JAMIE OLIVER NEEDS YOUR HELP FIGHTING FOR FOOD EDUCATION!...

Petition UPDATE:

You are amazing! Over 600,000 signers - let's get more!

Jamie Oliver, United Kingdom

Apr 10, 2015 — You guys are amazing!! I can't believe it - in less than a week since I launched my petition over 600,000 of you have signed it. Our movement is growing!

While we know that childhood obesity is growing to epic numbers, trials of practical food education for kids is proving that this can be turned around. If kids are given the knowledge of where their food comes from, and how it affects their bodies, combined with the practical skills to cook - then they make healthier choices and have happier more productive lives.

This may seem obvious to us - but it's our governments we need to convince. And our governments listen when there are enough people asking for the same thing.

So let's get more numbers shall we? Can you share this petition on Facebook and ask your friends to join us? Click here to share:http://on.fb.me/1Jw4Iee

You can make a difference! If you can get just 1 other person to also sign and share.

We can do this. We know it works. There have already been hugely positive steps in the right direction. In England, The School Food Plan made cooking lessons and food education a compulsory part of the curriculum. In Mexico, all schools promote healthy eating through compulsory nutrition education, thanks to the General Law on Education. In Brazil, the School Health Programme has made food and nutrition education a fundamental part of their basic curriculum. Food education has also been part of the curriculum in Japan since 2005, and Finland has a long history of home economics. But we still have a long way to go. Good, practical and compulsory food education should be available in every school for every child.

This isn't about whether food education works - because we're seeing it working. It's not about funding - there are ways to fund it. It's about making sure our governments make this a priority. It's not even really about whether this happens - it will happen - it's about how soon.

Let's tell our governments we want them to act, now!

Sign it, Share it!
To watch Jamie's Video click here.

Thank you

Jamie OX

http://www.foodrevolutionday.com/

Filipino Sautéed Marinated Clams...

This delicious clam dish is often enjoyed by Filipinos as clams are abundantly harvested along reefs or farmed for restaurants and grocers. It is ideal for a weeknight meal as it only uses a few simple ingredients to whip up- the key is the vinegar marinade. Cane vinegar is an important ingredient in Filipino cooking which is used to keep food from spoiling in the hot and humid Phillipines.  Tossed with breadcrumbs to thicken, it makes for a light but hearty and satisfying dish served over steamed rice.

Filipino Sautéed Marinated Clams
Makes 4 servings

1 Tbsp. oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
340 g to 1 lb. canned, fresh or frozen clam meat, thawed
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 to 2 tsp. soy sauce to taste
Marinade:
3 Tbsp. cane vinegar 
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 dried bay leaf
tomato slices, sliced green onion and chopped cilantro as garnish 

Cook's NOTE: Best substitutions for cane vinegar are white vinegar, white wine vinegar or cider vinegar but dilute with 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water. 

Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl and add the clams to marinate for one hour.

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat and sauté the garlic and onions until lightly browned. Add the clams and cook for five minutes or until tender. Add the breadcrumbs, salt, brown sugar and soy sauce, and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally. It will thicken. Remove into serving vessel, and garnish with tomatoes, green onions and cilantro if desired.

Sweet and savoury clams served with pan-fried marinated milkfish (bangus), the national fish of the Philippines, which I bought frozen in an Asian supermarket, grilled chicken breast (in case the kids didn't like the clams) and stir-fried cabbage. Vinegar soy dip in my Filipino feast post is great for spooning over the clams instead of adding the soy sauce in the recipe! The kids were not fond of this particular dish but enjoys clams in combination with seafood and fish in other dishes. 

If you like clams, try my recipe for comfort food Korean Rice Porridge with Clams and a twist on ramen noodles with a Vietnamese clam dish Cơm Hến

Korean Rice Porridge with Clams

Vietnamese clam dish Cơm Hến with ramen noodles.

Japanese Ginger Pork (Shoga Yaki) and Aromatic Pork Salad

I've had Japanese food on my mind lately. Overdue for a date, my hubby and I are treating ourselves to a francophone film part of Toronto's annual Cinéfranco Festival with their opening flick Tokyo Fiancée... about a young French girl returning to her native Japan determined to be Japanese, a writer and falls in love. I can't wait!

