Sunday, May 18, 2014

FFwD - Jamie Oliver´s Food Revolution Day 2014


Yesterday, on May 16th, we participated in "Jamie Oliver´s Food Revolution Day 2014" – which has been so aptly described as “ a global day of action aimed to inspire people to get cooking (or baking) and champion better food skills for people of all ages”.




For the French Friday with Dorie group that means the assignment was a so-called "cook´s choice", meaning that the participants were free to choose one of the recipes from Dorie Greenspan´s cookbook “Around my French Table” and, in line with this year’s theme for Food Revolution Day “let´s get kids get excited about food", I chose the Corn Pancakes form Dorie´s book, a recipe we cooked back in June 2012 and that I have prepared many, many times since.




The kids love these little French pancakes, especially when I prepare them together with a tangy, springtime fresh radish-cress dip. So that´s what we prepared. Among other things.




We had a dozen kids for lunch at our house and there was a lot of food that we prepared and shared.




And there was lots of desserts too.




To see how much fun the other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group had on Jamie Oliver´s Food Revolution Day 2014, please do click here.


"Children who learn how to cook are hungrier for healthier choices."
(Jamie Oliver Foundation)



52 comments:

  1. Oh, Mom, you are amazing. Words cannot express my admiration for your Food Revolution Day 2014 Celebration. I spoted Imken (if course!), Gretchen and Klara but I cannot figure out who is Freya. They all have grown and there are many good-looking young women in that picture. I made the corn pancakes and remember liking them but never made them again. You can always turn something rather ho-hum (remembering, I'm from Iowa and I LOVE corn) into something special which is what you did with the corn pancakes. I hope I can find such beautiful radishes for my River Cottage Veg Post. Everything looks delicious but those desserts.......wow. I hope that Dorie and Mardi and Jamie Oliver, himself, have an opportunity to see your Blog and how wonderfuly you celebrated this day.

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    1. Dearest Mary, what a comment - now you made my Sunday!!! We actually had a dozen kids for lunch, ten girls and two boys (who chose to hide for the picture...) - you already spotted the little imp (cannot be missed), then there is Gretchen and Klara (in the very back) and Freya is the one wearing the red tee (next to Imken) - it seems like you can never get them all on one picture. But I believe they had a blast, and good food. The corn pancakes have become a staple at our house and I am proud to say that they, together with the homemade chicken fingers, were the most popular items on the menue. About Jamie, well, judging from the activities that day, he seems a bit busy these days...good! We love what he does and the kids now know about him and some of the important work that he is involved with!
      Thanks again for your wonderful comment, I really appreciate it! I shall make the rounds of the other blogs of the FFwD group today!

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  2. Fabulous. Inspiring.
    I hope Jamie sees this! WOW.

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    1. Kim, you are such a kind person - thank you very much! Love all your comments!

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  3. Wow! Looks like you were having such fun! I am sure you thoroughly enjoyed the cooking and baking part was fun too! Jamie Oliver would be so proud to see this post!

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    1. Jeannie, thank you very much for your kind words - the most important thing is to have that day and enjoy good food made from scratch - I think we succeeded on that count.

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  4. Woah, that's a lot of food! Well done! Everything looks great

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    1. Eileen, yes, a lot of kids, a lot of fun, and also a lot of food. Thank you.

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  5. Wow…a great post for Food Revolution Day! Such a wonderful idea to make a party out of the day! So nice to see a photo of your beautiful girls! Love those corn pancakes…one of my favorites from AMFT, I can see why they would be a favorite with kids. I’ll have to make them next time my grandkids visit…I’m sure they would get rave reviews!
    Your photos are gorgeous, Andrea! You always inspire me! Beautiful post my friend!

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    1. Kathy, what a kind comment - thank you so much, my dear friend! We had a blast and for some reason these corn pancakes are always particularly popular with the kids - I suspect it is the sweetness of the corn that makes them really enjoyable to the young taste testers. Be that as it may, we love them and have eaten them so many times - I am sure that your grand-kids would adore Dorie´s recipe too. Have a great Sunday!

