost 12 now. She has been a big help this month with my food revolution challenges. She helped make the stuffed zucchini for the first challenge and she helped pick a good Maryland crab recipe for the second. She asked what the third challenge was tonight while the two of us were on a walk. She said, “Real food is when you take the time and put in some love to make food for your family.”  Wow. I was super proud. Memories of all the meals I struggled through to learn to cook during my Food Revolution came flooding back. She was there watching. We had never talked about it but there it was. While Michael’s book is why I eat real food and Jamie is the one that taught me to make it, they aren't what inspires me. She does.


Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Crab Imperial

For July’s second challenge, “share a staple dish from your country,” I decided to go a step further and do a recipe from my region of the USA. Raised in the great state of Maryland, I knew the dish I picked had to have Maryland Blue Crab in it. Below is my great grandmother’s recipe for Crab Imperial.

Lena’s Crab Imperial

Ingredients

Imperial
1 Tbsp green pepper (diced small)
1 Tbsp pimento (diced small)
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
6 saltine crackers
1 egg (slightly beaten)
1/2 tsp Old Bay (or more if you’re a fan of Old Bay!)
1 lb lump crab meat

Topping
2 egg yolks
2 Tbsp mayonnaise

Mix all of the above Imperial ingredients except the crab meat. Add the crab last and fold in gently. Put the mixture in an oven proof casserole. 

Now for the topping…

Mix together 2 egg yolks and 2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise. Spread this over the top.


Bake at 425 degrees about 1/2 hour.

Enjoy!

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Stuffed Zucchini

For July’s first challenge (make a healthy meal for 4 for just $10), I made Stuffed Zucchini. It is one of my childhood favorites and something I often asked for as my birthday dinner. The recipe serves 8, if you cut it in half for four, you can feed a family of 4 for just $7.30! For the sake of the recipe, and if you happen to be making it for friends for YOUR birthday dinner, I’ve left it to serve 8.
One other note, my mom uses rice instead of quinoa. I forgot to buy rice at the store and used quinoa in its place and it turned out great! Feel free to substitute rice back in for the quinoa if you’d like.

Stuffed Zucchini
serves 8

1 lb ground beef ($5.59)
1 cup quinoa ($4)
1 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes ($1)
1/2 cup of pasta sauce (.50)
4 medium-large sized zucchini ($3)
2-3 slices of bread (.50)
butter
salt and pepper to taste

Serving 8: $14.59
Serving 4: $7.30

Preheat oven to 375. 

In a large pot of boiling water, boil your zucchini until they are tender. 

While you wait for the zucchini, prepare quinoa according to its package directions. 

When the rice and zucchini are done set both aside.

In a skillet, brown the ground beef. 

Add in the can of diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup of pasta sauce (I just use whatever happens to be in the fridge at the time). 

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and let it simmer for a few minutes. 

Add the quinoa to the mixture and season to taste. 

Slice each zucchini in half lengthwise and place open on a baking sheet.

Stuff the quinoa/meat mixture into each zucchini half.

Break up the slices of bread or pulse them in a food processor to make bread crumbs. 

Melt about 3 tablespoons of butter and soak the bread crumbs in it to make buttered bread crumbs.

Top the stuffed zucchini with the buttered breadcrumbs.

Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the zucchini.

Remove from oven and serve with corn on the cob and garden fresh sliced tomatoes for the perfect summer dinner!




Tuesday, July 15, 2014

July 2014 Food Revolution Challenge Overview

One thing I love about being one of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Ambassadors is that each month we are sent Food Revolution challenges to complete. I've never really talked about them in my blog but that's about to change. Each month I'll let you know what our challenges are and how I complete them. There may even be a few that you want to try.

Here are the July Ambassador Challenges:

1. Create a healthy meal on a budget for a family of four. The budget should be 10 US dollars.

2. Share a staple dish from your country.

3. Why do you eat real food? What inspires you to eat real?

Friday, May 16, 2014

“What Food Revolution Day Means to Me”

Four years ago, I couldn't cook. I was a mom of two and I could barely boil water to make pasta without making a complete mess. My husband often took over in the kitchen and we would throw dinner together every night. It made me feel awful. I wanted to cook for my family and I was determined to become a good cook. I have great memories of my own family cooking amazing meals from scratch and I was feeling the impact of not passing those traditions on to my children. After watching the movie, Julie & Julia, I decided that I could do something similar and that might also teach me to cook. I would cook all of the recipes in a cookbook in 365 days and I knew at the end I'd HAVE to be a better cook. When I started looking for a book, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution was just hitting the stands here in the US and the first season of his TV show by the same name was also about to begin. The idea of his book, teaching everyone how to cook for their families and then teaching others to do the same with the "pass it on" pledge was just what I was looking for. I started in March of 2010 and cooked all 173 recipes in 365 days. It was a life changing experience. Not only did I learn to cook but through my blog (which I honestly only thought my family and friends would read) I encouraged others to do the same. Then, in a strange turn of events I ended up teaching cooking classes at Whole Foods and becoming one of Jamie's Food Revolution Heroes. It was more than I could have ever imagined! Fast forward four years later and I’m still a Food Revolution Ambassador and today we are celebrating the third annual Food Revolution Day.

Teaching children to cook is one of Jamie’s biggest missions and it is what Food Revolution Day is all about. He talks about how passing on food traditions has skipped a few generations and now people aren’t cooking at home. I love that Jamie is teaching children to cook and I’d like to help out by encouraging the mothers of those children to start a Food Revolution in their own kitchens. One thing I’ve learned from my blog is that I’m not alone. A lot of the women of my generation missed the boat in the kitchen department, however it’s never too late. Start small. Start today. Ask your kids to help you and learn together. Talk about where the food comes from while you cook. Keep in mind that even though it’s about the food, it’s also not about the food. It’s about togetherness and cooking together is one of the greatest gifts you can give to your children.

If you can’t get to an FRD event and need an idea for dinner or an after school snack follow me on Instagram or Twitter today for a virtual tour of the produce section and some great recipes.

@amysfoodrev
#amystour
May 16, 1 p.m. EDT

Have a great Food Revolution Day!



Monday, April 28, 2014

Blog Restart

I know, I have some serious explaining to do. Did you think I had deserted? Called it quits? It's funny, when I cooked my way through Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution cookbook in 2010-2011, the writing came super easy. It was a real adventure that was exciting and full of lots of great stories. When I started cooking my way through Meals in Minutes, the stories and the writing just didn't come as easily. I got farther and farther behind in the writing part of the blog and eventually gave up. Let me assure you though that I'm still cooking. I'm still talking to others about cooking and I'm still a Jamie Oliver food revolution ambassador. I've been talking to lots of friends, supporters and other bloggers about this blog and the direction it should take. I think my new adventures will inspire you too. Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@amysfoodrev) and/or Facebook (Amy's Food Revolution). Thanks so much for all of your emails and the encouragement to get back in the writing game. Also, be sure to mark your calendar for Food Revolution Day on May 16!