rice

Yesterday, I made only my second run to the Food Pantry at the College. I was meeting some of Paul's coworkers for lunch. They are becoming good friends and fans of Eat Like a Rabbit, too! Anyway, they saw the bags as Paul was lugging them into Student Services and said it was so nice of us to do the giveaway. I kept insisting, I did not do it on my own. It was a combination efforts from friends, too. And we all love helping out those less fortunate.

Honestly though, what I did get, I'm proud to say cost me less than the last run I did to the Food Pantry. This time only $1.02 came out of pocket (unless you count how expensive a flight was in order to get all those peanuts!) I'm very, very proud of the lower dollar amount since we are on a much tighter budget being on only one income. It's such a good feeling to help when you know it's so easy on you and on your family!

Some of the items we donated include Pampers diapers, Enfamil and Similac formulas, pasta, deodorant, shampoo, toothbrushes and floss, cereal, drink flavoring packets, individual snack packs, and mascara.

Thank you Garrett, Patty and Travis, and Kimberly for helping collect these items for the Food Pantry. God bless you.

We didn't get around to making oatmeal this weekend. We didn't get around to stocking the freezer with PB&Js, either. But it's on the list for next week. What I did get done was a batch of sweet potato chocolate chip muffins, four of which went to friends down the street who greet us when we walk and four of which went to new neighbors with a new baby. I love sharing the happiness and goodness of life! Another batch is on the books for this week followed by a batch of banana bread.

To make a really long story short, we misread our ticket and arrived only 40 minutes before our plane departed for Denver. Naturally, our bags didn't make it and we had to wait for the next plane from Orlando to deliver our clothes for the week and. . .more diapers. Paul did some research and found a vegetarian restaurant in downtown Denver where we could spend our time. Although the GPS took us an odd way through a not-so-nice area of town, we eventually got to Uptown and had no trouble parking near this amazing restaurant.

WaterCourse Foods is designed much like Dandelion CommuniTea Cafe with its re-purposed surroundings and more hippie wait staff who worked very hard to clean up tables quickly. We liked our waiter, Eric, who was very nice and knowledgeable--except for the fact that he told Paul the chili sauce was not hot.

Cost Per Person $13.25

Last week my folks and I went to the Orlando Public Library as a play day for the four of us and Nora. There's a great little coffee shop and cafe in the library run by a couple who are vegetarians and wanted to start a vegetarian restaurant. However, they didn't want to leave out meat-eaters; so for an unusual twist, the vegetarian items can be made with meat as opposed to most restaurants that automatically think meat unless you say otherwise. The owner and his wife were very kind and patient with our slow decision making and called their patrons by name. Even having not tasted the food, I would have returned just because of the customer service.

Confession: Given the choice between a decision that's healthy or a decision that's cheap, I'd prefer to go for the decision that's cheap. And there are times when I make unhealthy choices because I want to splurge and am happy it's cheap, like when I got Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream for $0.90 a carton. This recipe came about because I was being cheap. And luckily it's healthier, too.

See, we don't eat a lot of fried foods. I ate enough french fries when I was a kid and okra isn't in season yet. So when I decided to make eggrolls or cabbage rolls, I felt it would be a very expensive undertaking to fry them in so much oil when I wouldn't reuse the oil. It would go to waste! I did some research on what temperature other people recommended baking eggrolls on, and I gave baking a shot. I was so happy with the results that I served them to my parents and grandmother the next night.

Recipe for Baked Eggrolls

• 6 Eggroll wrappers
• 2 cups very thinly cut cabbage
• 2 small carrots, julienned
• 1/2 cup onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pice Frichik, diced (optional)
• 1 teaspoon each, garlic and onion powder
• 3 Tablespoons or less olive oil, divided
• 1 cup brown rice, cooked

I've learned in my travels that different people may use different amounts of oil for the same tasks. At most, I would use 3 Tablespoons. Hopefully, we would all use less.

Put cabbage, carrots, garlic, and optional veggie meat in a bowl. Stir-fry onions in 1 Tablespoon or less olive oil. Add vegetables and seasoning. Stir fry the vegetables down.

Pull out eggroll wrappers and lay on plate at an angle. Dish large spoonful into wrapper. Fold the corner closest to you up. Wet remaining sides with dash of water. Fold corners on sides in and corner farthest from you toward you. Brush with remaining olive oil and lay seems down on jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Bake on 425' for 15 minutes, turning halfway through. Serve over rice.

My preferred sauce recipe is taken from Moosewood Restaurants Cooks at Home--lime, ketchup and soy sauce. Since I didn't have lime, I mixed 1/2 tablespoon tahini in 3 tablespoons soy sauce. It does have a strong flavor, but I think it works.

We went to Freidman's Lunch on the advice of Paul's parents who we're lucky to say visited New York just weeks before we did and gave us lots of recommendations for our long weekend. Sadly, their experience was better than ours. Paul had the housemade veggie burger with tomato, fennel jam, avocado, and a side of herbed fries. The fries weren't special, but the burger definitely was. I chose to be different and ordered the rice bowl. It came with brown rice, bean sprouts, edamame, carrots, cilantro, mint, sesame lime dressing, peanuts. It was dry and smelled and tasted burned even though it didn't look like it. Normally, I would blame it on pregnancy (Remember, this was back in December at 30 weeks.), but even Paul said it tasted funny, Luckily, I have a sweet husband who shared his sandwich with me.

