Birthday Fun

It was a fairly low key event this year, of course he got his 'number T-shirt' a tradition, I accidentally started back when he was 2!

We took the train to Manchester for the requested lunch... at Jamie's Italian, I'm pretty sure he waits for this all year long!

 

It was great, as expected! If you plan on going, join the free online gold club before you go to get freebies and specials, they did us proud this time around! Mom and I got free wine, and Ebi-kun got homemade lemonade, also a couple of tasters and his dessert was free too.

Took him a while to decide but he went for the carbonara in the end...

Then he got a special warm brownie with salted caramel ice-cream, caramel pop-corn and butterscotch sauce. It was really good but he struggled to finish it! (Of course I had to help him a bit!)

We then had to go to the book store and the Lego shop, after all that we were all knackered and decided to head home... for birthday cake (a bit of a cake overdose!) Colin The Caterpillar from M&S, had to be done!

All good fun, another year done! He is already planning on what he will order from Jamie next year!

Taste Tests: Ebi-kun Eats special #foodrevolution

Ebi-kun Eats speacial today!

This was for the Jamie Oliver's #foodrevolution. Ebi-kun wanted to cook a nice healthy meal and he did it live streaming to Facebook. The original was (painfully) long so we edited it down!

Enjoy... And if you want the recipes, click through to his YouTube channel, he posted them over there.

A Surprise Visit To Jamie Olivers Italian

I am so behind with my blogging! Apologies, it has taken some time to settle back in and get my head in a normal place!

Now let me whizz you back in time a bit... The place: Manchester.

We met my little brother at his office and headed off for a bit of a mooch around the Northern Quarter the he walked us down to Jamie's Italian, he had some shopping to do so it was a lunch date for me and Ebi-kun...and my, was he excited!

Now, if you are thinking of going, I have a TOP TIP - pop over to his website and sign up for the Gold Club, it's free but by doing that you get priority booking, a free taster and 10 pound off your first visit if you spend 30 pound or more!

So, we had our free taster first which was a whipped ricotta herby concoction on bruschetta and was delicious. Then we had the special which was a tuna and tomato bruschetta, also very good. Ebi-kun decided to have the kids meal, the waiter was really good and helped him decide what to have, it was a toss up between the spag bol or the sliders, spag bol won.

It was an absolute treat to eat with Ebi-kun, he really did savour every mouthful, couldn't stop thanking me and declared it was the best spag bol he had ever eaten, ever! He insisted on eating with tiny mouthfuls so he could make it last (this certainly wasn't a quick meal)

I went for the ricotta gnudi dumplings in sage, lemon and parmesan butter - just melted in your mouth. I also had the crunchy green side salad and Ebi-kun had the shake me salad.

Then for dessert, yes, we went all out! Ebi-kun had honeycomb ice-cream and I had this, to-die-for amalfi lemon meringue cheesecake. Oh My Gosh! So good.

We were so full! And when the bill came I was happily surprised that we had just gone over the 30 pound mark which meant our bill was just 20 pound! Fabulous.

We finished just in time to meet my friend Lesley and her two kids...

It's Food Revolution Day!

Friday was Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day (#FRD2014). The idea behind FRD is to get kids in the kitchen and learning where the food comes from, what goes in a meal and learning some cooking skills. Ebi-kun is already pretty handy in the kitchen so he was up for it. He spent a good few hours scouring the cook books and coming up with recipes for his meal. 

This was stage one, we had to scupper some recipes because either the main ingredients are not locally available or it was something that isn't in season at the moment. Finally he came up with….

Fresh pasta (homemade) with Genovese sauce

Parma ham salad with orange vinegarette

Sweet satay dip with fresh fruit kebabs

It just happened that Mr Ebi and myself had been for our annual health check that day, so daddy was home and was assigned the job of sous chef. So once homework was out of the way, it was all hands on deck in the kitchen.

Picking the basil for the pasta sauce…

Sharpening his knife, he does this every time before using it, a sharp knife is safer than a blunt one…

Daddy got to do things like washing the veg and the washing up! Lucky him. Preparing the salad…

And the dressing…

The sweet satay dip was lovely but made way too much so we have had it on bread and pancakes too!

He prepared the pasta dough in the bread maker, ruling it is hard work so sous chef got that job and Ebi-kun then cut it. Fresh pasta is so much nicer than pre-made, we should get in the habit of making it more often, it is just a matter of being organized enough to let it chill for an hour.

