Friday, May 17, 2013

FFwD: Jamie Oliver´s Food Revolution Day 2013


Today is May 17th also known as Jamie Oliver´s Food Revolution Day 2013 – which has been so aptly been 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 for today is a so-called "cook´s choice", meaning that the participants were free to choose one of the recipes from “Around my French Table” and, in line with this year’s theme for Food Revolution Day, to “Cook it. Share it. Live it".




It seems that last week was like a food revolution week – there were four birthday celebrations and so much food and cake to be a prepared, cooked and shared. Our oldest daughter did not even hesitate one moment when asked what she wanted to eat for her birthday, like a real Dorista child that she has become over the course of the last year and a half, she wanted Poulet diable from Around my French Table and for dessert it was Boca Negra from Baking with Julia.




But I also wanted to prepare something that would mirror my personal motto of  “Jamie meets Dorie” ….




….so I baked mini versions of Marie-Hélène´s Apple Cake form pages 432-33 from Around my French Table. This cake has become a staple at our house and I have baked it so many times that I know the (easy) recipe by heart - this moist and delicious apple cake reminds us of other European cakes that we all love so much and it seemed just so fitting to prepare it for Jamie Oliver´s Food Revolution Day today.




Some of the mini apple cakes were enjoyed at home. Along with vanilla and chocolate muffins, some were donated to a bake sale for a very worthy cause at one of schools of my kids.




The idea behind Jamie Oliver´s Food Revolution is wonderful, who would not agree that we should all be happy healthy eaters! And it was fun participating this year!

To see what marvelous celebrations my fellow Doristas prepared  for Jamie Oliver´s Food Revolution Day 2013, please do click here.




Cakes & Buns & All Things Fun!
(Jamie Oliver)


Sources:


  • "Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals" by Jamie Oliver (available at www.amazon.com)
  • "Jamie at Home" by Jamie Oliver (available at www.amazon.com)
  • Cakestand by Jamie Oliver manufactured by Merison (available at www.merison.nl)
  • Breakfast board from the "Stay Calm and Carry On" series (available at www.english-shop.com)




51 comments:

  1. Great cause.... the Jamie Oliver picks are cute!!!

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    1. Thank you very much - those picks seemed a must today, after all, this Food Revolution Day is Jamie Oliver´s brainchild - and what a fabulous cause this is indeed!

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  2. What a cute idea to make small versions of the wonderful apple cake. I love this week's assignment, b/c it's reminding me of all these recipes I need to make again RIGHT NOW.

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    1. Absolutely right, Eileen! This week´s assignment made me re-discover a lot of the wonderful recipes in this fabulous cookbook! Thanks for the nice comment!

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  3. Congratulations on participating in Food Revolution. Brava! What a great idea.

    I love small versions, and I know others do too. They look great. The flags are a great touch. With minis, there is no messy looking cake once you get started with service, plus they are the perfect snack and lunchbox size. Please note, I did not say purse size, although if one selects one's purse carefully...

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    1. Mille grazie, Adri! Those mini versions...the other day my husband asked me wether I could prpare some "mini lasagnas"...I told him I could bake or cook anything "mini"...there is something about the bite sized foods that we all seem to enjoy quite a bit - thanks for your wonderful (and funny) comment!!! Next year I will remind you on time so you can participate too, that would be fun!

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  4. You guys are awesome taking the revolution to the streets... love your flags.

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    1. Thank you, Diane, the kids had a lot of fun "celebrating" today and I had a some fun with the decorations and was quite happy to put some of my carefully collected items on display.

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  5. Marie Helene’s Apple cake is also one of my favorites! Love the mini version…a great way to share! Your daughters are just gorgeous, Andrea…I think it’s quite funny that your daughter would ask for Poulet diable and boca negra. She has very sophisticated taste. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Kathy, this wonderful Marie-Hélène´s Apple Cake has become our favorite apple cake recipe - so delicious, moist and easy! The Poulet diable is Klara´s favorite recipe from "Around my French Table" and the "Boca Negra" is her favorite chocolate treat from "Baking with Julia" so far - so she got both for her birthday!

