Recap

I know we have a few new readers so bear with me while I catch everyone up to speed. Even if you have been reading along, it’s been such a long journey, a recap might not be such a bad idea. 

Two years ago, I couldn't cook. I was a mom of two and I could barely boil water to make pasta without making a complete mess. My husband often took over in the kitchen and we would hobble dinner together every night. [Note: Husband thinks he did pretty good] It made me feel awful. I wanted to cook for my family and I was determined to become a good cook. I tried countless gadgets in the kitchen that I thought would be the key to my success but we were still eating tacos and take out. After watching the movie, Julie & Julia, I decided that it was just what I needed to teach me how to cook. I would cook all of the recipes in a cookbook in 365 days and I knew at the end I'd HAVE to be a better cook. Now, in the movie Julie Powell cooked her way through Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and I knew my little ones were not going to be very cooperative with a year of fancy French cooking. When I started looking for a book, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution was just hitting the stands here in the US and the first season of his TV show by the same name was also about to begin. The idea of the book, teaching everyone how to cook for their families and then teaching others to do the same with the "pass it on" pledge was just what I was looking for. I started in March of 2010 and cooked all 173 recipes in 365 days. It was a life changing experience. Not only did I learn to cook but through my blog (which I honestly just thought my family and friends would read) I encouraged others to do the same. Then, in a strange turn of events I ended up teaching cooking classes for Whole Foods and becoming one of Jamie's Food Revolution Heroes. It was more than I could have ever imagined! So that's the recap. 

Now I know you are all wondering what happened after I was done. Honestly, I didn't really have a plan when I was done. I got emails and texts and phone calls from family, friends, acquaintances and strangers asking what I was going to do next. Everyone seemed to want more but I wasn't really sure what that "more" would be. I had thought I was done. The one question I did keep asking myself though was, "Am I a cook now?" 

When I started my Food Revolution and I told everyone that I wanted to learn how to cook, they all seemed to say, "Well, what makes a good cook?" This was my list of what I thought would satisfy my idea of being a cook:

1) Go to the store and buy ingredients to "whip something up." 
2) have a couple of recipes that I know and can make without pulling out a recipe book. 
3) Roast a chicken. 
4) Be "known" for something that she makes 
AND 
5) Have dinner on the table almost every night with little to no stress.

My Food Revolution seemed to help me accomplish all of these things but the last one still seemed out of my grasp, I still seemed to struggle during the week to get dinner on the table during those busy nights without it seeming like a huge production. Now I know "little to no stress" is pretty unrealistic but I found myself slipping back into old habits during the week and I wanted to do better. While I was Christmas shopping I came across Jamie's newest book, "Meals in Minutes." Just like my first Food Revolution started, I opened to read the intro by Jamie and it was like he was writing to me. 

Meals in Minutes promises to teach the reader a "totally revolutionary new way of cooking." Did he say revolutionary? He goes on to say that "it's about being organized, working fast and using shortcuts and clever tricks to put insanely delicious plates of food on the table in no time." I love it! What I really love is that even Jamie Oliver was having the same problem I was. He wrote this book because he also got home to hungry kids and then fumbled about in the kitchen trying to figure out what to make. Even Jamie Oliver has trouble with #5! And just like that, I knew that the second part of Amy's Food Revolution was about to begin! 

Thanks, Jamie!