Pasta with gevenose pesto - absolutely delicious.

Thumbs up from the chef! We are lucky that our kitchen is big enough to have more than one person work in there without it being dangerous, a lot of Japanese kitchens are small and not very kid friendly. It is also important for me to be raise a son that can leave home and feed himself properly, not survive on cup noodles and combine bentos and Ebi-kun loves food, trying new things and cooking so it was a perfect end to the day!

And not forgetting dessert…

A big thank you to Jamie, his goal was to get 1 million kids in the kitchen, not sure if he hit that but they had FRD going on in 119 countries, which is pretty impressive.

Did you join in? What did your little chef make?

Are You Joining The Food Revolution

As you know, I am somewhat, a bit of a Jamie Oliver fan, not just because of his cooking style but because of the great work he does in food education. His main message to kids is for them to be food smart, understanding where their food comes from and what goes in their meals.

So, will you be joining us for Jamie's Food Revolution Day?

We will planning out a menu and making everything from scratch (which is what I do with most of our meals anyway!) I think we will actually be doing the meal on Thursday since daddy will be home that day, it would be nice to sit down all together, not something we get to do usually during the week.

http://www.foodrevolutionday.com

Let me know if you are joining in, I'd love to know what your kids are rustling up in the kitchen!

Jamie's 15 Minute Meals Challenge Round UP

15 minute meal on Amazon or The Book Depository

OK, I have tried several of the 15 minute Meals recipes and the ones I blogged about I have tried more than once. For me, I could do the meals in 15 - 20 minutes, I could certainly do them quicker the second or third time round, I suppose because I didn't lose time reading through the instructions so much.

Out of all the recipes I tried, we have liked them all, I discovered that some of the side dishes were super quick and super tasty, normally if I am short of time, we have a main dish and that is it, no side salads and whatnot. I don't do fish, so I can't answer to those recipes but most of the ingredients I have been able to get here, some I had to order online though.

I have also become more adventurous with the steamer, I only ever used it for veggies before so that is also a big plus.

So down to the nuts and bolts of it all, yes, with practise the meals can be prepared in 15 minutes BUT you also need to add in time to get out all the equipment you will need plus pre-wash veg. To do it in a non stressed way, I think sensibly with prep time you are looking at 30 minutes.

The other thing to keep in mind is that he uses a lot of equipment, there is always piles and piles of washing up and the kitchen looks like a war zone by the time I have finished! If I am trying to save time a one pot meal works better, at least I haven't got as much washing up to do then.

All in all, I am happy with the book, since buying it we have had a Jamie meal once a week, the recipes are tasty and interesting, shame it doesn't come with a free dishes-washer-upper!

Here are the recipes I have reviewed...

Recipe #1 Chicken Dim Sum pg 24
Recipe #2 Steak Medallions, Mushroom Sauce and spring Greens pg 82
Recipe #3 Grilled Steak, Ratatouille & Saffron Rice pg 70
Recipe #4 Falafel Wraps, Grilled Veg & Salsa pg 226
Recipe #5 Korean Fried Rice, Steak, Mushrooms and Pickles pg 76
Recipe #6 Golden Chicken pg 48

Are you a Jamie fan? Do you have any of his other books?

Jamie's 15 Minute Meals Challenge #6

This is round one of the J.O. vs Jo 15 minutes smack down, I am testing Jamie Oliver's recipes for his new 15 minute meals book. If you are playing along, leave a comment with your blog post link or just talk us through it in the comments section.

Recipe #6 Golden Chicken pg 48

Sourcing the ingredients:

Everything was for the regular supermarket

Ready, steady, cook...

This was probably the easiest meal to date. I had to slice the potatoes by hand because I don't have a fancy gadget to do it for me, so I lost a bit of time there. Everything else came together really quickly and easily.

Verdict

J.O.'s time 15 minutes

Jo's time 18 minutes

Family opinion - Daddy Ebi - 9/10
                           Me - 9/10
                       Ebi-kun 8/10 (lost a point because of the leeks, one of the very few things he doesn't like)

I am sure I only lost time with the slicing of the potatoes, I can live with that!

Notes to self:

No extra notes to add this time. Not only was this recipe one of the easiest to put together it also required the least amount of washing up. What I have noticed that these meals can be thrown together really quickly but they generate a mountain of dirty pots, pans and dishes. In that respect, I am not convinced it saves you much time.

