Amy's Food Revolution: “My name is Amy. I’m a blogger and its been 45 days since my last post.”

I had lunch with a good friend from college a few weeks ago. We hadn't seen each other in over a decade and it was great to catch up. I was telling him about my blogging adventures and the journey this little project has taken me. Come to find out the cooking bug has bitten him since we last lived across the hall from each other in the dorm. Those were the days when we ate every meal in the campus dining room and I imagine cooking on our own was the farthest thing from our minds. He was super excited for me. Our conversation lead to my recent struggles with writers block. "Is it the pressure that has gotten to you this time?" he asked. I hadn't really thought of that before. I assumed that it was just that I didn't have a good story to tell about the meals I had made. But, he could be right. After our lunch, as I made my way out of the city, I sent him the link to my blog. While the train traveled to the 'burbs I had some time to reread some of my first blog posts. Boy, are they a bit rough! I thought back to when I started and at the time I really just thought close friends and family would be reading it. There was very little pressure and the stories just flowed out of me. Many of the initial posts were first drafts or written quickly with many distractions. Maybe he is right. Maybe this unshakeable writer’s block is pressure on myself. But, how to shake it?

I also told him about my newest Twitter follower, Jamie Oliver. "I really haven't figured out that twitter stuff," my friend said. I told him the funny story that when I wrote my first article for Jamie's Food Revolution team they asked as a side note in one email for my Twitter account so Jamie could send me a shout out. Uhhhh. Of course, I didn't have a twitter account and quickly made one up. On that train ride out of the city after our lunch I realized that my tweets needed some attention too. I have a hard time with brevity and the confines of 140 characters really gets to me.

And from all of that, I had an idea that I hope is going to cure my writer's block and give me some twitter practice. To catch up on my blog and to add some oomph to my writing here are my last 3 meals, in 140 characters or less, as tweets....

#Meal5. Thai Red Shrimp Curry, jasmine rice, cucumber salad & papaya platter. Curry is fast & tasty. Family not huge papaya fans but proud of them for trying!

http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/jamie-oliver/thai-red-prawn-curry-and-papaya-platter-meal

#Meal6. Curry Rogan Josh, fluffy rice, carrot salad, pappadams, chapattis, beer. Husband loves curry! Add beer to menu & its really a winner. The veg curry is a new fav!

#Meal7. Steak Sarnie, Crispy baby potatoes, cheesy mushrooms, beet salad. Awesome! Made the beet salad every night for a week. Topping on the sarnie is also a keeper!

Here's the Beet Salad Recipe but be sure to check the book for the full meal:

Jamie's Beet Salad, Meals in Minutes, pg. 202

1 8 oz. package cooked vacuum-packed beets (I couldn't find these and used a can of beets, they worked fine)

balsamic vinegar

1/2 lemon

bunch fresh Italian parsley

2 oz. feta cheese

Grate the beets in the food processor. Remove the bowl from the processor, take out the grater attachment and pour in a couple of lugs of balsamic vinegar and a few lugs of extra virgin olive oil. Squeeze in the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Finely chop the parsley and add most of it. Stir to dress, then tip into a nice serving bowl. Scatter over the rest of the parsley. Crumple over the feta. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and take to the table.

#Meal8. Spinach & Feta Filo Pie, cucumber salad, tomato salad, coated ice cream. Great for company! Easy pie feeds many. Great sides! Tasty dessert!