Pass It On...

It all began with the carrots. The gorgeous "Rainbow Bunch Carrots" I spotted as I was walking through Linden Hills Co-op. I wasn't exactly there to grocery shop, but to merely pick up a few oddball items (probiotics, bovine colostrum, and chlorophyll to be exact) for my kittens that have nasty colds (which is another blog post entirely) and I pass through the produce aisle on my way to the vitamin section. I was stopped dead in my tracks by this stunning array of purple, deep orange, and pale yellow carrots. Yes. Carrots. I paused and thought that they would be perfect with the chicken I was planning to prepare that night, so into the basket they went, making perfect company with the bright green serum and cow breast milk I just happened to be picking up.

Next on my agenda was a quick trip to Barnes and Noble in search of a new something something to read. Fresh out of novels, magazines, and design books after vacation I was not sure what I was searching for. Maybe a detox manual? Something about squirrely seven year old boys? Typical me...I find myself roaming about in the cookbook aisle. Immediately I spot Jamie Oliver's (The Naked Chef on the Food Network) new book- Jamie's Food Revolution. Last year Jamie did a television special about revolutionizing school lunch. I loved his idea, his conviction, and his tenacity to take on the fattest city in America and it's nasty lunch ladies, but mostly I admired his deep desire to change how our kids eat. I was so inspired that after watching his show I was ready to pull a Jamie and march right into our Principal's office and demand they overhaul our school lunch program. Well....I haven't quite gotten that far yet, but I am fighting hard for it in my own home. My children are three very different eaters. My oldest wants to be a chef himself and is experimental, adventurous, and has a great palate. My middle son wants nothing but pasta. The youngest, well, let's just say we call him "The Elf". He pretty much lives on a diet of candy canes, candy corns, syrup and chocolate. No joke. It's amazing he has grown as tall as he has. Given the circumstances, I am constantly searching for recipes that will satisfy all my little eaters.

Jamie Oliver's new book is not just full of fabulous (and super easy) recipes that you can feed your family, but it truly is about a revolution. He asks one small, simple favor of his readers- to please pass on the recipes. Remember when our grandmothers and mothers used to exchange recipe cards and store them in the funny little box that sat on the kitchen counter? You remember the ones that said, From Judy's Kitchen and had funny little pictures of a baking housewife up in the corner? Some were so frequently used in meal rotations that you almost couldn't read the neat handwriting or block type from a typewriter. Often if a neighbor or relative were making one cornflake casserole, they would pop another one in the oven and it would end up on your dinner table that evening. Food was used to connect, and often comfort. Today, it seems we are shoveling chicken nuggets, french fries, and Lunchables down our kids throats in the car on the way to some sort of lesson, practice, or play date. I can safely say I have never purchased Lunchables, and I seem to always be on the defensive side of the organic food debate, but I am also realistic in that we can't always feed our kids "perfectly".

But sensibly and reasonably is another story.

Jamie's request is that you pledge to learn one meal really WELL from each chapter. This week I chose Jamie's Asian Chicken Noodle Broth recipe. A combination soup/stir fry sort of concoction, it seems to have flavors and textures that both kids and adults can enjoy. SO...I am pledging to Pass It On. My little errand looking for kitty cold remedies and a new read turned into a renewed food commitment to myself, my family, and to Jamie.


Cook. Eat. Enjoy. And please, Pass It On.