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  6. What a lunch Andrea! I can't believe you had that many little people cooking in your kitchen! I cooked with four and in a small kitchen that was more than enough ;) I agree that the corn pancakes are fabulous - thanks for the reminder - I need to make them again soon! What an epic effort for FRD2014 - thank you so much for playing along and getting kids excited about food :))

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    1. Mardi, you are very kind - the most important thing was that we all had fun and great food and learned a little bit something about making healthy choices for ourselves - I am glad that we participated! And we are already making plans for next year...One thing is for sure, though, I never fell asleep so quickly at the end of a day than I did on Friday...that´s why I was running late with my post...
      Thank you for getting this organized and getting us all involved!

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  7. Jme will absolutely love this!

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    1. Well, there are sooo many people around the globe that did sooo many exceptional things for FRD 2014 - I am in awe of them all! But thank you for your kind words, Emily, much appreciated!

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  8. Wow - that was quite the party! I see that you were inside, so maybe the weather did not cooperate? Still, it looks cozy and wonderful, and everyone has smiles on their faces! All the food you made looks gorgeous, too - I wish I had been part of the party! The corn pancakes sound quite good. I still need to get a copy of Dorie's book... ~ David

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    1. David, no, the weather did cooperate in the end, for the dessert part and for fun and games outside, after the food and now it turned quite warm...nice. The kids are off from school today, so there will be time for a stroll. Thank you for stopping by!

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  9. What a terrific spread! I'm sure you made a lot of people happy with the food you prepared. Your photos are as lovely as always.

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    1. Beth, I believe the kids were happy and had a ball that afternoon. Thank you for the kind comment!

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  10. I can see why these kid's get excited for the food :)

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    1. Merci beaucoup, mon cher Nicolas! You must remember some of the food...?!
      Missing you!!!

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  11. Beautiful post Andrea! All these happy,smiley faces show what an amazing time they had cooking with you on this special day! The corn pancakes were the first recipe I ever cooked with the group and even though I never tasted them (I am intolerant to corn can you imagine?) my mother who was staying with me at the time told me they were great! I am so happy to see that you and your beautiful daughters love them! Have a great week!

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    1. Maria, kids and food seem to have a very special connection in a way - it is always fun to figure out what they enjoy the most, what they are used to eating and willing to try - thank you for stopping by! The corn pancakes are indeed a lovely recipe which we really enjoy.

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  12. What a fabulous party. Everyone looks so excited about the food. Who wouldn't? It is a gorgeous assortment of dishes. You can always make everything look amazing! I'm a little late catching up on posts, so I hope you had a great weekend and have a wonderful week ahead.

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    1. Betsy, so much food, so little time...but we all had great fun and I believe we will be participating in a different way next year - we will see. Be that as it may, the kids enjoyed the afternoon here and the food and the company - that was the most important thnig of all.

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  13. Wow what a great day. Beautiful pictures and food. What a wonderful spread and Jamie flags too.

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    1. Diane, yes, these colorful little paper flags are a must in our house - after all, we were participating in Food Revolution Day 2014! Thank you for stopping by!

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  14. Oh, I am so glad that you participated in Jamie's 'Food Revolution Day' Andrea! I heard about it way too late... through Instagram, of all places. Some of my blogging friends around the world held similar parties (some for children and some not). It's such an exciting thing, to teach children how to eat healthily... incorporating fruit and vegetables, just as you did! The food looks amazing and those happy faces around the table tell the full story :) Gorgeous post! xx

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    1. Dear Laura, we participated for the second time and are already making plans for next year - it will be different from what we did for the last two years, a bit more challenging maybe - I must admit that it is not that easy around here to get anyone excited about Food Revolution Day, being a British event, spearheaded by a British chef, all in English - but that will not keep us from partipipating in the future as we love this event.

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  15. Such an incredible meal! I bet they all had a great time getting the dishes to table, too. Beautiful photos and a lovely post!

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    1. Teresa, they had fun and I believe they liked all the food - healthy and desserts and all. Thank you for the nice comment!

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  16. Andrea, you throw a great party! I love everything in this party - decoration, food, styling... I can just staring at them for fun! And all homemade... right? You are one incredible cook! I wish I was your kid! :D

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    1. Nami, now that would be fun and I would not mind the least bit!!! You are such a kind person - yes, this was all homemade food. After all, Jamie´s motto for the day was "to prepare everything from scratch" - so that´s what we did. Thank you for the kind comment, dear friend!