I would love to make this a community post so if you are joining please comment below, if you have landed here from a facebook group, I would love it if you could add your comments here rather than facebook so that everyone can read your feedback. If you have blogged about one of the 15 minute or 30 minute recipes then feel free to leave the link to the actual post and remember to say which recipe you used in the comment.

I have also started a pinterest board for my photos for the challenge, it you are a fellow pinterest addict and would like to contribute to the board, let me know and leave your pinterest name in the comments.

Jamie's 15 Minute Meals Challenge #5

This is round three of the J.O. vs Jo 15 minutes smack down, I am testing Jamie Oliver's recipes for his new 15 minute meals book. If you are playing along, leave a comment with your blog post link or just talk us through it in the comments section.

Recipe #5 Korean Fried Rice, Steak, Mushrooms and Pickles pg 76

Sourcing the ingredients:

Harissa was bought through kenko
Everything else was bought at the supermarket.

Cheats
I cooked rice in the rice cooker - just normal white Japanese rice.
Also used the thinly sliced beef rather than steak.
Used mixed salad leaves rather than lettuce and spinach

Ready, steady, cook...

This was another recipe that pulled together easily and I think next time I could do it in the 15 minutes. I have noticed that a lot of these recipes create a lot of washing up! If you live in a house where you have the rule where the one that doesn't cook has to wash up, then this is not an issue. I liked the idea of adding the spice at end so you can adjust it for each person, especially handy when you have kids who don't like really spicy food.

Verdict

J.O.'s time 15 minutes

Jo's time 17 minutes

Family opinion - Ebi-kun 9/10
                           Daddy 9/10
                           Me 9/10 

This was another winner, the beef and mushrooms were really good, Ebi-kun really isn't fussed on steak so using the thinly sliced beef was a big hit, I think I will try the previous steak recipe with this type of beef next time. Surprisingly, the rice was really good too, although I am still confused on why it is Korean rice!

Notes to self:

Stick to the thinly sliced beef!

I would love to make this a community post so if you are joining please comment below, if you have landed here from a facebook group, I would love it if you could add your comments here rather than facebook so that everyone can read your feedback. If you have blogged about one of the 15 minute or 30 minute recipes then feel free to leave the link to the actual post and remember to say which recipe you used in the comment.

Want to see the other Jamie challenges? Read them HERE

I have also started a pinterest board for my photos for the challenge, it you are a fellow pinterest addict and would like to contribute to the board, let me know and leave your pinterest name in the comments.

That wraps up round three, pop back next week for round five...

Jamie's 15 Minute Meals Challenge #4

This is round three of the J.O. vs Jo 15 minutes smack down, I am testing Jamie Oliver's recipes for his new 15 minute meals book. If you are playing along, leave a comment with your blog post link or just talk us through it in the comments section.

Recipe #4 Falafel Wraps, Grilled Veg & Salsa pg 226

Sourcing the ingredients:

Harissa was bought through kenko
Everything else was bought at the supermarket or Yamaya.

Cheats
I used regular white tortillas because they are the only ones I can buy.
I also used mixed salad leaves instead of coriander.

Ready, steady, cook...

Again, I had food processor issues, mine not being big enough! Apart from that it was really easy to follow and came together quickly. I should have made 8 falafel but only did 6 so they took a wee bit longer to cook, I have no doubt I can do this in 15 minutes next time, I was soooo close first time round! I also need to remember to get the table top grill heated up high before I start. 

Verdict

J.O.'s time 15 minutes

Jo's time 17 minutes

Family opinion - Ebi-kun 9/10
                           Daddy 9/10
                           Me 9/10 

It was really tasty and all got demolished, I'll be making this one again for sure.

Notes to self:

Buy a bigger food processor!

I would love to make this a community post so if you are joining please comment below, if you have landed here from a facebook group, I would love it if you could add your comments here rather than facebook so that everyone can read your feedback. If you have blogged about one of the 15 minute or 30 minute recipes then feel free to leave the link to the actual post and remember to say which recipe you used in the comment.

Want to see the other Jamie challenges? Read them HERE

I have also started a pinterest board for my photos for the challenge, it you are a fellow pinterest addict and would like to contribute to the board, let me know and leave your pinterest name in the comments.

That wraps up round three, pop back next week for round five...

