Rice

Grilled Tuna with Rice Salad and Shared Spicy+Garlicky Vinaigrette for Memorial Day

/ More Time at the Table / 1 Comment

IMG_5766While it would be lovely if posts like this appeared out of whole cloth on the day needed, unfortunately I have to work ahead.  Cook ahead.  Shop ahead.  Think ahead.  Write ahead.  However you want to look at it; I rarely think of it as work–maybe you’d like to know that.  I happened to make this meal on a day when the wind whipped up like “The Wizard of Oz” and the hail beat down on our house, deck, cars, and garden with a vengeance typically saved for sledge hammering a wall you need to come down.  The fury and noise were enough to send the dogs and me scurrying down into the basement leaving flowers and pots and cars outdoors without further thought.  Dave, just home from a trip to Lincoln, Nebraska, blithely stayed upstairs.

Here’s the eastern deck afterward:
photo-40

Miss Gab’s been sick —we think an awful reaction to her Leptospirosis vaccine–but we’re still unsure.  She’s getting MUCH better, but the deck full of hail and leaves was a shock to us all–Miss Gab included.  Within an hour, however, the sun came out, Dave grilled the tuna for the meal on the gas grill, and we ate on the deck! Continue reading →

38 Power Foods, Week 22 — Brown Rice — Chili and Brown Rice with Spinach Salad

/ More Time at the Table / 5 Comments

BTW, those are still cherry tomatoes from our garden on November 8.

While chili is a quintessential American fall meal, it is often eaten as is.  Just a bowl.  Just a spoon.  Just you and your chili.  

Fall in our ‘hood–tiny, dried crabapples against a St. Paul blue sky.

The chili mostly stands alone, I guess.

Or at least just with chips, cheese, onions, sour cream….or on hot dogs or fries.  Ha.

(Election Day Turkey-Lentil Crock-pot Chili--my last post–is one of Michelle Obama’s favorite meals… well–Turkey Chili is, at any rate.)


 But I like chili in all kinds of ways and with lots of different things.  I grew up with chili poured over a burger at the Dog ‘n Suds where I car hopped.  My Mom’s “Irish Chili” was full of the quarts of tomatoes she canned each summer.  It was a whole lot of tomatoes.  College at Western Illinois University brought Chili Frito over at the cafeteria for Washington and Lincoln Halls.  I loved it!  Why hadn’t I thought of it?  As years went on, my chili changed repeatedly.  After all, I lived in Europe where they didn’t know from chili.  I lived in San Antonio where if you knew beans about chili, you knew there were no beans in chili.  (I mentioned that to some Minnesotans once.  In concert, they all went, “WHAT???”)  I lived with The Silver Palate Cookbook and made their “Chili for a Crowd” forever…well, actually I still it make with variations. Later I moved on to Ina’s Chicken Chili–one of my favorites.  In other words,  these days I make several different kinds of chili (mostly my own–whatever happens to go in the pot), but one of my favorite chili meals originated one day when there wasn’t quite enough vegan chili to go around…

So I made some brown rice and a little salad.  For grins, I put it all in the bowl together.  Now I do it all the time.  Gives your mouth a break from the heat and provides more whole grains and greens.  It also lowers the cholesterol and calories of a chili meal so I can have it more often with less guilt.

Here’s the base for my vegan chili.

So here’s how I made this chili with brown rice today…using the leftover Election Day Crock-Pot chili and some brown rice I let cook this morning while  I walked the dogs.

“Come on, Gab.  Get the leash and let’s go, huh?”

alyce’s brown rice and chili with spinach salad

For each serving:

1 cup fresh spinach
1 shallot, sliced
Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
Drizzle of Olive oil
Cherry Tomatoes 

1/2 cup lightly salted and peppered cooked brown rice mixed with 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 cup chili (I like the chili I just blogged–full of hot Italian sausage and lentils as well as beans, but use any chili you’ve got or buy some Wendy’s chili to take home if you’re stuck.)


To assemble:

1.  In a large shallow bowl (a pasta bowl is fine), add spinach to one corner.  Top with half of the sliced shallots and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Squeeze lemon over the greens and drizzle with oil.  Add cherry tomatoes at side.

 2. Add rice to one side of the bowl and chili to the other.  Garnish with rest of shallots and a few tortilla chips.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

brown rice– tips and info……….

Brown rice takes about 45 minutes to cook at sea level, but quicker versions are available.  Some markets even sell frozen cooked brown rice.  You can also make brown rice in your crock-pot and freeze small portions for future use.  And, yes, you can make brown rice in your microwave.  You don’t save a lot of time, but a few minutes.  The directions are on the rice bag.