My brother back from a decade long in Japan tells me his seven-year old son's favourite home-cooked meal is hands-down shoga yaki, a simple ginger pork dish served over steamed rice. A dish served over and over that never goes stale. Sounds easy and delicious to me, and of course I had to try my hands on making it for the family. Taking queues from my favourite Japanese cookbook author Harumi Kurihara, Japan's beloved culinary personality equivalent to Martha Stewart, here are recipes for Ginger Pork and a refreshing pork salad with aromatic herbs, crunchy peppers, shoots, sprouts and Korean pear.

Ginger Pork (Shoga Yaki)
Makes 4 servings

1-1/2 Tbsp. oil, divided
4 cups bean sprouts
salt and pepper
3/4 lb. pork, thinly sliced *NOTE: to make slicing easy, freeze pork for two hours before
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. mirin
1/2 to 1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger- to taste
1 clove garlic, minced

Freezing the pork for two hours makes slicing thinly easy!

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in skillet over medium-high heat, add the garlic, let sizzle for 15 second then add the bean sprouts and stir-fry for three minutes until crisp-tender. Season with salt and pepper, and remove onto serving plate.

A handy ginger plate with spikes to make grating ginger a cinch!

Mix together the soy sauce, mirin and grated ginger, and dip the pork into this marinade briefly, then place into skillet over medium-high heat with remaining 1/2 Tbsp. oil. Make sure it cooks evenly. Cook until both sides are brown about a couple minutes on both sides. Do not overcook.  

Make sure the pork cooks evenly and doesn't stick together or curl up.

Lay the pork slices on top of the bean sprouts. If there are any remaining juices from the skillet, pour that on top. Served with steamed Korean or Japanese rice, simple roasted broccoli and Aromatic Pork Salad- recipe follows.

Extremely easy and wonderfully tasty, your taste buds will be thanking you after! The culmination of flavours and textures will have you coming back for more! I just used what I had in my fridge with a few bought ingredients. You can't go wrong with any toppings!

Aromatic Pork Salad
Makes 4 servings

1 Tbsp. oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 lb. finely sliced pork (use freeze technique above to make slicing easier)
salt and pepper
bunch cilantro leaves
green onions, sliced
shiso leaves, thinly sliced into strips
red pepper, thinly sliced
alfalfa sprouts
pea shoots
Korean or Asian pear, sliced into thin sticks
1 Tbsp. finely sliced ginger (optional) 
toasted sesame seeds
splashes of lemon juice
1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Season the pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Cook garlic for 15 seconds, then add the pork. Stir-fry until cooked through about four minutes. Remove into serving vessel.

Cover generously with the vegetables, herbs and pear in layers or scattered over the pork. NOTE: You can have your kids help you with the assembly!

Give a few squeezes of lemon, drizzle over the soy sauce and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

We were wowed with all the crunchy toppings and flavourful pork... a stand-out ingredient in this colourful dish is the shiso leaves- citrusy, minty and hints of basil! So complementary!

Now let's eat.... Itadakimase!

Kids Can Cook and Want to Given the Chance...

Cooking together with your family is one of the most important factors to healthy eating. Making the change from cooking for your kids to cooking with your kids can feel like a leap but it's all about taking one small step at a time. Gradually your kids will be more proficient, independent, their confidence will grow and you will reap the rewards of building a stronger family connection and eating more healthily just by cooking together. Of course, it's easier and less messy if you just do it yourself, but if you allow your children to take part in some of the preparations, you will give them a sense of ownership and pride in the final results. And it can be a superb way to motivate fussy eaters to try new tastes and gain confidence with a variety of foods. Preparing meals can be educational; children quickly pick up new skills when they're having fun- they'll learn about weighing, measuring, mixing, spreading, pouring, chopping, organising and following instructions, as well as finding out how ingredients work together. This translates to everyday life- trying a new recipe is not unlike learning math or problem-solving skills. It takes persistence, resilience, patience and creative thinking- life lessons that is worthy of a messy kitchen!

I have been reading the alarming rates of how home cooking is in serious decline- less and less are enjoying a home-cooked meal, and worse it's being taken over by convenience food and the microwave. Kids are no longer learning this basic life skill at home or at school, and it has negatively impacted their health. Eating processed foods and consuming food outside the home are playing key roles in the high rates of obesity and the stark reality that this is the first generation of kids that might not outlive their parents. (Let's Move. "Learn the Facts," Feb 25th, 2014). A big part of the solution: teach kids the essential life skill of how to cook and how to cook nutritious foods! This message can't be louder... as an ambassador for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, Jamie’s global petition will call on the leaders and governments of all G20 countries to make practical food education a compulsory part of every school curriculum. Sign and make your voice heard. We can make this happen together!