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  17. Andrea, what an extraordinary way to celebrate: A dozen kids for lunch and so many delicious dishes! For sure your kids are excited about food. You met Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution goals with flying colors! Oh how I would have loved to have shared that lunch with you - xoDorie

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    1. Dear Dorie, what a delight to have you comment on my post!!! Thank you for your very kind words - I hope we lived up to everyone´s expectations - I think we did - the kids loved the food and tried some new things and I got a few requests for your wonderful corn pancake recipe which has become a staple at our house - thank you for that too - just imagine those darling German kids prepare your French corn pancakes at home! Life can be amazing!

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  18. Andrea, what a fun day you provided! All of those happy faces and such wonderful food!
    I have to try the corn pancakes again. It's easy to forget things!
    As always, your photos are spectacular.

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    1. Candy, Food Revolution Day is really such a wonderful idea and we thoroughly enjoyed supporting the initiative! I saw you prepared so much wonderful food for that special day as well. Thank yo for the kind comment!

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  19. Andrea doll, what a feast! Such a lovely table with lots of beautiful little smiles. I'm going to tweet this to Jamie in hopes he sees it!
    Hope your Monday is smooth. xoxo

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    1. Colette, thank you so much for all your support - I truly appreciate all of it, dear friend!

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  20. What a wonderful event you celebrated Andrea, the food looks amazing and I bet everyone was so proud of themselves. Everything looks delicious and very well organized. Well done!

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    1. Cheri, thank you very much - the main goal was to make everyone around the table happy that day. As far as I could tell, we were rather successful! The kids had fun and learned a bit along the way.

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  21. Your spread of food looks absolutely incredible! Did you (and the kids) make all of it yourselves? What a fun day!

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    1. Jora, kiddie food for that day but good things, yes, absolutely all homemade and with the young taste testers in mind.And one of Dorie´s recipes that was rather well received - the corn pancakes - with a little personal touch added (namely the radish-cress dip) - all in all, a good Friday!

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  22. Smile. I loved seeing you welcome all these children into your home to share such wonderful food. We all need to make eating good quality food a priority. Thank you for sharing this wonderful day with us, Andrea. I love seeing your family. It warms my heart.

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    1. Monet, thank you so much - it seemed the right time to take a picture of the girls and their friends - after all, the motto for the day was geared at children and their food needs. A fun day with good food for all:

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  23. Oh what a feast!! How wonderful to have all the children to enjoy such healthy delicious food. Wish I was there and I definitely want to teach my little boy to appreciate good healthy food.

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    1. Trishie, I am sure your little boy Alexander will grow up enjoying the most healthy and delicious food there is! It is fun teaching kids to appreciate different types of food and prepare it themselves too. Thank you for your kind comment!

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  24. Andrea, we feel so proud of you...and loved reading this post...a true,real inspiration every time we think of it,thanks :-)

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    1. Kumar, thank you so much, glad that you enjoy this post so much - we had a great time on Food Revolution Day 2014 - such a worth while cause. I love supporting the Jamie Oliver Foundation this way - we would all love for our children to grow up to be happy and healthy eaters.

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  25. Was für eine muntere Runde! Essen hält Leib und Seele zusammen... Wir haben unsere Tochter genau so mit gesundem Essen auf den Weg gebracht und heute treffen sich die Studenten zum Essen, was unglaublich kreativ aussieht und die Runde schaut ähnlich in die Kamera. Jamie wäre so stolz auf uns :-)

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    1. Liebe Wally, ich glaube Jamie Oliver wäre in der Tat stolz auf uns...ich habe schon letztes Jahr bei dem FRD mitgemacht - für nächstes Jahr habe ich auch schon Pläne geschmiedet...es hat allen Beteiligten Spass gemacht und es hat allen gut geschmeckt.
      Ganz liebe Grüße aus dem verregneten und leicht stürmischen Bonn! Herzlichsten Dank für deine wunderbaren Kommentare!
      Andrea

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  26. What a fun event with such delicious food. I can see why the children all had such big smiles. You did a terrific job!

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    1. Karen, thank you very much - this was indeed a fun event and we absolutely loved participating this year for the second time.

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