Rice field

 
  As our Power Foods group moves through the 38 Power Foods (click to order book), you’ll gather we’re up to brown rice this week.  The main food for over two-thirds of the world’s population, rice is sacred to many people.  Rice is a complex carbohydrate high in protein.  Did you know Arkansas is the largest rice-producing state in the U.S.?  If you were raised by southerners in the United States, you grew up eating a lot of rice.  Rice and gravy (or butter), rather than potatoes and gravy, were the standard at my family table.  My sister-in-law, who’s Korean, keeps a rice pot hot pretty much 24-7.  If her children are hungry between meals, they know where to go without bothering her.

Nutrients in
Brown Rice
1.00 cup (195.00 grams)
Nutrient%Daily Value

manganese88%

selenium27.3%

magnesium20.9%

tryptophan18.7%

Calories (216)12%

chart courtesy whole foods
 
       Brown Rice is Healthy!  As only the hull is removed off brown rice, we have a much healthier grain to eat that actually works against cholesterol in our bodies with its larger component of fiber.  You can read all about it here, but you’ll see with just a little bit of research that eating foods like brown rice works toward protecting us against heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, muscle spasms,  migraines, and many other things.  Tryptophan?  But of course.  Eat turkey and brown rice and you’re much more likely to sleep well!  And best of all, if you’ve ever been on Weight Watchers, you know a cup of brown rice is four points and white is five.  Who wouldn’t take the brown?  With a few exceptions, I use brown rice instead of white rice for nearly everything.  I draw the line (usually) at fried rice, but that’s a VERY occasional meal and I sometimes even use brown rice for that. 
(rice field photo courtesy producer’s rice mill)

       Leftover brown rice?  Make extra.  Always.   Rice is good food!  Then you can….  Add milk and a little sugar for breakfast.  Stir into some scrambled eggs with cheese and green onions. Add to a burrito.  Stir up a stir fry for a topping. Warm well and add a teensy bit of butter and lots of pepper to eat with cooked squash.  Make a patty, fry it up and make a hole in the middle.  Crack an egg into the hole. Cover and cook 2-3 minutes.  Add to soup or stew.  Cook up Thai curry.  In fact, there are so many ways to use brown rice that I know several people who just cook up a great batch every weekend and eat off it all week with whatever. The simplicity, cost,  and health benefits of brown rice appeal greatly to those who don’t cook much and to those who cook often.

       One of the favorite posts on my other blog (Dinner Place–Cooking for One) is “Help!  I’ve Got Leftover Take-out Rice and Don’t Know What to Do With It.”  Click and check out the recipe; it works just as well with brown rice.

Brown Rice for Breakfast in Colorado Springs:

Smiley’s…on Tejon in Colorado Springs

       There is absolutely the very best breakfast to be had in Colorado Springs at a tiny place downtown on Tejon called SMILEY’S.  Now funky, spunky Smiley’s has all kinds of breakfasts and lunches (as well as incredible baked goods–pie and homemade whole wheat bread for their toast, for instance), but each day they have specials.  We’re not talking eggs and bacon.  We’re talking lovingly designed, gorgeous breakfasts.  One favorite in the fall is a halved acorn squash filled with a mixture of brown rice, cumin, cheese, and scrambled eggs.  I’m going to try and fix it for breakfast this morning without a recipe.  If I turns out, I’ll add the picture here.  (I’m also working on a brown rice dessert for the soup cookbook.  Be patient.)  photo courtesy smiley’s

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Join our blogging group!

 I blog with a great group of writers every Friday where we cook our way through the list of foods from Whole Living Magazine’s Power Foods:  150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients:    Read more about tasty papaya this week at these sites: 

 
Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Minnie Gupta from TheLady8Home.com

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
.

The sun shining on my brown rice.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 please help

Hurricane Sandy Relief:  Donate to Food Bank for NYC

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sing a new song,
Alyce

all photos copyright Alyce Morgan, 2012 (except where noted)~please ask for permission to use~i’m likely to give it, but like to know where my pics go

38 Power Foods, Week 11 — Spinach — B"L"T Risotto

/ More Time at the Table / 2 Comments
Bacon, Spinach (the “L”), and Cherry Tomato Risotto
As a kid, spinach was not my thing.  It was that slimy stuff Popeye ate.  I didn’t care if he was strong.  If I had to eat spinach, I didn’t want to be strong.  I wanted nothing that slid whole cloth out of any can.
My own first child adored spinach.  By then, we’d reached the American culinary stage of  gorgeous gooey-cheesy baked spinach casseroles with crispy crumbled crackers on top.  Enabled by grocery store freezers filled with vegetables year-round, we chopped, mixed, added soup or cheese, and threw stuff into ovens to our heart’s content.  We were eating vegetables, weren’t we?  And we liked anything with cheese or sour cream or dried onion soup mix.