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  6. Love the little apple cakes and the decorations! Perfect for sharing the cake and the message of Food Revolution Day. Your daughter has great taste in birthday dinner choices, too.

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    1. Teresa, the reason for baking small versions of the Apple Cake was making the "sharing part" more easy but the mini cakes also happened to look nice and they tasted just as good as the larger version. Decorations are always fun and today´s Food Revolution Day was a perefect excuse to put them all on display.

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  7. Great story and participation! I didn't knew about this celebration and I appreciated it's aim, it is very thoughtful.
    4 birthdays! I haven't had any party, but this week 5 or 6 people I know had their birthdays, isn't that funny?
    I liked the decorations and the idea of making small pieces to easily share :)
    Have a nice weekend!

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    1. Thanks, Nizz, yes, the month of May seems to be full of celebrations and birthdays and as much I liked that, I am looking forward to a bit more calm this week!

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  8. I LOVE the way you embraced FRD2013! This is absolutely the idea behind it and I am sure both Dorie and Jamie would approve! Thanks for participating in FRD2013!

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    1. Mardi, what a kind comment - this was fun but I know it will be even more fun next year, I will plan more activities and even more food to share since this is such a very worthy cause!

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  9. I have yet to make the apple cake, but your idea of mini versions sounds wonderful Andrea! And you have two stunning daughters, with great taste in food...!

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    1. Paula, I just know that you would really like this recipe - using four kinds of apples for this cake seems to be the way to go, I always use one Granny Smith and three different local varieties and I add some ground ciinamon as well - could not ask for a more fabulous little easy cake than this!

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  10. I totally LOVE your props. A bake sale and getting the kids involve.. what a fun way to spend FRD!

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    1. Thanks so much, the props are from my treasured collectibles, I adore my vintage London toy bus and the newer version...bake sales are so much fun but so very rare here - in general, schools and kindergartens disapprove of any kind of food donations to schools, no matter whether they are fresh or baked or cooked - but I kind of insisted this time and before my girls even got to their classrooms, all muffins and little cakes were sold.

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  11. I love jamie's oliver pasta sauce,
    since i guess i can access the cookbook,
    i though i'll begging you to sharing that even more in your blog..hehehe

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    1. Jamie Oliver´s pasta sauces, no problem - I will just say that I am posting one of his recipes for delicious pasta "by popular demand" - I also own his Italian cookbook, so I will try and choose one from his many wonderful recipes soon, promised! Thanks for commenting!

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  12. Good old Jamie! your girls are SO sweet and the little cakes look delectable :))
    Mary x

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    1. Mary, thank you very much - yes, since the whole FRD was or rather is his brainchild, I thought that a few Britsish "accents" on the pictures were called for. The girls on the picture are our two oldest daugthers.

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  13. The photo of those two beautiful young ladies is adorable. Everything looks so good and I love all your vintage props, I'm glad all your
    dessert were a hit with everyone.

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    1. Thanks so very much, Nana - the girls were not all that happy having their picture taken so very early in the morning (before anyone had arrived in school) and their school presently resembles more a construction site than an actual school - but they were happy to donate the muffins and mini cakes to the bake sale.

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  14. Your daughters are beautiful, Andrea! I love the way you decorated your mini-cakes. Quite the tribute to Jamie Oliver and a fitting way to celebrate Food Revolution Day.

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    1. Betsy, thanks so very much! Girls early in the morning are not always the happiest of campers but we all had fun during Food Revolution Day.

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  15. Ah! I want to see more pictures of your precious girls. Seriously melted my heart! And these little cakes are just adorable. I wish I had one now. In fact, I wish we lived next door to each other. We'd be swapping treats all the time (and sipping on tea...and enjoying each other's company). Thank you for sharing. What a great day to celebrate!

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    1. Monet, thanks for the sweet comment - I will try and persuade my four daughters to become a bit more photo friendly but I cannot promise anything...living next door to each other would be terrific - oh, the endless possibilities of treat and recipe swaps and just imagine all the willing (and able) baby-sitters you would have!!!

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  16. Love the old double-deckers, square mini cakes and cute smiles.

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    1. Colette, thanks you very much for your lovely comment - British pros, mini cakes and lots of smiles were part of FRD this year and we are planning on participating again next year.

