Jamie Oliver's on Another Mission

It's no secret that I'm a huge Jamie Oliver fan. I've written about a few of his projects, waxed on about his books, and recreated many of his recipes. Now he's made it to the cover of today's NY Times, Sunday Magazine with a great article about his newest venture...well, read the article! You can even check out his achievements.

Naturally there were a couple of "easy peasy" recipes for us from Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals ...

Chili Con Carne and Mini-Shell Pasta with Smoked Bacon & Peas.

Which is my perfect segue before heading out to enjoy this glorious day....Abby of Eat the Right Stuff is hosting this week's Presto Pasta Night. She's also doing it for the second time and I know we can count on her for a delightful roundup. Please be sure to help her out. Send all your amazing dishes to: abby (at) eattherightstuff (dot) com and cc me ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com

Guidelines to share your pasta dishes.

And if you'd like to host a Presto Pasta Night Roundup yourself, just send me an email. November and beyond are wide open. What are you waiting for...it's great fun and a fabulous way to get introduced to other awesome bloggers.

Thanks again, everyone for a truly wonderful roundup this week. Couldn't do it without you all!

One More Reason to Love Jamie Oliver

As if Jamie Oliver hasn't done enough to impress me...."dead easy recipes" (a Jamie expression I love), more energy than the Energizer Bunny, a brilliant foundation (Fifteen) to give disenfranchised youth a new start, school dinner programs to educate kids and their parents about eating healthier, a whack of fantastic cookbooks (I personally own three - Jamie's Italy, Jamie's Dinners and Cook with Jamie and have the rest on my wish list), his gorgeous line of kitchenware....
But we're talking about Jamie Oliver here, not some mere mortal...you HAVE to check out his latest endeavor...Jamie's Ministry of Food. Obviously the book, Jamie's Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours is at the top of my wish list, but it's the web site and its premise that really impress me.

Not only are there fabulous and fantastically easy recipes. I clicked on this Salmon Tikka with Yoghurt Sauce and discovered his latest brilliant scheme to get us all (from great cooks to fearful novices) happily cooking up great dishes and sharing them with our own friends. Sort of a "play it forward" happening. With video podcasts that you can download for FREE from iTunes (so far there are 10!), the idea is to make the dish and then pass it on to people who you think would like it.

As Jamie, himself would say....BRILLIANT!!! So what are you waiting for...check it out. Oh...and I've finally written about my favorite Jamie Oliver books (Cook with Jamie and Jamie's Italy and Jamie's Dinners) at least my favorite SO FAR!

Eye Opening Show - Jamie's Fowl Dinners

Last night I had some time and decided to watch a Jamie Oliver Special that I had previously recorded. I'm not even sure what channel it was on originally. I expected the usual - energetic Jamie (Check), informative Jamie (Check) and a little cooking (Check).

What I did not expect, however, was how graphic the show was going to be. In a nutshell, he invited guests from all walks of life to a dinner party starring eggs and chicken. Safe so far...but then....well, then it gets quite disturbing. He walks us through the life cycle of chickens bred to either lay eggs or be served up for Sunday Dinner(very different breeds, by the way)...chickens running free and those crammed into cages.

I won't go into the details, but let us say...I will never eat anything but free range chickens or eggs again. This site has photos of how chickens are raised...free or in cages. Apparently the program was aired back in 2007 originally, (some very interesting facts in the article) but it's just as hard-hitting and eye-opening today.

Jamie shares stats for Britain, but I'm guessing they are similar around the world. Here's an interview with Jamie about his call to action. And if you are intrigued but can't find the show on TV...here's a link to some video clips. I do warn you though, some of the clips and photos are disturbing.

I used to sit on the fence...sometimes buying free range, sometimes not,...after last night....I know I'd rather be paying a bit more and buying chicken less often but of better quality and higher standard of care at the source. What about you?

And remember, supporting local farmers and producers is always the best thing you can do.