Fast forward to our awakening to spinach as a cold-weather vegetable.  To Fed-Ex produce departments continually full of the dirty stuff.  (Spinach was filthy then and still is if you grow it yourself or buy it at the farmer’s market.)  Press again and see the last few years of  clean “baby” spinach in plastic boxes we don’t know what to do with.  (Whole Foods recycles them, by the way; our own recyclers don’t.) 
However we’ve had spinach, it’s been pretty good for and to us.  Full of iron, vitamin C, folate, beta-carotene and vitamin K, this dark leafy, inexpensive and accessible green is beautiful!
Here spinach is mixed with baby kale for a powerful side.
I eat spinach nearly daily:
Herb-Spinach Egg White Omelet

If I don’t make an egg white omelet, I make salad or have spinach instead of lettuce on a sandwich or..

Alyce’s Tomatoed Cod on Fennel with Sauteed Spinach

 I might pair it with fennel as a side for my fish.

Yesterday, my tomatoes (volunteers left on their own for the summer) were picked by a neighbor and deposited on my back step.  She knew I’d been away; she’s a gardener.

These were volunteers from the yard and driveway.  I left them to see what’d happen over the summer. They took over the side bed.

Hybrids ready to eat; they were pretty tasty!

 Hot on the back porch, the tomato scent wafted dizzily through me when I reached down and picked up the container.  What to do with them besides pop one (ok, three) in my mouth as is?

My larder isn’t full yet; we’ve only been home from Colorado for a couple of days.  I did, however, have bacon in small packages in the freezer (one of my mainstays), rice in the pantry, and spinach (which serves as the L in BLT) in the frig.  Way back in the corner was an old chunk of Parmesan our house sitter hadn’t eaten.  B”L”T Risotto was born.  Need I tell you this was the risotto from heaven? (Neighbor got a bowl, too.) Try it today:

b “l” t risotto

2-3 pieces bacon, chopped into 1″ pieces
1T butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup arborio rice
Pinch crushed red pepper
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 cup white wine
4-5 cups chicken stock, low sodium
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 – 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves

Set table before you begin.

  1. In a heavy 4 qt saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until nearly crisp and remove to a paper-towel lined plate leaving bacon fat in pot.  Set aside.   Add butter and onion to the saucepan.  Cook 4-5 minutes until onion is softened; add garlic and rice.  Stir in crushed red pepper, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper.  Stir well to coat rice.  Cook 1 minute or so. 
  2. Add white wine; raise heat a bit.  Cook a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until wine is absorbed. 
  3.  Add 2 cups warm chicken stock and cook about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until broth is absorbed.   Repeat.  Add last cup of broth (if rice is still too hard to eat–you want it between al dente and fall-apart tender.) Please relax about constantly stirring the risotto.  Pour a glass of wine, turn on the music, and stir only as necessary.
  4.  Stir in tomatoes, Parmesan, spinach, and reserved bacon. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.  
  5. Serve hot with steamed green beans or asparagus. (See below.)   Pass black pepper at table. 

I liked a crisp grassy Sancerre with this, but I like a crisp grassy Sancerre with almost anything.  Chardonnay, which is lovely with creamy dishes, would also drink.

    Note re seasonings:  The heat of the crushed red pepper is one that will build in your mouth as you eat the risotto; be careful not to add too much black pepper at the end.

    Cook’s Note:  For ease of preparation, here’s how I do the asparagus or beans in the microwave while the last cup of broth is cooking away in the risotto pan:

    Just 2 minutes for rinsed (no more water) asparagus on high:

    Beans will take a couple of extra minutes unless they’re haricots verts.  Add a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of pepper.

    Sing a new song; eat risotto, too,
    Alyce

    50 Women Game-Changers Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian, #32 – Sullivan’s Island Shrimp Bog

    / More Time at the Table / 7 Comments

     
     Big bunch of bacon. (This is good.  I’m married to someone who eats anything with bacon.)  Next:  tons of onions.  Rice. Lots of shrimp, ahhh.  All cooked together in one lovely mess called a bog.  For those of us with no real connection to the south-eastern coastal states, a bog brings to mind cranberries in Maine or Wisconsin, even.  Or being stuck at work, as in:  “I’m all bogged down writing that article.”  But this bog, this “Sullivan’s Island Shrimp Bog,” is just what it sounds like:  mounds of steamed shrimp mixed up on top of a velvety oh-so-thick tomatoed, oniony, spicy rice–perfect for brunch or a lunch bunch.  If the words “comfort food” weren’t so over-used and so inappropriate (comfort food being food you had a gazillion times as a kid…), I’d call this comfort food extraordinaire.  Comfort food x100.

    Just for fun, here’s the wikipedia definition of a bog:   A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens.

