I don't think there are many in the United States who have not heard of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution program on ABC at this point. The issue at hand? How we as a society are killing our children with what we are feeding them. It's a cause that hits me particularly close to home as a mother of a toddler, and as a foodie.
I'll be the first to admit, we ate a great deal of processed, boxed and frozen foods in my house when I was growing up. It wasn't that my mother couldn't cook, (on the contrary!) but that she was a single parent working long hours to keep a roof over our heads and didn't have hours to slave over pans in the kitchen. I was never big on fruit, and to this day I struggle to include enough vegetables in my family's diet.
While interviewing the head chef at my chosen culinary school about job prospects upon graduation, he mentioned the possibility of a corporate chef at a large food manufacturer. I tried not to let the despair the idea of working for a place like that caused me cross my face. I was once a truck driver, and I've been to these food manufacturers and been appalled. Many times the smells emanating from outside were not even close to delicious...especially once you look at the nutrition facts on the side of a box.
Food should be about whole ingredients whenever possible, love, sharing and great flavor. My 16 month old daughter already has a wider palate than many adults I know. I do not always spend hours in the kitchen - on the contrary for with a toddler demanding most of my time meals have to be thought out and made in the minimum time possible. It's not more expensive to eat well, I promise. I buy whole ingredients, capitalizing on coupons and sales as well as the bulk section of my local health store grocers and ethnic markets. I eat in season when possible - sure, sometimes you crave strawberries in February, but I try to keep to the growing season as much as possible - and shop my local farmer's markets to minimize transit time on vegetables and fruits. (I also hauled produce, and the severe under-ripe nature of how things are picked to survive transit and a wait period in the stores would amaze most people). I've eliminated most products in my house that contain High Fructose Corn Syrup - and that includes the bread we buy! My $20 used bread machine takes all the labor out of making a lovely whole wheat bread.
I challenge you on this Food Revolution Friday to examine what you eat and feed your families. Really take a look at it. I challenge you to make one small change in your habits. Maybe it's eating one vegetarian meal a week. Maybe it's cooking one meal, no matter how simple, in your home instead of eating out. Maybe it's replacing one boxed item with something made from scratch (for example, I make bechamel sauces for casseroles rather than using condensed "cream of..." soups).
Please, go visit Jamie Oliver's website and join in the Revolution. The link is in my sidebar....go on, it's ok. You can come back to me when you're done!
Showing posts with label jamie oliver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jamie oliver. Show all posts
April 9, 2010
March 30, 2010
Special Spaghetti Cake
I love comfort food, and I think it's why I'm drawn to so many of Jamie Oliver's recipies. They are comfort food with a touch of class, and generally I don't have to be very spendy with my ingredients. My suggestions? The two things do not skimp on the cost of should be cheese and herbs. Herbs can be cheap, of course, if you grow your own - but if you don't, I'm a huge fan of the living plants you keep in the fridge for a few days. I've even had great sucess in transplanting these into soil to keep growing if I don't need all the herb at once! Once you cook with fresh herbs and full flavored cheeses, you will never be able to go back.
This simple pasta dish blew me away with it's abundance of flavor. It looked fabulous on Jamie Oliver's website, and I had to give it a try. I have to be honest, the idea of an oven baked spaghetti pie sounded a bit off, but trust me, follow the recipe - it's well worth it! You'll notice in my photo that my pan was not quite large enough. The pan you see there is a 10" pan - when he calls for an 11" pan, heed that warning! I made it with my smaller pan, but it was overflowing and mounded up high on top.
Adapted from Jamie Oliver's website.
600 ml (approx 2.5 cups) double cream*
4 large eggs
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
100 g (approx 1/4 lb) mature cheddar cheese, grated **
100 g (approx 1/4 lb) "smelly cheese" (Brie, Stilton, or goats cheese), cubed ***
2 large handfuls of baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 fresh red chili, deseeded and chopped (I had a small serrano left over from last year's farmer's market - it worked well, seeds and all)
1/2 of a small jar of sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, drained and roughly chopped (I found the more the merrier with the tomatoes, so don't skimp!)
1 box of just cooked spaghetti (I use whole wheat pasta only - and out of those my favorite is Hodgson Mills - but standard is fine as well)
Knob of butter
Few fresh sage sprigs, leaves picked off stems.
