When Colin originally decided to have a Food Revolution theme to his birthday party, the plan was little more than to serve all healthy, made from scratch foods. Soon after, the Flash Mob idea started to take shape. Then I got Jamie’s Food Revolution cookbook. It’s more than just a collection of recipes. Jamie gives his readers a challenge. Here’s an excerpt from the book:
This pass it on movement is essentially a modern-day version of the way people used to pass recipes down through generations when they weren’t all at work. That dynamic is the best learning ground ever. As simple as it seems, pass it on could well be the most radical food movement in recent years, and you could be part of it. I wouldn’t be asking for your help unless I thought it was absolutely necessary.
In his book Jamie asks the reader to do two things: (1) learn a recipe from each chapter, and (2) personally teach these recipes to others.
So I asked Colin if he was up to learning at least one recipe to teach everyone at his party. He took Jamie’s book to bed with him for his nightly reading. He was more than up to it.
He chose a recipe: Jamie’s sizzling beef with scallions and black bean sauce. I bought the ingredients and we did a trial run.
Delicious!
So the menu for Colin’s party was planned: sizzling beef stir fry, a huge salad bar, and for dessert, fresh fruit.
After suprising and entertaining Colin’s guests with a rendition of Jamie’s Flash Mob, Colin invited them into the kitchen to watch him prepare the stir fry.
He passed it on.
He showed them step by step what to do and shared copies of the recipe with everyone.
Dinner was a wonderful success. In addition to the two servings that Colin made in front of his guests, we had two trays of sizzling beef and a glorious, colorful salad bar (pictures below).
It was Colin’s tenth birthday, so although flanked by lots of fresh fruit, we did include a cake in the celebration.
We’re committed to keeping the pledge. Lila helped me make Jamie’s meatballs and sauce (pictured below). Colin has remained in the kitchen with me, enthusiastically helping prepare whatever is on the menu, but particularly partial to chopping salads. We will continue to pick at least one recipe from each chapter to learn. There are so many good ones, the only hard part is deciding which to make. Caleb’s part thus far has been limited to eating what the rest of us make.
If you’ve watched Colin’s video then you have become part of the Food Revolution. You’ve seen a ten year old do it. Why not print the recipe yourself and make it one night this week? I bet you will love it. Then pass it on to someone you know. Give them the recipe and show them how to make it. Or at least pass on Colin’s demo. Keep it going. Cooking fresh meals from scratch really can be easy. Help up spread the word.
Visit Jamie’s website for more about his Ministry of Food Campaign, read about how you can pass it on, watch Jamie prepare his sizzling beef stir fry recipe, and print your own copy here.
Up next, Colin meets with school personnel to discuss the current state of the menu.
This is Caleb... 