    Food for thought, I’d say.  Read on:

    From Gourmet Live’s 50 Women Food-Changers, #32 Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian (of the Edible Communities magazines fame) comes this jambalaya or sopa seca-like dish that will be one of your go-tos for days like Super Bowl or Book Club Supper.  Or make it just for you; halved it was a beautiful supper for two with lovely lunch leftovers.

    Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian published the book Edible, A Celebration of Local Foods in 2010 after a long and successful career designing, writing, and publishing locavore food magazines…. (as well as lots of other impressive things)  Local peeps are familiar with the free edible TWIN CITIES.

    In Tracey’s own words….

    Then, in 2002, we decided to launch our first magazine, Edible Ojai, which was very well received. From 2002 to 2004, we worked on a plan to expand and have multiple magazines, calling it Edible Communities. In the early stages of that plan, we thought we would do the additional magazines ourselves, perhaps up and down the California coast. Then, in January of 2004, Saveur magazine included Edible Ojai in their “Top 100” for the year and within a week of that issue hitting newsstands, we had calls from over 400 people asking us for an Edible magazine in their community. That is when we decided it would be better to change the model so that each magazine could be locally owned and operated by people in the communities we published in.
    Edible Communities officially started in May 2004, with the launch of Edible Cape Cod. (courtesy dailygreen.com — Read more) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Hence the eventual cookbook and hence our sweet bog recipe. Buy the stuff; make it soon!

    by the way:  sullivan’s island is near charleston, south carolina

                              sullivan’s island shrimp bog : 6 servings        

       Cooks’s Note:   I halved this and made it in a 3.5 qt cast iron, lidded pot:  we couldn’t stop eating it.  There was plenty for two of us and probably enough left for tomorrow’s lunch if Dave doesn’t get up in the middle of the night and eat it.  fyi  I exactly halved the spices (as well as all else) and we found them perfect–a bit spicy without being too hot.  This is perky, bright and addictive.  Drink beer with this unless  you have a great off-dry riesling.

    ingredients: 

    • 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
    • 1/2 pound sliced bacon, finely chopped
    • 2 medium onions, finely chopped
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more if needed
    • 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more if needed
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne, plus more if needed
    • 2 1/4 cups chicken broth, plus more if needed
    • 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
    • 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
    • 2 pounds medium shrimp (40 count), shelled and deveined I used cooked shrimp in shells
    • 1/4 cup very finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
    • 1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
    procedures
    1. In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse the rice well under cold running water. Drain well; set aside.
    2.In a large heavy Dutch oven or stockpot, cook the bacon over medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined dish; set aside. Pour off and discard all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat remaining in the pot. Add the onions to the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add the drained rice, salt, nutmeg, black pepper, and cayenne and stir for 1 minute.
    3.      Stir in the broth, tomatoes with liquid, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Stir in the cooked bacon and the shrimp and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp is cooked through, adding more broth if the rice seems to be drying out, about 10 minutes. Stir the bog with a fork. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Sprinkle with parsley, garnish with lemon wedges, and serve immediately.

    Check out how the other bloggers are honoring the 50 Women Game-Changers:
                                                         *******************


    Sue – The View from Great Island   
    Taryn – Have Kitchen Will Feed
    Susan –     The Spice Garden              
    Heather – girlichef
    Miranda of     Mangoes and Chutney 
     Mary – One Perfect Bite
    Barbara –     Movable Feasts              
    Jeanette – Healthy Living
    Linda –     Ciao Chow Linda              
    Linda A – There and Back Again
    Martha –     Lines from Linderhof       
    Mireya – My Healthy Eating Habits,
    Veronica –     My Catholic Kitchen     
    Annie – Lovely Things
    Nancy –     Picadillo                        
    Claudia – Journey of an Italian Cook

    Val – More Than Burnt Toast       
    Joanne – Eats Well With Others
                                                       ***************************
    If you liked this recipe, you might like:
    Jambalaya 

    Risotto

    Two-Dog Kitchen and Around the ‘Hood return next post,friends.  But while the pups are off, listen to a great young singer I’m listening to tonight… Jeremy Anderson.  His new album is out (click on his name)  and he does all the tracks himself.  Sometimes 12!! He’s got some music on itunes, too.

     Sing a new song, make this shrimp and listen to Jeremy,
    Alyce

    Basil Chicken Fried Rice or I Wokked Out

    / More Time at the Table / 3 Comments

       Once I read something about lo mein being standard college fare.  Nope; not for us.  Standard college fare was pizza with the occasional delivered salad… and the salad was also full of cheese.  I know this for a very real fact.  Because I worked in the restaurant (actually there were two) that made this stuff.

     But when I read about someone’s college goto being lo mein, I was jealous.  I should have gone to college THEN.  I adore lo mein and can even make a pretty darned good imitation.  Well, since then, I’ve moved over to adoring Thai and because I’m so late-trendy, I like Basil Chicken.  I seem to always miss it when things are “in.”