Jamie's 15 Minute Meals Challenge #3

This is round three of the J.O. vs Jo 15 minutes smack down, I am testing Jamie Oliver's recipes for his new 15 minute meals book. If you are playing along, leave a comment with your blog post link or just talk us through it in the comments section.

Recipe #3 Grilled Steak, Ratatouille & Saffron Rice pg 70

Sourcing the ingredients:

Harissa was bought through kenko
Everything else was bought at the supermarket or Hanamasa.

Cheats
We have regular Japanese rice and a rice cooker so I popped all the rice in the cooker an hour or so before we would be eating.

Ready, steady, cook...

I think this has been the easiest meal to put together to date. I did skip the fresh herb dressing for the steak because we hadn't got any herbs in and what we have in the garden isn't looking very healthy just now. Obviously the rice was a breeze, the steak took a bit longer to cook that I suspect Jamie did his because non of us like it bloody in the middle. The ratatouille was easy and would make a good lunch on it's own served with couscous.

Verdict

J.O.'s time 15 minutes

Jo's time 17 minutes

Family opinion - Ebi-kun 5/10
                           Daddy 8/10
                           Me 5/10 

This didn't score very high at all, Ebi-kun and I didn't like the rice much. I often make ratatouille in the tagine and add prunes to the dish, it is sweeter and much tastier, sorry Jamie, my tagine recipe is much tastier! All in all, I doubt I will be making this one again.

Notes to self:

Double check the table top grill is heating up!
If using bigger potatoes keep an eye on the cooking time

I would love to make this a community post so if you are joining please comment below, if you have landed here from a facebook group, I would love it if you could add your comments here rather than facebook so that everyone can read your feedback. If you have blogged about one of the 15 minute or 30 minute recipes then feel free to leave the link to the actual post and remember to say which recipe you used in the comment.

I have also started a pinterest board for my photos for the challenge, it you are a fellow pinterest addict and would like to contribute to the board, let me know and leave your pinterest name in the comments.

That wraps up round three, pop back next week for round four...

Jamie's 15 Minute Meals Challenge #2

This is round two of the J.O. vs Jo 15 minutes smack down, I am testing Jamie Oliver's recipes for his new 15 minute meals book. If you are playing along, leave a comment with your blog post link or just talk us through it in the comments section.

Recipe #2 Steak Medallions, Mushroom Sauce and spring Greens pg 82

Sourcing the ingredients:

I had to improvise quite a bit with this menu, this is what I swapped...
Porcini mushrooms (expensive) for dried shiitake
Baby new potatoes (out of season) for regular old potatoes
Tender stem broccoli (whatever that is) for regular broccoli
Savoy Cabbage (out of season) for sugar snap peas

Everything else was bought at the supermarket or Hanamasa.

Ready, steady, cook...

It all pretty much went to plan, I remembered to wash everything beforehand except for the potatoes. I washed and quartered them but left the skin on. This meal did seem to generate a lot of washing up, I'm not sure whether cutting down on cooking time but having more washing up time is my idea of fun! I loved how the green veg turned out, really tasty and the mushroom dip was very more-ish,  I made too much so used the leftovers on baked potatoes the next day.

Verdict

J.O.'s time 15 minutes

Jo's time 19 minutes

Family opinion - Ebi-kun 7/10 (he had trouble chewing the steak)
                           Daddy 9/10
                           Me 8/10 (new potatoes would have been so much better)

Notes to self:

Double check the table top grill is heating up!
If using bigger potatoes keep an eye on the cooking time

I would love to make this a community post so if you are joining please comment below, if you have landed here from a facebook group, I would love it if you could add your comments here rather than facebook so that everyone can read your feedback. If you have blogged about one of the 15 minute or 30 minute recipes then feel free to leave the link to the actual post and remember to say which recipe you used in the comment.

I have also started a pinterest board for my photos for the challenge, it you are a fellow pinterest addict and would like to contribute to the board, let me know and leave your pinterest name in the comments.

That wraps up round two, pop back next week for round two...

Jamie's 15 Minute Meals Challenge #1

This is round one of the J.O. vs Jo 15 minutes smack down, I am testing Jamie Oliver's recipes for his new 15 minute meals book. If you are playing along, leave a comment with your blog post link or just talk us through it in the comments section.