Taking the learnings from my collaboration with Jennifer Tyler Lee's book 52 New Foods Challenge, here are some of her fantastic tips to keep sanity while learning to cook together:

Remove constraints- start by setting some time during the weekend to cook without time constraints. Offer a few easy, healthy recipes that can be done within an hour and let them choose one or two to make. Set it up like a project, with all the supplies- ingredients, cooking tools and equipment you need on the family table with nothing pre-measured or cut.

Let Go- just let them do it with close supervision while using kitchen tools. Go beyond making cookies such as prepping ingredients for soups, salads and dips.

Experiment- let your kids get creative, creating recipes with their intuition and trying new combinations such as toppings for salads, pizzas and homemade lemonade with different fruits. Encourage your kids to taste as they go, tweaking the seasoning to suit their taste preference. Ask questions so they learn to be well-versed in describing food characteristics and get in tune with their five senses, "what can you add to make it more sweet?", "what do you need to make it less sour?" "describe the smell and flavours of the dish?", "do you like it more salty, sweet, sour etc.,?" Soon your kids will be rhyming off food descriptors that will help both of you make great dishes together. Most importantly, just have fun!!

The following are a series of my favourite photos of my kids helping with meal preparations and those from my friends engaging their kids in the kitchen...

At one point, you got to let them try using knives. Closely supervised you will be surprised at how careful and responsible they can be. 

My boys lopping off green bean ends.

Washing and scrubbing vegetables is an easy but awesome task for kids to take part in. 

My son preparing rainbow carrot pickles.

Seasoning homemade guacamole.

Happy corn husking! Perfect task for the little one to help out.

Scooping seeds out of melons or gourds is a favourite task, then enjoying the fruits of their labour.

My friend Cathy has this to say cooking with her lovely girls, "my kids love making homemade pasta, choosing the shape and putting it through the press. With the Pampered Chef gadgets, they can safely slice veggies and manually process ingredients for salsa, chili and soups."

Photo Credit: Cathy Ireland

My cousin Helen's son looks so adorable going from serious to hilarious.... She tells me he was tenderizing the veal because they were attempting to make veal cutlet for the very first time. He was very excited to pound the veal as it left impressions from the meat tenderizer. He didn't eat any as he isn't a meat fan but the rest of the family enjoyed it. Ashton can't wait to pound again... he enjoys helping out in the kitchen.

Photo Credits: Helen Goodbody

This sharp fella' was excited when his mom got him the apron and chef hat. 

Here he is glazing ham and looks forward to help out with more cooking.

Photo Credit: F.M.

My son Etienne wrapping a family-favourite Chinese wonton dumplings. The first few were a bit wonky but I think he mastered the technique after his 20th dumpling :)

Shaking up homemade salad dressing and fun on Food Revolution Day 2014!

Making Jamie's champion Food Rev wrap Rainbow Salad Wrap.

My sister's three boys love to help in the kitchen. They wash their fruits and enjoy peeling vegetables. Measuring, adding spices, stirring, cracking eggs...and they are especially happy when they get a chance to use the rolling pin. Here they are taking turns filling raspberry jam centres for the raspberry shortbread thumbprint cookies.

Fun and creative DIY pizzas with a buffet of toppings for my nephew Jerome's birthday last weekend.

Pizzas made on foccacia bun halves for a different crust- YUM!

My fellow ambassador Mardi Michels held a hands-on kids cooking community event late February as part of our Food Revolution Community activities here in Toronto. 21 mums, dads and kids came and cooked Jamie Oliver's rainbow wraps, super smoothies (4 kinds!) and veggie soup! 

Photo Credit: Frank Yao

Photo Credit: Linda Matarasso

My friend Frank and his son Aiden attended. What a lovely pair and pear. :)

Photo Credit: Frank Yao

Aiden grating beets and a lovely girl shredding carrots to make a veggie filling for the rainbow wrap. Ambassador Carol Harrison tweeted "this little fellow loves @jamieoliver's Rainbow Wraps but thinks next time he'll add more vinegar!" So cute!

Photo Credit: Frank Yao

Lots of fresh basil for all to feel, smell and taste!