    And I like it when Bhan Thai makes it, not me.  Mine is ok.  Still,  knowing how much Emily also likes Thai, I started looking for easy Thai recipes with videos and I came up with Thai Food Tonight…a series of lessons and videos, etc. by Dim Geefay.   Dim brings along her American-born daughter Cathy to help translate and, between the two of them, we figure it out.  The videos were, I think, originally on tv, but are now free online.

    Dave has always been our wokman, though I occasionally use it, too.  For the Basil Chicken Fried Rice, I did the planning, research, shopping,  part of the prep, table set and so on.  Dave cut the chicken (he’s much better at that) and then just continued on cooking.  I stood and kibitzed while drinking a lovely halb-trocken German Riesling, which suited the Thai dish to a T.

    Did I say this was YUMMY TO THE MAX?  And, unlike a lot of Asian food, it was nearly as good the next day. Yes!

    Set the table before you begin to cook.

    I made the rice in the afternoon and spread it out to dry on a baking sheet.

    Wokman

    Hates cooking alone.

    Very quick, this man is.

    Not sure we had the heat up high enough.

    Turn off as soon as you add the basil.

    Garnish with cilantro and lime.

    Add pieces of cucumber for crunch and coolness.

     Basil Chicken Fried Rice  by Dim Geefay    Watch her video about how to make this dish.
    4 servings

    Ingredients:

    • 4 cups already cooked rice
    • 6 big cloves of garlic, crushed (together w/ peppers w/ mortar and pestle or lrg knife)
    • 2-4 Thai (bird) red and green chili peppers or 1-2 Serrano peppers, crushed  (I used 1/2 jalapeno*)
    • 1/4 c cooking oil  ( I used canola; you could also use peanut.)
    • 1 to 1 1/2 lbs chicken meat (I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs.)
    • 3T Oyster sauce
    • 2T Fish Sauce
    • 1 tsp sugar
    • 1 medium-sized red bell pepper, julienned
    • 2 c fresh sweet basil leaves, whole
    • 1 cucumber, cut into bite sized pieces
    • 1/2 c cilantro leaves
    • 1 lime, cut into quarters

     Instructions:

    1. Heat oil in deep pan or wok over high heat.
    2. Wait until oil starts to smoke.
    3. Add crushed garlic and peppers.
    4. Stir quickly; don’t let them burn
    5. Immediately add chicken, stiring.
    6. Add oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar.
    7. Stir until chicken is cooked through. (no pink)
    8. Add already cooked rice.
    9. Stir quickly until sauces are blended with rice. (a couple of minutes)

    *1/2 jalapeno made the dish tasty, but quite mild.  Use a whole if you like some spice.

    Two-Dog Kitchen and Around the ‘Hood

    –I’m busy packing.  I hate it.  Who likes it?  Enough said.  
    -Had a perfect Valentine’s Day..God was good; my husband was home and he made reservations at Pizzeria Rustica in Old Colorado City, one of my favorite places.  They had a food and wine pairing deal–lovely.
    -Dogs got groomed and are hot to trot.  It was almost 70 F.



    If only we could just get dropped off somewhere where they threw us in first a cage, then a tub, trimmed us all up, blew us dry, tied bandanas around our necks, gave us treats, and threw us back in a cage again. (Somehow it’s just not the same when I go to the hair dresser’s, though it’s slightly reminiscent of the Wizard of Oz.  I guess I’d skip the cage.)
    ———————-

    If you’re keeping up with some of the responses to the “Deathly Letter” from within a segment of the Presbyterian Church, USA, here is another one I found intriguing:

    http://www.wilsonpresbyterian.org/2011/02/resonse-to-the-deathly-letter-to-the-pcusa-by-rev-blake-spencer-second-presbyterian-church-nashville-tn/

    Very well done indeed.  If you are a Presbyterian in this country and wonder how we came to be likely to split, check this out–it’s the chart of which Presbyterians came when and did what:

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Connection2_900.jpg

    Perhaps today isn’t so unusual after all.  Pray for this church.  Pray for our seminarians.  I have to admit I’m a bit abashed about worshiping at the UCC (along with quite a few other Colorado Springs Presbyterians)…  But it’s been a life-changing experience.  Not enough words available.