Recipe #1 Chicken Dim Sum pg 24

Sourcing the ingredients:

I couldn't get broccoli stems so I used regular broccoli and I ordered hoisin sauce from Kenko. Everything else I could get at the local supermarket, I imagine coconut milk might be difficult in some places in Japan, it is only recently that we have been able to buy it at the regular supermarket but I have been able to buy it for years at Yamaya.
I also used red pepper instead of chili pepper, out of personal choice.

As the book suggested, I got out all my ingredients and equipment before I started, I do feel this is a bit of a cheat but it did only take a couple of minutes.

Ready, steady, cook...

My first mistake was trying to fit all the ingredients for the buns in my tiny mixer, so then I had to tip everything into a bowl and mix it by hand. I lost a few minutes doing all this!

Once the buns were on, the rest went pretty smoothly. My second mistake was not washing the veg before I started, not such a big deal as it has to be done at some stage but again, I lost some time doing it.

The final point was again having equipment smaller than Jamie's, he must use a steamer much bigger than the one I have because the chicken took a few minutes more to cook through and because of that the broccoli was over cooked grrr. I love the steamed buns and will use that part of the recipe again on it's own, Ebi-kun already had suggestions on how to serve them.

Everything else was quick and easy to do, and I love the idea of just slapping it on a big serving tray and  putting it on the table. 

Verdict

J.O.'s time 15 minutes

Jo's time 24 minutes

Family opinion - they loved it, everyone scored it 9/10

I am pretty sure I can get the time down next time, I am actually chuffed to get such a fab meal in less than 30 minutes, which even with the prep, it was under 30 minutes. 

Notes to self:

Remember to wash the veg before you start!

Mix the buns by hand

Steam the broccoli separately

I would love to make this a community post so if you are joining please comment below, if you have landed here from a facebook group, I would love it if you could add your comments here rather than facebook so that everyone can read your feedback. If you have blogged about one of the 15 minute or 30 minute recipes then feel free to leave the link to the actual post and remember to say which recipe you used in the comment.

I have also started a pinterest board for my photos for the challenge, it you are a fellow pintest addict and would like to contribute to the board, let me know and leave your pinterest name in the comments.

That wraps up round one, pop back next week for round two...

Ohhh and on a kitchen related note, if you haven't signed up for the Ultimate Kitchen Clear Out yet, you can do so HERE.

Are you up for a challenge?

One of my Christmas presents was Jamie Oliver's new book, 15 minute meals. Since living in Japan, I have become very skeptical about cook books written in English basically because it is usually a nightmare trying to source the ingredients. I have, over the years I become an expert at bodging recipes together, using what I can get.

There is a pantry list supplied with the book and you can download the PDF version here, I don't have everything on the list but what I have done is to go through the recipes I will be trying out first and stocked up with anything I needed, what I haven't been able to get in the supermarket, I have been able to order online (three cheers for the internet!). Anyone IN Japan, there is a great facebook group, Japan Friendly Recipes - When you go to sign up, please leave a message to the group owner telling where abouts in Japan you live. (The group is for Japan residents only).

The recipes in the book are all healthy and there is a nutritional breakdown for each meal at the back of the book. We are trying to move away from eating processed foods or at least in moderation, choosing freshly prepared if possible. I am also all for getting in the kitchen and getting out again quick, I do enjoy cooking but not all the time, some days I just want the food on the table already, so the idea of doing it in 15 minutes really appeals.

Now, I know there is a lot of skepticism about actually putting a fab meal together in 15 meals and when you look at the pictures you think, no way! So, I thought it would be fun to do a challenge, want to play along?

Get 15 minute meals From Amazon or The Book Depository

This is how it will work:

On a Thursday I will do a blog post reviewing one of the meals from the book. Whether I managed to meet the 15 minute challenge or not. If not, where I thought I had gone wrong or how I think I can do better next time. I'll also add any Japan cheats for those of you in Japan and facing the same issues. Now, I don't eat fish and I don't cook it so there will be no fishy recipe reviews!

If you want to join in and you blog, grab the badge, link to the new weeks post and write up your review on your blog then add the link in the comments. 

If you don't blog or you do but this doesn't fit with your bloggy theme then just leave a comment with your chosen recipe, review and feedback.

The first recipe I am going to try is Chicken Dim Sum on page 24, you can either do the same one or pick something completely different. If you don't have the 15 minute meals book but you do have the 30 minute meals, then use that.

I reckon it should be fun, learning some new recipes, challenging ourselves to get dinner on the table in record time and eating healthily too. If you are thinking of playing along, please leave a comment....