Obama Foodorama: 03/28/2010

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Video: Highlights From The 2010 White House Easter Egg Roll

After the jump, the lovely official video of fun moments from the 2010 Easter Egg Roll. There's literally one second of the Play With Your Food area, the section devoted to food and gardening, with a brief shot of kids looking at seeds. Perhaps this is Part I of the highlight reel, and the Roll foodie action will be posted in future. But the First Lady is rollin' out, the President shoots hoops, and there are plenty of Easter Eggs. Meantime, read all about Play With Your Food here...

Transcript: First Lady's Remarks At Let's Move! Town Hall Event, White House

OIG Report: FDA Inspection of Food Plants and Enforcement Have Tumbled

Food safety legislation languishes in the Senate...

2010 White House Easter Egg Roll Recap: Ready, Set, Go Play With Your Food!

White House chefs lead mini gastronomy academy for kids...lots of photos after the jump
At this year's White House Easter Egg Roll, food and health were front and center, in keeping with First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign. The Play With Your Food activity area at the Roll featured all kinds of delicious recipes created by the White House chefs, but it was also a mini gastronomic university, complete with food science experiments, serious nutrition advice, and gardening investigations that included microscopes and dissection. Yet it was all so fun and exciting that none of the child visitors realized that they were getting a critical education.

Transcript & Video: President's Remarks At Easter Prayer Breakfast, With Guest List

The White House Chefs Play With Their Food At The 2010 Easter Egg Roll

"A great day"
The White House chefs were mobbed with visitors wanting to watch what they were doing, and say hello--and shake hands--at the 2010 Easter Egg Roll, which was a star-studded event attended by some 30,000 guests.

On the Storytime Stage, bestselling British author and literary sensation J. K. Rowling read to kids from the first installment of her Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and The Sorcerers Stone.

Bo the First Dog accompanied the First Family as they officially welcomed guests to the 2010 White House Easter Egg Roll from the Truman Balcony; First Lady Michelle Obama had the fluffy fellow on a leash as she formally kicked off the event, and then he walked down into the crowd with the Obamas. In the afternoon, your intrepid blogger ran into Bo, off-leash, trotting back into the West Wing after being walked on the South Lawn, mid-Roll, by his official caretaker, gardener Dale Haney (above, minus Haney).

Haney has been walking various Presidential Dogs for about three decades, and Bo is his latest charge. Bo had no comment for reporters who shouted questions at him, but Haney said hello...(above: Haney ahead of Bo, entering the Palm Court hallway between the White House and the West Wing)

*Photos by Obama Foodorama.

Rolling: Social Secretary Julianna Smoot...

New Social Secretary Julianna Smoot (in pink) came down to the South Lawn with the First Family when they arrived mid-morning to greet guests.

An easy, cold summer soup from Assistant Chef Sam Kass...

Obama White House book faves: "Green Eggs and Ham," "Horton Hatches The Egg"
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama gave a rousing joint reading of Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham to a gang of about 25 super excited kids at the White House Easter Egg Roll today. The President told the kids the Dr. Seuss book is "a classic."

"I'm going to try to do the best rendition ever of Green Eggs and Ham," President Obama said.

Egg prep done by a local social services agency
Above, one of the 1,200 citizen volunteers who worked at the 2010 White House Easter Egg Roll holds a crate of the eggs that were used for the traditional Egg Rolling race, which takes place at the top of the South Lawn.

Academy Award winning actress Reese Witherspoon was one of the many celebs reading to kids from the Storytime Stage at the 2010 White House Easter Egg Roll (the President and First Lady read some very foodie books to kids, as did Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling). Witherspoon read "Weezer Changes the World" to an early morning group of Rollers, and she also read "The Best Pet of All."

The First Family Egg Rolls...

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama took daughters Malia and Sasha down to the Easter Egg Rolling course after welcoming their guests to the South Lawn. President Obama kicked off the first egg rolling...

Ready, Set, Go!
President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha and Ms. Marian Robinson joined the Easter Bunny on the Truman Balcony to welcome guests to the White House and officially open the 2010 Easter Egg Roll just before 11:00 AM this morning.

2010 White House Easter Egg Roll: Pastry Chef Yosses & The Chocolate Farm

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

On Today show, Executive Chef Cris Comerford and Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses show off the special Easter Chocolate Farm created for the event. Usually the special decorative tableau is a village, but this year, in honor of First Lady Michelle Obama's healthy eating campaign and the Roll's Play With Your Food activity area, the "village" is a farm.

The 2010 Easter Egg Roll Begins...

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have not officially opened the Easter Egg Roll yet, but guests are on the South Lawn and already doing the traditional egg rolling. Actress Reese Witherspoon is reading stories to kids from the Storytime Stage, and the cast of Glee just performed...

2010 White House Easter Egg Roll: The Food And Gardening Activities

Celeb chefs, organic foods, garden crafts, family farmers market...and 19,000 hardboiled eggs
The b

ig slate of activities centered around food and gardening at today's 2010 White House Easter Egg Roll is unprecedented in the history of the event, a White House tradition that dates back to 1878. But it's in keeping with First Lady Michelle Obama's year-long focus on raising awareness about food and health. And the First Lady, as official hostess, is welcoming all foodie stakeholders to the event: Marshmallow Peeps and Hershey's chocolates are sharing the stage with with local, organic fruits and vegetables.

Many of the events will be livestreamed today when President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama welcome 30,000 guests to the South Lawn for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. The hopping livestream starts at 10:45 AM EDT: www.whitehouse.gov/live. The full list of events scheduled to be streamed is after the jump.

First Family Attends Easter Sunday Church Service In Washington, DC - Pool Report

The First Family will attend Easter church services this morning, according to the White House, and they will enjoy traditional Easter activities later in the day...

What's Next For Former Social Secretary Desiree Rogers? Lunch In Chicago. With You.

Rogers will dish on her old job, and take questions...
There's rampant speculation about where former Social Secretary Desiree Rogers will hang her very chic hat now that she's left the White House and returned to private life. But one line on Rogers' dance card is filled: The Chicago Advertising Federation just announced that Rogers will be speaking on April 29 at a special luncheon at the Palmer House Hilton, in the Obama hometown, Chicago. And the public is invited to "A Conversation With Desiree Rogers."

Sam Kass Blogs About The Spring Planting Of The White House Kitchen Garden

"More important than the harvest is the national conversation..."

Reese Witherspoon, Billie Jean King, Apolo Ohno, NFL stars, Elmo...and a Mini Kitchen Garden craft...

Now, and for the future...
In a special conference call with journalists, First Lady Michelle Obama announced that Newark, NJ Mayor Cory Booker and former Senator Bill Frist are the new vice co-chairs for Partnership For A Healthier America, the independent non-profit foundation that was created as part of her campaign to end child obesity, Let's Move! The cultural and policy changes brought about by Mrs. Obama's signature initiative are designed to continue long after she's left the White House, and the foundation will ensure this.

The Rhubarb Dance & Other Tales From The Spring Planting Of The Kitchen Garden

Cabinet Secretaries & special guests; more Thomas Jefferson veggies planted; the biocycler...
First Lady Michelle Obama has touted the yum factor of vegetables for more than a year, but Wednesday was the first time that she's heavily promoted the fitness factor of gardening, too. Mrs. Obama did this in a particularly memorable way during the Spring planting event for the Kitchen Garden, when she created a special dance in honor of rhubarb.