Book Review: Jamie's Food Revolution

So, back in October 2013, some of my Minnesota family came to visit and stay with us for a few days. We had a great time! After they left, I received a package in the mail that was full of goodies from Trader Joe's (none are close to us here), and included a cookbook called, "Jamie's Food Revolution," by Jamie Oliver.

I hadn't heard of him before getting the cookbook, as I don't have cable. However, this book has been my wonderful companion this winter! I tried many of the recipes for my family, and we've liked all of them... some more than others, but they have all been easy to make and yummy! The best thing about the recipes is that you can buy some basic supplies and be set with most of the recipes! He even gives you a list for your larder, to make things simpler.

After making a few of the recipes and being successful with them, I felt inspired to invite people over for meals... and I felt competent! That's a pretty cool thing. It also gave me the confidence to come up with my own recipes, based on ones that I learned in the book and made a few times.


I think that's the best quality of a good cookbook... to give you confidence to create! 

Making Chili Con Carne

Chili Con Carne

Spices for the chili

My little one, after finishing her chili

My daughter loved the chili con carne... I just added a little plain yogurt to it for her. She loves spices and a little heat to her food sometimes. This is one of the dishes that I like giving her because it has garbanzo beans, kidney beans, carrots and other healthy ingredients. I've modified it many different ways, and it's always yummy!

My own creation!

I've made it without meat, using lentils from Trader Joe's (my cousin sent them to me!) and adding portobello mushrooms... they gave the chili a meatiness that's delicious! 

I've also made Jamie's beef stew, using organic grass-fed beef, and with a side of mashed potatoes, peas & my own home-baked French bread....

Recipes for different stews

Making beef & ale stew... yum!

My own French bread

There are lots of ethnic recipes in the book, which I probably would never had tried to make on my own, but he makes it so simple! Some of the recipes only take about 20 minutes to make... like this Moroccan Fish Stew...

So easy, and my daughter liked it!

When I made it for my daughter, I didn't include the shrimp, since I haven't introduced any shellfish to her, yet. She enjoyed the flavors... mainly mixed in with the couscous. She's pretty adventurous, I'll admit. More so than a lot of other toddlers, maybe. Or she saw the peas in the dish and decided that it was going to be alright. Ha ha. She LOVES peas!

So if you're looking for a new cookbook, I'd recommend going out right away to get this book!! It's amazing... it opens you up to new flavors and combos, and a new way of cooking. If you like to eat and you also like to cook, this book is for you! If you like to eat more than you like to cook, but you still have to cook, then this book is for you, too! 

30 Day Drawing Challenge Day 10

You know, I actually like a fair number of candies... but the one that I can't resist, the one that I can't keep around because I'll eat them up too quickly is: Fruity Gummies. To be specific, grapefruit gummies. I don't know why. I like grapefruit, but I don't love it. I love other fruits... but grapefruit gummies have a balance of flavors. I just can't resist them! So that's what I tried to draw...

They just look like slices of grapefruit, sort of, with the general color of a ruby grapefruit's flesh-tones. They're coated with sugar, too, which I couldn't figure out how to show. Anyway, now that I've drawn them, I want some. So I'd better go for my walk, so I can burn some calories, so I can go to the store and buy and eat some grapefruit gummies. :-) The nice thing about the grocery store I go to is that they have bulk nuts and candies, and they sell grapefruit gummies by the pound! I can buy a nice sized bag of gummies for just a couple dollars! Mmmmm... grapefruit.....


On a side note, I tried to make one of Aran's recipes from Cannelle et Vanille... the Eton Mess. I added strawberries to the rhubarb mixture because I had a ton of strawberries that need to get eaten and I've always loved them with rhubarb. This dessert turned out delicious! Here's a picture of it:

It was simple to make, and is quite lovely to look at, too. It would be a nice, light dessert to serve when you have guests. The recipe makes enough for six servings. It's yumm-a-licious! 


I hope you're having a fabulous and creativity-filled day! (I'm going to go walking now, and maybe take a few photos along the way!)

Morels...

On one of our woodsy walks, K and I found some morel mushrooms. I confirmed their authenticity, and then took them home. (Leaving one behind to spore and make more!) Has anyone cooked these before? If so, how do you prepare them to make the most of their flavor? When I looked them up online, everyone seems to be deep-frying them, and I don't want to do that. I only have a few of them, not a whole lot, so I want to really savor their flavor.


Does anyone have an outstanding recipe to share with me? I'd love to know how to cook up some morels! Aren't they the weirdest looking mushroom? I currently have them soaking in salt water in the fridge to kill anything living in/on them. I may have to store them a day or two until I can get ingredients for cooking them... so send me your recipes, please! 


I know that they're a delicacy in France, and used in lots of French recipes. I've never eaten them before, though, so I don't know what the best way to serve them is yet. I've got my fingers crossed that someone will help! :-)


xox   

Roasting Veggies

Every now and then, I like to slice and marinate some veggies, and roast them for various meals throughout the week. They make excellent additions to omelets, paninis, on veggie burgers, etc... 


You can do any kind of roast-friendly veggies, like: zucchinis, sweet onions, eggplant, portobello mushrooms, red peppers... whatever floats your boat!

I slice them up and then drizzle them with olive oil, then sprinkle them with herbs and spices, including salt and pepper. The blend I used here for the zucchini & eggplant (under the zucchini) was a mixture I bought from Italy. It has dried garlic & onion, red pepper flakes, and some herbs that probably includes oregano & parsley and maybe basil. I don't have the packaging anymore, so I'm not certain. I just know it's delicious!


