Risotto

I made risotto for the first time last night. I think I was avoiding it because it seems so trendy and over-done (and maybe difficult) for a simple dish like rice. Besides, I find most rice dishes boring.

Boy, was I wrong. It was wonderful, creamy, delicious, and not difficult at at all.

I followed the recipe on the back of the arborio rice package. It went something like this:

Heat 7 c chicken stock over medium heat.
Meanwhile dice 1 small onion and one clove of garlic. Saute over medium heat in about 2 Tbs of butter. Once softened, add 2 c of arborio rice and stir for a couple of min (do not brown rice). Add one ladle of stock at a time. Once the stock has been absorbed, add another. Stir frequently. The rice should take about 17-20 min to cook. Add a hand full of hard cheese (I used Romano).



We had our risotto with asparagus (I recommend Trader Joe's frozen asparagus spears. They are great for the winter when the fresh asparagus is expensive and woody) and bay scallops.

Mmmmm.

A visit from the long lost grandparents

My grandparents came to visit me last night.

I love my grandparents, and I know they love me. But I don't see them/speak with time/hear from or about them very often. When I was a kid we would travel to Maine every summer and spend a month or so at my grandparents' very rustic and secluded cabin on a lake. Since I'm the only girl in my generation of family, I would set up a small dome tent on the porch in this sort of fenced off area. It was worth sleeping on wood. It was my own space. No one was allowed in without my permission. Every day I would sweep out my tent and tie the window flaps back like real curtains. Then I would have my cousins "over" to play cards, but they had to take their shoes off at the door. The cabin didn't have electricity or plumbing. It had an outhouse that my grandma called the "Patrick Henry." It also had a gas stove and an elaborate ice box with 3 doors that my grandma would fill with ice from the trading post down the road. Every day my grandma and I had toast for breakfast, toasted in the broiler with one side burned and the other side completely white. The last time I went to the cabin I was a looking forward to my senior year of high school.

As is likely true of most grandparents, mine haven't changed much over the years. My grandma still eats toast, fat free small curd cottage cheese, fruit, skim milk, and the same powdered drink mix for breakfast every day. My grandpa, though normally very quiet, still likes to tell stories and jokes in the evening.

My grandma has had food controlled diabetes for over 30 years, and she has been on the same extremely particular, and perhaps outdated, diabetic diet for every single day of those 30-some-odd-years. Cooking for her is a challenge (for someone like me who would feel slighted if my grandma had to whip out her own food to meet her needs). She is very particular. Peas, beans, corn, rice, potatoes= starch. Meat, nuts= protein. Thinking ahead, I was pretty sure she eats something from every food group at every meal, and I know she has to eat each meal during a particular window of time which means that I have to have the dinner ready fast. On top of all that, my grandparents eat very bland food (my grandma recently told me that a friend of hers made the best chili, and it was so easy! 1 can tomato soup, 1 lb ground beef, 1 can kidney beans, and 1 tsp chili powder- yuck!). At first I thought that a chicken/rice/veg. soup would be perfect. Good-- but not especially packed with bold flavors. Then I was worried that soup would make it impossible for my grandma to get the exact right ratios. Okay...so a roast? I could cook a roast in the crock pot insuring that dinner is ready during "the window" and allowing her to choose the ratio of protein to veg to starch. But grandma also has cholesterol problems, so I don't think she eats much red meat.

Perhaps not surprisingly to you... his timing was impeccable...a settled on Mark Bittman's recipe for this week. It's a whole chicken boiled in salted water with garlic and ginger. As described in the recipe, I then made rice with onions and ginger and the stock from the chicken and served the chicken, shredded, over the rice. After conferencing with my mom, I decided to serve it with green beans (grandma doesn't eat much salad). Meat--starch--veg. Mom said she might bring her own milk, cottage cheese, and bananas. If she needed something else, I'd have to go to the store.

I made the chicken the night before, so all I'd have to do is make the rice and green beans.

Success! The only thing I changed is I didn't make the dipping sauce. I put some grated ginger in the rice instead. I don't like my ginger too overpowering, so I only used about 1/4 t. (Oh! And grandma brought her own milk and cottage cheese. We had plain strawberries for "dessert" cause that's what they do.)

This served more than 4...that's for sure!

Rice Salad

Day 1 of my budget make-up, my sexy husband made a fantastic stir fry in his wok with peppers, zucchini, chicken, and noodles. He took pictures. They disappeared.:(

Day 2 I made this awesome rice salad with a cup of brown jasmine rice (brought to room temp), a banana pepper and a jalapeno pepper that I got from a friend's garden, a carrot, a stalk of celery, parsley from my garden, and 3 thin green onions. I "dressed" it with olive oil, white wine vinegar, spicy mustard, salt and pepper. It made about two servings (and since my sexy husband wasn't home last night, I get to have it for lunch today too). A great salad for those nights when salad is all you get...especially if you add beans (I think chickpeas would have been good if I had them). Should I say "yum-o?" I guess not...but it was really good...and different since I'd never had a rice salad before.

You should try it. With brown rice, it has a lot of really nice texture, and it's super economical. If you want more rice salad inspiration check out Mark Bittman's column from a few weeks ago. He has recipes for Indian-Style Rice Salad (with coconut milk), Pad Thai-Style Rice Salad, Citrus Rice Salad with Parmesan, and Japanese-Style Rice Salad.

Lunch

I want to get into the habit of posting whenever I think of it.

Normally, I don't "make" lunch. I "make" dinner and then take leftovers or whatever I can scrounge up for lunch. I've also been working at not making so much food at once for dinner. Mark and I get sick of leftovers quite quickly (what's to look forward to?), so they sometimes go to waste. However, without leftovers, my lunch can be pretty terrible (think trail mix, chips, a packet of oatmeal, and a peach). Today was different. I had leftovers: Lentils and rice...the most economical comfort food ever! Mark and I used to eat this all the time when our budget for food was just over $5 a day.

1 c lentils
2 c rice (I like brown rice here cause white can get kinda gooy)
6 c water
4 small onions, chopped
olive oil

combine lentils, rice, and water in pot. Cook according to rice directions.
Saute onions in oil until soft and beginning to brown...add to lentil/rice/water mixture to finish cook time (actually, you're supposed to saute the onions first and cook everything together the whole time, but since it has to cook for like 35 min, I don't see the problem with getting it starting and adding the onions when they are done).

That's it. We serve it with Bragg's Liquid Aminos which taste kinda like soy sauce and is very salty (thus no salt in the recipe). Liquid aminos are available at Meijers (one large bottle has lasted us a few years), but you can use soy sauce as an alternative if you want. YUM! I always forget how much I love this!