    Sing a new song,
    Alyce

    Pico de Gallo Halibut on Warm Rice Salad with Bacon Pintos

    / More Time at the Table / 2 Comments

    

    Pico de Gallo Halibut on Warm Rice Salad with Bacon Pintos

    

       Yes, my jeans are tight.  I’m sure they shrank.   Didn’t yours last month?
    Whatever–I’m working on lighter meals, like this halibut, to make up for things like whole baked potatoes with butter and sour cream (Did I do that???  I did.) at MacKenzie’s Chop House.
      I’m also working on a series of meals that will use each of a dozen great foods (a la Dana Jabobi’s 12 BEST FOODS COOKBOOK) and do double duty–decrease my waistline and make me tres healthy.  How about you?  You could get in on it, too.
    The list of the twelve best foods reads like this:
    1. Broccoli
    2. Black beans
    3. Tomatoes
    4. Salmon
    5. Soy
    6. Sweet potatoes
    7. Oats
    8. Onions
    9. Blueberries
    10. Walnuts
    11. Spinach
    12. Chocolate
    We used sweet potatoes in the Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust (last post).  One down.  
    Next is tomatoes and tomatoes we have here in abundance with our halibut.  Onions is another and we’ve got onions in two places here.  3 down, folks.  Ok.  Let’s talk fish for the halibut.  Bad joke from the Three Stooges. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
    Halibut, well, it’s just an incredible fish.  Meaty, bright, filling, flexible, dependable.   Currently not cheap.   Good with nearly anything.  I had (bad me) frozen two pieces that just weren’t going to get cooked last week.  I also had a quart of pico de gallo (the first I’ve ever bought instead of made) that said, “Use within 14 days of opening.”  (The 14th day was fast approaching.)  It seemed the pico and the fish were meant for one another.  Add to that I had some rice from an old favorite dish (rice with creamed pork tenderloin and mushrooms) that also needed a home and this easy, fresh  mid-week meal was born.

    

    

    Warm Rice Salad in process.

    If you never cooked beans, you don’t know how non-descript they can look in the pot while all the while tasting scrumptious.  Definitely not my photographic skills, right?  And, yes, they take a while at altitude.   They’re good in the microwave, though.  I cooked these earlier in the afternoon so they were very tender by dinner time.  You could choose canned beans, unsalted or drained and rinsed very well indeed.

    The beginning of cooking the halibut–salted and peppered, it just goes into a very hot skillet with some olive oil.  Cook it for 4 minutes, turn and throw it into the oven (400 F) for about 6 minutes and it’s done.

    Cilantro, tomatoes and avocado for the rice salad.

    When the halibut is cooked, pull it out and top with pico de gallo, thus warming the salsa.

    Add the rice “salad” to warmed bowls or plates, top with fresh tomatoes, cilantro and avocado and lay the fish w/ salsa on top.  Spoon some beans along side and squeeze fresh lime over all.  Maybe a quick dust of black pepper?  Eat while it’s hot.

    Pico de Gallo Halibut with Warm Rice Salad and Bacon Pintos    serves 2
    Beans:   (Follow directions below or use canned, drained and heated beans.)
    1/2 # pinto beans (you’ll have  alot left over for huevos or chili)
    2 onions, chopped (divided–1 for the pintos and 1 for the rice)
    3 cloves garlic, minced (divided–2 for the beans and 1 for the rice)
    4 thick-cut pieces of bacon, diced
    Fresh ground pepper
    Tabasco
    Kosher salt 
    Warm Rice Salad:
    1 T olive oil
    (onion and garlic from above)
    1 Medium zucchini, diced
    1 Yellow squash, diced
    2-3 c cooked rice
    1/2 c fresh cilantro, divided
    1 Roma tomato, diced
    1 Avocado, ripe, diced
    1 Lime, divided
    Halibut:
    2 T olive oil
    Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
    2 pieces (4-6 oz) fresh or unthawed and patted dry halibut filets
    1/2 c pico de gallo, home-made or store-bought 
    Directions: 
    1.   BEANS   —  In a 6 qt. kettle, place picked over and cleaned pinto beans and cover with water.  Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for two minutes.  Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for an hour.  Drain and replace beans in pot; pour in about 4 qts of water.  Add 1 chopped onion, 2 cloves of garlic minced, all of the bacon, the pepper and several drops of Tabasco (or a whole, fresh jalapeno).  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2-3 hours until beans are tender.   While beans cook, check pot regularly and add water if needed.     When done, cover and keep warm  or cool and reheat when needed.  Taste and adjust seasonings before serving.
    2. WARM RICE SALAD —  In a large saute pan or skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and add onions and squashes.  Cook, stirring frequently, for five minutes or so until nearly tender. Stir in garlic and continue to cook until all vegetables are tender.   Add rice, stir, and season well with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with most of the cilantro, saving a little bit for garnish at the end.  Squeeze the juice from half of the lime over the rice and stir.   Turn off heat and cover to keep warm while you cook the fish.   Add the fresh tomato, cilantro and avocado right at serving time.
    3.   HALIBUT  —   Preheat oven to 400 F.  Heat a medium skillet over medium- high heat with 2 T olive oil.  Season fish well with salt and pepper and place skin side up in hot pan.  Do not disturb for 3-4 minutes until well-browned.  Turn fish over and place  skillet in oven for about 6 minutes until fish is firm and flaking.  Remove from oven and spoon salsa on top of each piece.  Let fish sit a minute or so.
    4. TO SERVE:  Spoon rice onto warmed plates or large shallow bowls (pasta bowls are nice) and top with halibut and salsa.   Add the tomato, the avocado and cilantro to the top of the rice.  Spoon some beans to the other side of the rice and fish.  Squeeze the other half of the lime over all of the food in each bowl or plate.  Dust with pepper if you’d like.
    5. Serve immediately while hot.   