Green smoothie packed with nutrition and deliciousness! Aiden gave it the thumbs up! Frank tells me he and Aiden had an amazing time! "The ladies were so great. They were patient with the kids, and they talked to them without talking down to them, even when providing tips and instructions. Before we were out the door, Aiden was asking when we could go grocery shopping because he wanted to make all the smoothies at home." Great stuff- just what we love to hear!

Photo Credit: Frank Yao

Sign up your kids for cooking classes. The City of Toronto offers many affordable community kids cooking classes that can be found in their Fun Guide. Or better yet, organize a hands-on cooking class for your kids and their friends. I hosted a class during the March break so my kids could reconnect with old friends making lunch and a snack together. One of the key things I wanted the kids to experience was how to use their five senses to examine and taste the ingredients such as fresh herbs and veggies in front of them, and together, we could customize our lunch items. What a successful fun-filled day that you can pull together too! 

One mom had this to say after, "my son loved it! And he loved the idea of cooking. He made (with some help using the oven) soya salmon baked in the oven for dinner on Saturday! He decided that he would come up with his own recipe - soya sauce, garlic powder, chicken broth and maple syrup, and it was really good! I'm planning a small herb garden on our back deck this year, so maybe that will also allow the kids to discover more out the ingredients available to them!" I absolutely love hearing these testimonials from parents!

It's been proven, that kids enjoy cooking given the chance. Throw caution in the wind, let it go and let your kids cook with you. Before you know it, they will be trying new foods, getting creative and helping to bring a positive and healthy attitude to the family table. I will never forget when my oldest son said to me over dinner, "We are master eaters right mom, because we love your cooking?" Everyone wins!

Teriyaki Hamburg Steak (Hambagu)....

One of my most popular all-time recipe posts has got to be Savoury Mushroom Salisbury Steak. I can't blame you, it's really a simple family dish but with a big impact at the table! Hamburg steak with teriyaki sauce is Japan's take on this favourite dish and very common in Japanese home-cooking. With a texture more like meatloaf than steak, the combo of panko crumbs and eggs makes it light enough to eat with chopsticks. Use your favourite ground meat or a combination, and the savoury sweet teriyaki sauce can be used for just about anything but it's particularly good with meat and fish. Served over a bed of vegetables, and rice on the side you've got a square meal everyone will love!

Teriyaki Hamburg Steak (Hambagu)
Makes 6 patties

1 Tbsp. oil, divided 1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (or use 1/4 cup regular breadcrumbs instead)
3/4 cup milk
1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. lean ground pork
1 egg
3/4 tsp. salt
ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. butter
teriyaki sauce
vegetables such as broccoli florets, green beans and carrots cut into sticks, steamed
Teriyaki Sauce:
1/2 cup mirin
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar

Heat 2 tsp. oil in a large fry pan on medium-high and sauté onion well; set aside to cool. Place breadcrumbs in a small bowl and add the milk; allow liquid to be absorbed. This is key to getting the patties tender moist. In a large bowl, combine beef, pork, onions, soaked breadcrumbs and egg. Season with salt and pepper. 

Mix the meat well with hands until sticky. Make six meat balls and toss each ball from one hand to the other hand repeatedly; pat lightly on both sides to make them firm into patties; indent the centre with your thumb to avoid patties puffing up when cooking. 

Using disposable gloves makes patty-making mess-free!

Make a well in each patty with your thumb or it'll plump up like a football when cooking.

Heat remaining 1 tsp. oil and butter in a pan and cook hamburgers over medium heat until brown then flip to other side and cook until brown. Add 1/4 cup of hot water in the pan and cover with lid and steam hamburgers for a few minutes until done. Remove the lid and cook until the water is gone.In the meantime, steam your vegetables until crisp-tender.

To make the teriyaki sauce, heat the mirin in a small pan over low heat for two minutes then add the soy sauce and sugar; simmer for an additional one to two minutes. Plate the steamed vegetables on a serving platter. Top with hamburg steaks and pour some teriyaki sauce over with the remaining in a vessel to serve at the table.

Hamburg steak moist and tender with every bite and harmonious with savoury sweet teriyaki sauce! So-O good!  

Dinner is served! Teriyaki hamburg steaks over a medley of steamed veggies, steamed rice and homemade Caesar Salad. Western and Eastern elements marry in this meal just like the origins of Japanese hamburg.

Definitely a winner at our family table!

If you like hamburger steaks, try my Savoury Mushroom Salisbury Steaks- equally delicious and the inspiration behind my Japanese twist!