1/2 - 1 lb chicken thighs, boneless/skinless, cubed ****
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). In a large bowl beat the double cream and eggs with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Add the grated Cheddar, most of the smelly cheese, the spinach, chilli, sun-dried tomatoes and the cooked spaghetti. Gently stir to mix well.
Melt the butter in an ovenproof frying pan, around 11inches in diameter, and swirl it around so the base of the pan is nicely coated. Slowly pour in the spaghetti mixture and shake the pan to even the mixture out. Bake in the hot oven for 30 minutes until it starts to crisp on top. At this point, take it out of the oven and use the back of a spoon to make small indents into the top of the bake. Toss the sage leaves in a little olive oil then press one into each dip with a small cube of the remaining cheese on top.
Return to the oven and cook for 10 more minutes until crisp. Remove and leave to rest for a few minutes. Serve in wedges with a fresh green salad on the side.
Notes from the Kitchen:
*double cream is not available in the US except if you have a really great relationship with a local dairy. Heavy whipping cream is a decent substitute in this recipe from my own trials, read the carton and get the kind with the highest fat content possible.
** I used a nice smoked cheddar by Tillamook. It was economical and we love the remnants on crackers!
*** I used an imported Stilton I found at Reasors' (local grocer) for a great price. While generally not a fan of blue cheeses myself, the Stilton really carried the dish here.
**** The chicken is not in the original recipe. I added it as I had some chicken that needed to be used from a previous recipe. If you decide to use some as well, cook the chicken seperately before starting, and then add right before the spaghetti is added to the pan. I just pan fried quickly with some salt and pepper in a little canola oil.
This simple pasta dish blew me away with it's abundance of flavor. It looked fabulous on Jamie Oliver's website, and I had to give it a try. I have to be honest, the idea of an oven baked spaghetti pie sounded a bit off, but trust me, follow the recipe - it's well worth it! You'll notice in my photo that my pan was not quite large enough. The pan you see there is a 10" pan - when he calls for an 11" pan, heed that warning! I made it with my smaller pan, but it was overflowing and mounded up high on top.
Adapted from Jamie Oliver's website.
600 ml (approx 2.5 cups) double cream*
4 large eggs
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
100 g (approx 1/4 lb) mature cheddar cheese, grated **
100 g (approx 1/4 lb) "smelly cheese" (Brie, Stilton, or goats cheese), cubed ***
2 large handfuls of baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 fresh red chili, deseeded and chopped (I had a small serrano left over from last year's farmer's market - it worked well, seeds and all)
1/2 of a small jar of sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, drained and roughly chopped (I found the more the merrier with the tomatoes, so don't skimp!)
1 box of just cooked spaghetti (I use whole wheat pasta only - and out of those my favorite is Hodgson Mills - but standard is fine as well)
Knob of butter
Few fresh sage sprigs, leaves picked off stems.
1/2 - 1 lb chicken thighs, boneless/skinless, cubed ****
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). In a large bowl beat the double cream and eggs with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Add the grated Cheddar, most of the smelly cheese, the spinach, chilli, sun-dried tomatoes and the cooked spaghetti. Gently stir to mix well.
Melt the butter in an ovenproof frying pan, around 11inches in diameter, and swirl it around so the base of the pan is nicely coated. Slowly pour in the spaghetti mixture and shake the pan to even the mixture out. Bake in the hot oven for 30 minutes until it starts to crisp on top. At this point, take it out of the oven and use the back of a spoon to make small indents into the top of the bake. Toss the sage leaves in a little olive oil then press one into each dip with a small cube of the remaining cheese on top.
Return to the oven and cook for 10 more minutes until crisp. Remove and leave to rest for a few minutes. Serve in wedges with a fresh green salad on the side.
Notes from the Kitchen:
*double cream is not available in the US except if you have a really great relationship with a local dairy. Heavy whipping cream is a decent substitute in this recipe from my own trials, read the carton and get the kind with the highest fat content possible.
** I used a nice smoked cheddar by Tillamook. It was economical and we love the remnants on crackers!
*** I used an imported Stilton I found at Reasors' (local grocer) for a great price. While generally not a fan of blue cheeses myself, the Stilton really carried the dish here.
**** The chicken is not in the original recipe. I added it as I had some chicken that needed to be used from a previous recipe. If you decide to use some as well, cook the chicken seperately before starting, and then add right before the spaghetti is added to the pan. I just pan fried quickly with some salt and pepper in a little canola oil.