    What I’m Reading, Listening to, Working at or Doing around the ‘Hood:

    Had neighbors for dinner Sunday night at the spur of the  moment.

    Enjoyed my husband at home…no travel this week.

    Wondered about a job for me..did some work on that.

    I’m reading DEVIL’S TRILL by Gerald Elias (I told you that.) and ordered DANSE MACABRE,  too.   Ah, violin mysteries.

     I also picked up, and started, THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE.  (I know–you read this in ’03)

    I’m still reading Barbara Brown Taylor’s AN ALTAR IN THE WORLD.  Superb.
    .
    THE ART OF CURATING WORSHIP by Mark Pierson arrived, but I haven’t started it yet.

    The book club book is Isabel Allende’s DAUGHTER OF FORTUNE.  Not yet, either.  Nope, I haven’t begun it.

    I taught piano lessons and learned alot.  I let a student choose a piece to work on and it was Bach. 

    I did my best to listen to myself playing and singing old standards.  Piano bar retirement plan.  You know those jars that say, “Piano Player’s 401K?”  They’re real.  Put something in them, please.
    .
    As I write, I’m listening to Patti Digh’s 37 DAYS, which you can listen to, too, right on her blog of the same name. (Link on my blog)  What would you do if you had 37 days?  Patti travels and speaks…if you can get her.

    We watched “Did You Hear What Happened to the Morgans?”  Glad it happened to them, though the bears are here, too-so that wasn’t so funny to me.
    .
    I played through/listened to the new Lenten cantata from Pepper Choplin/Lorenz.  Hm.  Jury is out there.

    I think I finished washing all of the linens from Christmas.

    I’m looking at local hunger issues for examiner.com and figuring out a series of articles on same. 

    There’s a second article about where to drink just a glass of wine in Co. Springs in the works as well.

    I played with the dogs every chance I had.

    Today–reupping my “Y” membership.

    Talked to my daughter on the phone twice and texted back and forth to Jeanne…several times.

    Spent a long time on the phone with Sue..,..such a treat.  A treat to have the time and a treat to have Sue.  Prayers here and now for Sue’s father-in-law, in the last stages of cancer in Virginia.   Also praying for friend, C, recovering from surgery.

    Kept up with my family via fb.  My nephew is deer hunting and I wish I could get some sausage.  One of my nieces  is on the way to new health after a long New Year’s hospital stay.

    Went out for supper at old-time family Italian Luigi’s  to share a pizza and salad with Dave in front of their fireplace.  Listened to his work stuff and was grateful my jobs don’t involve that kind of stuff.  The tough ones for me are getting mah, may, me, moh, mooo right.  Or answering questions like, “I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t sing that hymn this Sunday.  You tell me why?”  I get to help make people happy, healthy and wise as they sing their hearts out or cook yum food for loved ones. 

    Nice work if you can get it.

    Healthy… yes. 

    Thanks, God.
       
    Two-Dog Kitchen

     

    Be well in 2001 as you sing a new song,
    Alyce

    

    

    What’s in a name? Welcome to the world Aaron Noah Wilkerson and Pinto Rice Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing

    / More Time at the Table / Leave a comment

    You’ll have to bear with me and read a while to get the recipe for this salad.  Yum.  It needs a better name.  Be thinking as you scroll down.

    What IS in a name?  I’m pretty good with words–usually.  But once in a while I’m just stuck for a name for a recipe I’ve developed.  Once it was, “What do you call a Fish Taco Salad?”  I had some great answers, but just thought “Fish Taco Salad” really told the tale.  Same thing with the pinto bean rice tunzveg salad I made for tailgating last week. 

    Or, just for kicks, I threw in this photo (above) of the kid and the pumpkins.  It’s October.  I don’t know this kid’s name.  I don’t remember where I got this picture.  I’ve looked and looked.  Who is this kid?  What’s her/his? name?  It matters; it really does.  But I dunno.  If you know, tell me.

    Recipe names are important, too.  They should say what the recipe is, but they should draw you in, too.  Make you want to cook, as it were.

    How about here?  This is my Mom and my nephew Michael in the above pic.  Many years ago.  Mom’s been gone since 1985 and Michael’s in his 30’s, married with children.  Mom; she was my mom.  But she had a name.  Even to my kids, she was our “Mom’s mom” or “grandma.”  But she definitely was Faiery Elizabeth Denny McClendon.  Born today in 1917.  Happy Birthday, Fay.  You’re my screensaver, Mom. 