After I finish all the prep, I use my little Breville panini grill to grill them up, as I don't have an outdoor grill right now. It works perfectly, set to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Then I let them cool and refrigerate them until I'm ready to make something. I bought a loaf of Italian cibatta bread from the market, sliced some pieces off it, added some mayo, veggies, and a slice of Mozzarella cheese, and drizzled some olive oil to the outside of the sandwich, then grilled it in my panini press. DELICIOUS!! Also, it reminds me of summer, which I've been needing lately with all this chill. Add a side of some fresh organic grape tomatoes, and you have a lovely little lunch! 


Bon Appetite!  

Hand Drawn Recipes

I've mentioned to you before that I like to paint and draw.... and you know I also like to cook and bake. After seeing a blog post on Shannon's blog, ** Happiness Is...**, I decided that I'd like to try my hand at doing both! So I submitted my hand drawn and painted recipe to They Draw and Cook's website, and they posted it! I didn't win the contest that I was also entering, for California Fig, but I concede that the submissions which did win were just lovely!


Here was my submission:

My art work, recipe from California Fig

Also, after I posted this on my Facebook, I received a commission to do one for my friend's Mother's Day gift to her mom, of one of her own recipes. So I'm currently working on that project! Very exciting! As I haven't actually painted in a long time, other than abstract backgrounds for my book pages, it was a real change of pace and definitely required a different kind of thinking. I'd forgotten how to look at things with my Artist's Eye. It's taking some getting used to!


So as I do more, and get into the groove of painting again, I'll post my projects for you to see! It was definitely a lot of fun to do. (Of course, I'm dodging cat paws and breaking up the tussles over who gets to sit on the paper most of the time....) It's still a magical process for me!


I hope you're all having a lovely and creative day!


xoxo

Chocolaty Brownies!

I made some real chocolate brownies today... they turned out delicious! Here are some pictures. Such a simple recipe that I got on Martha Stewart, but I added mini semi-precious chocolate chips to the recipe, too...


6 oz. dark or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped finely
1/2 c. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
(melt together over double boiler, simmering water only, take off heat as soon as melted)


1-1/2 c. sugar
(whisk into melted chocolate mixture)


3 eggs 
(whisk into mixture, one egg at a time)


1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
1/2 t. salt
(whisk into mixture after eggs)


1/2 c. plus 2 T. all purpose flour
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, lightly coated in flour
(fold into mixture, then pour into 8" x 8" x 3" pan, lined with parchment paper)

Scharfenberger cocoa... nothing but the best!

The BEST chocolate for baking or making truffles 

Chop up finely for easy melting

Melt butter and chocolate over simmering water

Whisk in sugar, eggs & cocoa

Bake in preheated oven, at 350 deg. 35-45 minutes

 

You should insert a toothpick into the brownies to check before taking out of the oven. You will see some moist crumbs attached, and that's when you know it's done.


These brownies turned out yummy... I already had some, ha ha! Just a couple pieces that "fell off" when I was cutting them. There's a nice thin crust to them, but underneath, they are all soft and melty chocolaty goodness!


I listened to Josh Ritter while I baked, and had a cup of coffee, and then I checked on the cats...

Beckham, asleep

It's a lovely and calm day today. I hope you are all living in the moment, and enjoying it.


xoxo

Trying a Blogger's Recipe

I have a blog crush on Cannelle et Vanille, who is a professional blogger here in cyberspace. She does the most beautiful food layouts that always make my mouth water, and jazz me up to try something new.... this morning, I made her Tortilla de Patatas, a Spanish dish.

I wasn't able to include the watercress because I didn't have any on hand. However, I had the parsnips and potatoes, so I went ahead and gave it a go. I followed her recipe pretty much exactly (other than adding the watercress) and it smelled wonderful and tasted delicious!

Tortilla de Patatas

I'm not a food designer, so the photo isn't as appetizing to look at as hers are, but I still think it looks pretty good! Oh, instead of yellow or white onions, I used a red onion in the recipe because I prefer them. You should try this yummy recipe for yourself one morning. It's very comforting and substantial, and absolutely mouth-watering!

Recipe Love

Photo image source: www.channel4.com

 Has this ever happened to you?... I started browsing through my binder of recipes, looking for something to make for dinner, when I realized that I had spent over an hour just enjoying looking through recipes! I had forgotten WHY I was looking through my book, I had started to fantasize about making this yummy recipe for lemon bars that I had done successfully once before, and these chocolate truffles that I had made for several Christmases.... I had totally lost track of my PURPOSE in perusing my recipe binder!

I have soooo many recipe books, and magazines, and two separate binders that I put together; one with dessert recipes only, and the other with more wholesome and savory fare. I am, in actuality, in the process of putting together a Family Heritage Recipe Book, complete with family recipes that I've gathered from members of my family tree. Some recipes have been passed down for a few generations, and other recipes were treasured from friends, and others were found on our own, but they are all recipes that my family members use, love and enjoy sharing. EVERYONE in my family loves food. I can't think of a single person who doesn't! Some of us are mainly vegetarians, others are complete omnivores, but we ALL LOVE TO EAT. 

So with that in mind, this blog is to share with you, Gentle Readers, one such recipe. I hope you will use it, enjoy it, and love it!

         ROASTED ARTICHOKE HEARTS a la Ristorante Avanti (as interpreted by me)

4 small artichoke hearts (baby artichokes best) with tough leaves removed, after 30 minutes of steaming
      remove chokes and quarter the hearts
1 med. lemon, sliced thinly
1 bunch basil, shredded
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
  olive oil
  pine nuts
  salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Toss together all ingredients, except for pine nuts
Mixture should be evenly coated with olive oil & put in an 8" x 10" pan, spread evenly on bottom
Bake for about 10 minutes, then add pine nuts, toss around in pan, and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, or until pine nuts are toasted brown. Enjoy!!