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  17. This cake has become a staple here as well! Isn't it just fantastic?! Never did minis and I might if I had such fun vintage buses for the minis to play with. Your styling this week gave me a big smile indeed.

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    1. Trevor, thank you for your kind words - the vintage double-decker buses where pretty hard to find and I was thrilled when I finally did get them - so, they just had to de added to the pictures!

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  18. First, love the photo of your daughter- precious !!! Second, you are amazing. Not only did you knock out all these busy events this past week- but you raised the bar on all of them. If I was at the bake sale I would have bought them out :) Seriously though, I had a big grin on my face by the time I opened your post and saw the amazing little Jamie Olvier flags and all the British props. LOVE. And the one with the wee Eiffel tower in there - hilarious. Jamie and Dorie indeed. And I love that your daughter knows the FFWD and TWD line up so well that she can request a birthday meal from it- bonus points for poulet diable- that is probably the FFWD I have remade the most. Thanks for your continued inspiration - it is a joy to read your blog each week.

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    1. Tricia, your comments are always so thoughtful and kind - I really appreciate the time that you take for your wonderful feedback. The girls were happy, the customers at the bake sale too, and I was so happy that I could finally put all my British props on display. But although we did have fun with all of the celebrations this week and there was so much food to be shared and enjoyed, I was a tad exhausted in the end and I am looking forward to a week without any "fêtes".

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  19. It's been a while since I made that apple cake - you just reminded me that I loved it too, and should make it again. Food Revolution Day is such a great idea. I'm glad you worked it in with those four birthday celebrations!

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    1. Beth, apple cake is always, always a big hit at our house and it isso very easy to bake - I think I can master this cake with my eyes closed by now, I have made it so many times.

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  20. Beautiful girls and beautiful food.
    That apple cake has appeared at our table several times - such a wonderful recipe.

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    1. Thanks, Cher, the food was good, everyone was happy - what more could one want fot FRD 2013.

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  21. Your daughters are beautiful and I know everyone loved the treats they brought. They look so proud of their treasure!

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    1. Thank you, Chris, always a pleasure receiving such wonderful comments from you!

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  22. So happy to see your beautiful daughters! :D I love Jamie and he's such a wonderful role model. Great cause with delicious foods!

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    1. Nami, my daughters never got so much attention - I think that from now on they will actaully like having their picture taken and seeing it as part of my blog posts!

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  23. Thanks for the reminder about the apple cake - it was excellent. Your daughters and your desserts are beautiful. I love the mini cake liners that you used.

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    1. Jora, thank you very much for your kind comment - daughters, cake liners, and desserts were all happy participants in the FRD 2013!

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  24. Andrea, you are the epitome of what every young Mother should aspire to on this very special day. Many of your Posts revolve around family outings, adventures, celebrations and holidays. You are providing for your girls so many food memories that creatively come out of your kitchen. I am glad you highlighted Jamie Oliver who is a force to be admired. He started out as a one-man-band and look where he has taken his passion about healthy food. Have you listened to his TED talk - it's inspiring, just great. Melissa also gave me his latest cookbook - which is verrrry English. I am impressed with all the cooking and baking that has come out of your kitchen the past two weeks - good choices with the Poulet Diable (I loved that, too.) and the apple cake. Finally we get glimpses at two of your beautiful daughters. I think your other two will want equal time. Love seeing them.

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    1. Mary, thank you for the fabulous comment - well, the girls that never gotten so much attention for muffins in their lives - they might want to make an appearance in all of my blog posts now...seriously, it tokk them a while to agree to this picture but I am glad that they did, it was so very early in the morning, before anyone had arrived at their all girls´school, presently also known as the "construction site". And it was important for me to emphasize the brainchild behind the FRD, namely Jamie Oliver, I have the highest respect for all of the things that he does!

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  25. These little apple cakes are gorgeous - and I love the tiny Jamie flags and the gingham cases. Brilliant!

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    1. Thank you very much for your kind comment - really appreciate your friendly feedback, it is nice to read that you enjoyed this post.

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  26. love your little cakelets!! :) and the vintage Harrods bus! :)

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