Cogito Ergo Sum: Mangia che ti fa bene II

Like most girls, I started to learn how to cook at home with the women in the family. Dad was also a good cook, and he was always creating new things -his sandwiches, BBQs, juices and smoothies were always the best, and I still prepare them today as he did when I was little.

In Brazil, as in most Latin countries, cooking and eating is a big family thing, and at home we always enjoyed fresh and healthy food: meat, vegetables, salads, fruit, etc and biscuits, chocolate, ready-made dishes and desserts and fizzy drinks were considered once-a-month treats, as they were far too expensive to buy and poor in vitamins and nutrients.
above: me cooking at home

I really liked cooking then and I love cooking nowadays. For me, cooking is relaxing -I love selecting and preparing the ingredients, putting the flavours together and making the dishes look good and mouth-watering. Even better, after my travels I learned how to appreciate and cook different dishes using ingredients from all over the world.
And more than enjoying my own food, I take real pleasure in seeing other people appreciate and devour it!

However, I've never been into anything sophisticated -no time, no patience, no money, no utensils. I like to prepare simple, everyday dishes which are full of flavour and full of vitamins and nutrients, as well as low in saturated fat. I like recipes which are simple, hassle-free and nourishing.

In England I used to watch Jamie Oliver's cooking programmes religiously, as well as to buy his books. I don't care if people criticise him for this or that. His recipes are great, and he is good on TV: he has carisma, is not pedantic and he's been a hard-working guy all his life.

He always uses simple and tasty ingredients which are easy to find and prepare (well, in England. In Spain it's a bit more complicated), flavoursome and good-looking dishes.

above: I love fresh fruit

How delighted I am to find out that his "Jamie at Home" show can be seen here in Spain. It's dubbed, and that's not great, but so much better than anything the Spanish channel "Canal Cocina" shows. From what I've seen, Spanish cooking programmes are terribly directed and produced -the camera movements make you sick as they go from side to side, the chefs have no carisma and treat the public as if they were children or, worse, stupid. They're so smothering and irritating with their stupid jokes and comments! Also, the sets are terrible and uninspiring, as well as the dishes.

Anyway, I've just watched one of Jamie's programmes and, feeling inspired, decided to prepare something different for dinner today. I went online to find the recipe and what a great surprise! He's everywhere on the Internet: