A Conscious Feast by Nicole Aloni

Jamie’s Food Revolution

Walk-in Cookbook Library

So many books cross my threshold (and fight their way into my overstuffed library/walk-in closet) that I decided to add reviews of some of the more interesting and/or thought-provoking to the site. I’ve gotten some wonderful books lately, and some that make me grieve for the trees wasted in their production.

Jamie's Food Revolution

One of the more interesting is Jamie’s Food Revolution.  It’s certainly not interesting because of the recipes, which by design are homey and simple. And the photography, too, is much less flossy and glamorous than the food porn most cookbooks strive for. I have to think that this, too, was was part of Jamie’s plan to make this food seem like something anyone could manage at home.

Jamie’s stated intention for this book is to engage readers in a massive pay it forward cooking movement. He asks you to commit to learning a few simple recipes (like the ones in the book) and then teach those to friends in culinary need. And then ask them to teach a few friends, and so on.  As he says in the introduction, if you teach 4 people, then they each teach 4, when that cycle has been completed 7 times the number of new cooks could fill Yankee Stadium 1 1/2 times! (Exponential math is sooo impressive).

And the reason to do this? Jamie’s thesis is that if we knew how to cook we might prefer it to processed and/or fast food. A generation of people who can’t make themselves a pot of soup or a meatloaf are set up to become victims of the processed food monopoly.

It’s all a little corny…  and a lot inspirational. There are many avenues that conscious folks are taking in their efforts to improve the quaity of what we put in our mouths, from locavores,to PETA vegans, Food Inc fans, and down-to-earth folks like Jamie O. I believe it’s going to take the combined efforts of all of those movements to put the skids on the runaway train that is the American food machine.  Count on me, Jamie.

As someone who already knows how to cook, I realized that I could pay it forward even faster.  I could offer free classes teaching very basic, manageable recipes in my community, Seattle. (Soo—I’m looking for a kitchen space large enough for 8 to 12 students. Please respond with any suggestions). I am committed to doing this as often as people continue to want the classes.

To get back to the actual cookbook reivew part, I love the soup section. I made the Spring Vegetable and Bean Soup and it was very tasty. His simple suggestions for how to “Pimp Up Your Soup” at the end of that chapter are appealing and easy; you really hear Jamie’s playful voice coming through. I also found his instructions for how to make perfect rice a revelation. I’ve always been rice-phobic and this sounds like a no-fail technique.

All in all, this would be a wonderful book for a novice cook, a busy mom anxious to put real food on the table for her family, or anyone who would like some ideas for simple, clean food.

Meanwhile, I’ll keep shopping at the farmer’s market, looking for artisanal meat, and making my own cheese. And supporting all of the other efforts I come across that look as if they will help us find our way back to the table and out of the drive-thru line.

I’ve missed the 6 episodes of Jamie Oliver’s television show of the same name. I understand it was very powerful.