'My philosophy to food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced, and sane way. Food is one of life's greatest joys yet we've reached this really sad point where we're turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of. I believe that when you use good ingredients to make pasta dishes, salads, stews, burgers, grilled vegetables, fruit salads, and even outrageous cakes, they all have a place in our diets. We just need to rediscover our common sense: if you want to curl up and eat macaroni and cheese every once in a while – that's alright! Just have a sensible portion next to a fresh salad, and don't eat a big old helping of chocolate cake afterwards." Jaime OliverRecently I discovered Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Admittedly I've never seen a Jamie Oliver cooking show. Nate & I first noticed Oliver on This Week with Christiane Amanpour (a steady part of our diet around here.) Oliver's story of teaching Britain's & Americans how to cook hit home with me, so did his note that American's spent more on fast food in 2007 than they did on education! This blew my mind.
"We're not talking about gourmet French cheeses and expensive cuts of meats here. . . we're talking French fries, pizzas, burgers, and other food that is absolute garbage." Jamie Oliver, Food Revolution
Personally, I love to cook. Food is a wonderful art form that crosses cultural barriers. It's also an everyday activity that nourishes my family and creates an environment that draws people together. I grew up with a wonderful history of hospitality. One shared by both my parents. Unfortunately, I didn't spend enough time in the kitchen to really learn how to cook from my mother. Maybe because I wasn't interested in traditional American cuisine or I'm just not very patient. It wasn't till Nate & I were developing our own home and culture that I discovered how much I loved global cooking. Having friends who create an excellent environment for people to gather helped. My point--I still have a lot to learn and I'm looking forward to creating more scratch meals from every type of tradition.
Oliver's Food Revolution combines fresh & affordable ingredients, two of my favorite concepts. Adding to the reasons I love it are his recipes from all over the world, and a belief that great home made food is healthy, because it isn't processed and enjoyed in moderation. Regardless of weather you agree with Jamie's ideals, cooking these recipes have been fun and simple. The best part has been feeding it to family and experiencing their enjoyment. Having family around constantly has been my favorite part of Dallas. Feeding them has simply been an inspiring way to get to know them!
Some of our family favorites have been:
Cauliflower Cheese
Best Ever French Beans
2 comments:
Thank you for the kind words and link! We miss you guys terribly, jim's party wasn't the same without you this year! Any time you want to visit our home is always open to all of you.
We love Jamie Oliver, loved the Food Revolution. Inspiring, especially after reading, "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan, have you read that? Excellent. I'll have to check out Jamie's cookbook--I'm not as exotic an eater as you all :) but I do need better/healthier recipes these days. Love you, miss you.
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