Each month, my son and his girlfriend come over to share dinner with us.  Each time I always ask “What are you guys eating for dinner, do you get enough vegetables and salad”?  Well, they always tell me the same thing….they buy pre-marinated chicken, beef, shrimp etc. at the grocery store, and pre-made salads.  Although my son does love food, he does not really want to cook.  Now if you put my son behind a camera, with the director shouting “action”, he is in his element!  I always try to encourage them to cook from scratch…they quietly nod their heads, then back to the store bought marinated foods it is.

So, this time, I pulled out Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Cook Book.  I told them they could have the book, and encouraged them to try some of the recipes. My son’s girlfriend (who loves books) began turning the pages.  Within a few minutes, they both were saying “wow that looks good, ohhh, so does this”.  When she got to the end of the book, she looked at my son and quietly said: “maybe we could try one recipe a week”?  I could see some hesitation in my son’s eyes, but he said okay.

Lo and behold….they are cooking!  I am sooo thrilled.  The first recipe they made was Jamie’s Chicken Fajitas, which they said were amazing!   And the beauty of Jamie’s Food Revolution Cook Book, is to pass it on, get people in the kitchen to learn how to cook.
Being the huge Jamie Oliver fan that I am, I have just purchased Jamie’s newest Cook Book:  Jamie’s America.

In reading through the book…I am always amazed by his food.  I start to drool, with each turn of the page.  There is not one single recipe, I do not want to cook!  The pictures are to die for, and I love all of his stories to go with each recipe.  The first recipe I made was Jamie’s Honey Rice, on page 342.

So easy and so delicious!  The only thing I did different was in place of low fat milk, I used Soy Milk.  He also tops his with a nut and seed granola, and huckleberry jam.  I kept mine simple, and just added a dollop of Homemade Strawberry Jam…..such delicious, comforting, pudding. Next time I will try using organic Coconut Milk, doesn't that sound good?

So this is my version of Jamie’s Honey rice:
1 ¼ cups Arborio rice
1 ½ quarts soy milk
½ cup honey
1 vanilla bean, cut in half and scrape out the seeds
pinch of salt
Place all of the ingredients into a large sauce pan, stirring well on medium heat.  When the mixture begins to softly boil, turn the heat down to minimum.  I would stir, then leave for a few minutes, then stir again, and leave for a few minutes.  This took about 45 minutes, near the end you will need to stir frequently.  Remove from heat and serve with homemade jam or preserves.  Thank you Jamie for yet another wonderful Cook Book!