:: Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day : 17th May 2013

How lucky am I? I was chosen to one of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution bloggers for #FRD2013 (Food Revolution Day 2013!) Jeepers. I am so thrilled.

I watch Jamie’s Christmas specials over and over again. Even if it is not Christmas. I am totally into food as celebration and I love the way Jools and Jamie’s kids sneak into the show too. CUTE!

Still, food does not have to be all about celebration. What I mean is every day can be a celebration if you take a titch of time to prepare something great for yourself to snack on. Even better than that is preparing something to share with the people you like, too.

Food Revolution Day is all about eating good, simply prepared food with your peeps. You don’t need to come the fancy-schmancy. You can cook quick or humble or simple things and it will be equally rad. Locally, The Good Guys Good Foundation have established Australia’s own chapter of Jamie’s Ministry of Food, helping people learn to cook and find out more about health and nutrition. Good one, TGG.

Excitingly, #FRD2013 partner Aussie Farmers Direct delivered a box of fresh fruit and veggies to my place as part of the big day. I was then asked to cook a thing. SO I DID.  I cooked a thing for you.  Yep.  (And for the people I live with too!)

I made some cosy soup and some special pancakes to dip (or float!) in it. And it really was very easy to do. I promise.  I want you to make this.  (You can leave the pancakes out and have a hunk of bread with this, if you like. But the pancakes are pretty spesh and the batter keeps for many soupy days. See what you think.)

Please join Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution TOMORROW (AU time) Friday  17th May.  

Tweet, Instagram, Facebook or blog the things you cook and eat. Use the #FRD2013 tag and you can tweet at the nice people of the @foodrev too if you are a really revolutionary show off. Share your love of delicious home cooking online, show us what you are cooking and spread the #FRD2013 message far and wide. Cook It! Share It! Live it! Do that. Yep.

Go on. Jamie wants you to. Look how wanty he seems…! He’ll tell you about it here.

On Friday May 17th communities across the world will come together and celebrate the beautiful diversity of fresh food, sharing cooking skills, understanding good eating habits and, of course, eating great grub.

Pip’s #FRD2013 Spicy Indian Vegetable Soup

1 onion, peeled
2 carrots, chopped roughly
2 sticks of celery, chopped roughly 
2 clove of garlic, peeled

1 tbsp olive oil
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into smallish chunks
1/2 cup lentils – I used dried red lentils
1 tin of diced tomatoes
a bunch of spinach, washed really well and torn into bits (roughly!)
1.5 litres of good quality stock
1 tsp of curry powder
1 tsp of sweet paprika
1/2 tsp of turmeric
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

optional: coriander, yogurt, chilli

Put the first four ingredients into a food processor and pulse into finely diced and all mixed up. (You can do this by hand, but I don’t!)
Slosh your olive oil into a heavy based, large pot. Add the processed mixture of vegies and fry over a medium low heat for 5 minutes.
Add the potatoes, lentils, diced tomatoes, stock, curry powder, sweet paprika, turmeric and a bit of salt and pepper. (Don’t add the spinach!)
Simmer over a medium heat for 20 minutes (or until the potatoes and nice and tender!)
Add the spinach, just before serving and stir through.  Taste and season once more.

Serve in big bowls with some extra chilli if you are game, some coriander and a scoop of yogurt, if you are yogurty!

Herb Dosa:

I like to tear these up and scatter them in my soup. Is that weird?!
You can serve these with curry too

1 cup of rice flour
1 cup of semolina
1 cup of yogurt
enough water to make a runny, pourable batter (it shouldn’t be too thick, we want thin crepes!)
Some herb leaves, nicely washed and trimmed.

I throw the first 3 ingredients in the blender and then add the water slowly, until the consistency is right.

To cook the dosa: heat a heavy based pan (I use a crepe pan) over a medium heat until very hot. Add a spray of oil and the pour in the batter. Tip the pan to spread the batter as thinly as possible (if you put too much batter in, gently pour it out into a clean bowl and reuse it)  Dot the uncooked top side of the pancake with herb leaves.  Cook for 1 minute on the first side and then carefully flip and cook for another minute or so.  Be sure to oil the pan and tip the batter around the pan as thinly as possible each time.

Variation: dot with golden shallots or some finely chopped garlic…. or whatever else seems like a good idea to you!

Makes 10 dosa

(I make this batter and keep it in the fridge. Then you can make a couple of dosa each day with your ready batter! You can use the batter straight away, though. It doesn’t need to sit overnight or anything!)

 Tell me if you make this!  Join the #FRD2013

x Pip

 

I was not paid to write this post. I did it because I think it’s a great program!
(I did get a box of free veggies, though.)