The Jamie Oliver Experiment

I had never paid much attention to Jamie Oliver, but I came to love his Food Revolution show. (I think it came on last fall? But keep in mind I don't live with a strong sense of time.) I have become a big fan of cooking with fresh ingredients, and completely eliminating processed foods. I try to feed my family fresh food - fresh meats, fruits and veggies, and I especially love fresh salads. Don't mistake me for a health fanatic though. While there is definitely a much healthier aspect to all of this, it also means that I don't buy pre-made cookies, I just make them from scratch. So there's healthier with sugar thrown in, you know, for the kids.

And then the kids got me Jamie's cookbook for my birthday. I feel like we are on a first name basis. I like that he is so passionate about what he does, which is trying to teach people how to eat healthier. I also thought his food looked good on the show, but I had never tried it myself.

Until now.

This cookbook challenges you to try one recipe from each chapter and then pass it on to friends. (The recipe, not the cookbook.) So, since Jamie and I are such good friends, I told him I'd take his challenge. 

I don't think he heard me, or much cared, but I like to think I'm helping his cause just a little.

So, the recipe I picked from his first chapter, Twenty Minute Meals, occurred this evening: Spicy Moroccan Stewed Fish With Couscous.

I will say he is British, so some of his terminology and ingredients threw me off a little, but not enough to make a difference in the recipe. They made me laugh more than anything. 

And I would also like to point out that this recipe claimed "18 minutes" and it took me......exactly that long. I was impressed. My timing is NEVER what the cookbook says it should be, I think mostly due to the fact that in their impressive food pictures, there are no kids begging to help or spilling ingredients or tripping of the cooks. That's just my non-professional opinion though.

So it started off with making the couscous, which is simple. He wanted me to put the dry couscous in a bowl with olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon, then add boiling water and cover it. So that's what I did.

Then you threw basic ingredients in a pan - basil, cumin, and cinnamon, and added the fish. The recipe said any white fish will do, so I took him at his word and used snapper that Ansley caught at the beach. It also called for shrimp, but I didn't have any, didn't wanna go get any, so I just used fish. The shrimp would have tasted good, though.

Then you very quickly add a can of diced tomatoes and "two handfuls" of peas or green beans. I chose peas.

It cooked for about 8 minutes and it was done! And the bonus, the couscous was done too. Perfect!

And I served it in my new rooster bowls, which I thought might distract the kids enough to eat it even if it wasn't good. I served it with a salad and fruit as well.

So, the results? We ranked it, out of ten stars:

John gave it five stars. He said it was good, but not like over the top delicious. Like he's used to my meals being, of course. 

I gave it seven stars. I thought it was tasty and different, something I wouldn't make every week but would make again.

The kids didn't understand the star concept, so Ansley said it was "pretty good" and Christian said it was "good". Ansley ate hers, I should mention, so she was serious. Christian is a hard palette to please. He ate the fish, but didn't like the "stuff on top".

I'd be happy to post the recipe, but I'm not sure I should go to the trouble because after our ratings, you may not be interested. But let me know if you want to try it, and I'll be happy to post it.

My goal is to try a new recipe a week, and post about it here, but the next two weeks are going to be crazy, so don't hold me to it until after that. Then I should be good.

And if we start to not really like the recipes, then I'll switch to my old standbys that I know are good and delicious, and post them here so I can at least share some recipe ideas you can use. 

Comments

[Renee]

I would definitely like for us to eat less processed food too so thanks for making it look easy. :)

[tonya]

i loved the food revolution, and took the challenge as well. however, i have not purchased the book or made any of his recipes. our snacks are the worst to get passed though - kids love goldfish! label awareness is a big deal for me, especially since i'm checking for peanuts anyway. i like to think i'm doing okay with fresh foods, but i'm sure i'm not!!!