    Here’s Michael today.  With daughter Allison.  Hmm.  I wish they were here!

    But then there’s this little punkin.
    Aaron Noah Wilkerson. 
    Named for himself.
    And his big brother, who’s no longer here, but is among the names God calls daily in heaven.
    Nearly 9 pounds and 20 inches long.  A solid chunk of humanity.  So loved. So awaited.  So beautiful.
    They knew just what to call YOU!

    Welcome to our world, Aaron.  We’ll love having you here.  When you’re bigger, you can eat some of this salad.  That I’m unsure what to call.  Maybe your Mom can help; she’s good with words, too.  Good with making beautiful babies, too.  Well, Dad helped.  And everyone prayed.  And prayed.  I cannot wait to see you baptized!!

    Still.  This IS a food blog.  Most of the time.  So here’s my tailgating salad.  Try it.  Put different vegetables in it.  Play with the seasonings.  I found it needed citrus–acid and then a little sweetness–the butternut squash and the honey.  This makes a LOT.  And, maybe you can come up with a name.  See this little bowl I used for photography?  You’ll need a bigger bowl than that, I’d guess.  We adored this.

    Pinto Rice Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing  or  Here it is, Loren–you asked for it!!
    12-14 servings

    This was great with chicken enchiladas and sour cream.  It’d be lovely with tacos–fish  or meat.  It is also an awesome vegetarian meal…leave out the cheese for vegans.  Pretty nice for gluten-free folks, too.  WhooHoo.

    3 cups cooked pinto beans (do it yourself or use rinsed canned ones)
    3 cups cooked white rice
    1/2 c cabbage, finely sliced
    1 c cubed (small) white cheddar cheese
    2 small zucchini, diced **
    1 small yellow squash, diced **
    3 stalks celery, diced
    1 c butternut squash, cooked, peeled and diced*  (or use acorn squash)
    1 avocado, barely ripe, diced
    2 ears of corn, kernels cut off*  (or 1 c frozen, defrosted corn)
    1 bunch green onions, chopped (white and green)
    1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped roughly

    Dressing:  Juice of 3 limes and 1/2 c olive oil, 2 cloves finely minced garlic, 1/2 t kosher salt, 1/2 t freshly ground pepper, 1/4 t ground cayenne pepper or to taste

    Juices of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 lime, 1 orange; 2T honey

    1 c cherry tomatoes, cut in half

    In a very large bowl or 10 qt stockpot, mix the beans through cilantro gently.  Pour 1/2 the dressing over all and mix again easily.  Taste and adjust for seasonings.  Squeeze over all the lemon, lime and orange juice.  Drizzle honey over all.  Mix again and taste for and adjust  seasonings.  Garnish with cherry tomatoes.  (Don’t mix them in; they’ll mush up by the next day if you keep any of this that long.)  Have the courage of your convictions and make this salad your own, changing up any of it.  I really just made it up as I went along, after beginning with the idea of a bean-rice salad that felt and tasted very fresh.

    Eat now or chill and serve within 1-2 days.  Use remaining dressing at table or to moisten salad next day.

    *Cook the corn and the squash in the microwave: 

     For the corn— Place whole ears of corn with husks and silks on dampened paper towel.  Cook two ears about 4-5 minutes total.  Remove ears from microwave and wrap in foil.  Let steam for 5 minutes in foil and take off husks/silk.  Cut kernels from corn by holding cob perpendicular to (and resting against)  the cutting board.  Slice downward, cutting between the kernels and the cob itself, moving around and turning the cob as each section falls to the board.

     For the squash–Cut squash in half.  Cook one half at a time.  Place the squash in a 8″ square microwave-safe glass container and pour about 1/2″ water in the bottom.  Cover and cook on high 5 minutes or so.  Let sit another 5 minutes and remove squash from skin to dice on cutting board.  Make your winter squash like this often and save lots of time.

    **I sauteed the zucchini and the yellow squash for just a couple of minutes before adding it to the salad; you can leave it raw or cook it, even in the microwave, too–just as you like.  Another option:  throw in for the last couple of minutes with rice or beans.

    Above:  Winter Squash Fast, left, and my drained beans, right.  Try cooking the beans in the microwave, too.  They get done without getting mushy.  I like them cooked up with lots of whole onions (peels, too) and a couple of cloves of garlic..as well as a whole jalapeno and lots of salt and whole peppercorns.  You get a little heat without overwhelming the beans or the salad.  Don’t forget to remove the peppercorns before eating!

    Happy Fall, dear ones.  Cook a pot of beans.  Make some winter squash.  Feel autumn come. 
    Sing a new song,
    Alyce