The conclusion: New York is too big and too full of fantastic restaurants to spend time on mediocre ones. I'd say, if veggie burgers are the only that peaks your interest, visit Freidman's. Otherwise, pass.

The first time I heard of Paxia, I was getting off of I-4 and saw a guy dancing around with a sign saying it was the best Mexican restaurant in Orlando. The next time I heard of Paxia was less than a week later when I was researching the restaurants participating in Eat Local Week sponsored by Slow Food Orlando. Tonight we chose to dine there mainly because I couldn't remember any other restaurant on our list and it was close by--because it was getting late (like 5) and I was very hungry. Boy, was I glad it was the only one I could think of!

Let's start with our entrance into the restaurant. This is only the second restaurant I've ever seen that actually tries to sit people in the windows first so that the place looks full. Of course, by the time we left, the place was full so it didn't really matter! But, it's a wise marketing move. The greeter who seated us was the first person at any restaurant we've been to this week to completely explain the concept of Slow Food, and he did so in great accurate detail.

Cost Per Person $12.00

I have a confession to make. I'm not as much of an adventurer when it comes to food as most people think. In fact, I'm really boring and conservative. So much so that I thought about adding to my New Year's Resolutions that I would try a new food every month or so, but was too chicken to do it. Well, maybe I should have added that resolution because already in one week I've tried two new foods! First were the cheese curds that I used in a recipe on Sunday. Then came the lentil stew pictured above. I based it on the gluten-free recipe from Lisa Hardinge, but couldn't follow it explicitly because I lacked potatoes, etc. As proud as I am of these successfully delicious creations, I cannot take all the credit. After all, I didn't go out and buy the items myself. The cheese curds were a gift from my aunt and uncle. The lentils were acquired when Paul's parents were here. I guess that means I still have a long way to go in the "adventurous" department.

Lentil and Rice Stew

• 2 cups cooked rice, I used a mixture of brown and red
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 1 cup lentils, uncooked
• 1 cup onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons McKay's Chicken-style (vegetarian) Seasoning
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cups water

In soup pot, warm olive oil and add onions. If the onions are frozen, they cook faster, so add the celery and carrots pretty quickly after the onions are coated in oil and warmed. Add the water mixed with the McKay's, then the lentils. Bring all to a boil, turn down to medium and simmer about 30 minutes. That's what it took for me, and they were still a little crunchy. Add the rice and warm through. Add less rice or more water for stew.

The sides are not gluten-free. Worthington Skallops are from a can and pan-fried in just a touch of oil to keep them from sticking. The biscuit recipe came from Smitten Kitten and tasted so good dipped in the broth.

Now that it's really cold in Florida, I feel like I can share these creative plasticware snowflakes from New York and fit right in. Especially since this morning it was about the same temp as it was in New York early December. What's up with that!

We're still eating up food from Paul's family being in town last week. The only thing I'll run out of is milk and bananas, I think. So, I will have to take a quick trip to some grocery store soon. Meanwhile, I have a list of likely dinner options that will be eaten in the expected order in which it might go bad. Also, I have a number of potential lunches lined up and will share those, too.

I"m not perfect. I never said I was. . .even if I try. Naturally, there are things about myself I'd like to improve on. However, I try my hardest to start being a better person when I learn of a fault of mine instead of waiting for a new year to make the change my ways. Still, I make New Years Kitchen Resolutions because it encourages me to "think outseide of the box". . .to be creative in what I want in regard to my hobby of cooking. It's not something I'll beat myself up about if I don't succeed. It's just an opportunity to create a wishlist for the betterment of my family and possibly for my sanity.

So, here are my thoughts for my 2010 Kitchen Resolutions. Some will need immediate consideration. Others apply to after the baby gets here. Either way, they're in the cards.

Click on the photograph to go to Paul's Flickr page for a closer-up view of the monkeys. There's nothing like sitting in a boat having a picnic lunch and watching the monkeys watch you and wonder how they can get across the river to partake, too. We had quite a show. One of the best times was when a piroux came by with a dog and three adults. The dog watched us 'til he saw the monkeys. He got in really big trouble for barking and scaring them. Thanks, Connie and Jack for a great day!

Being a working girl, I generally plan my menu for the week on Sundays, early Sunday. However, I've learned that a number of blog readers subscribe to the MenuPlanMonday.org idea. Therefore, to make my schedule fit more appropriately with readers, I have adjusted my posting schedule even though I must have some ideas in my head on Sunday.

Paul's folks had a major issue with their kitchen earlier this year. Their upstairs water heater flooded their kitchen and ruined--among other things--years of collected recipes. You can see all the marked pages in the cookbooks that the insurance company replaced. I also benefited because we learned one of the cookbooks The Occasional Vegetarian was out of print. Kathleen graciously sent me a used copy when she found a source. I'm happy my stomach is more settled because I've already read it cover-to-cover. (Yes, I do find enjoyment just reading cookbooks.) I've already used two recipes and will be going back to it later in the week.

I purchased a 1 pound package of spinach at Costco on Thursday and am determined to finish it off before the end of this week. One pound doesn't sound like much, but it looks like a lot, probably because I'm not running to the kitchen when I get home from work like I once did. I hope that excitement will return. Anyway, below are some ideas I have for getting that extra iron into my tummy because the vitamins still aren't staying down all the time.

Time is flying by, and I'm not totally sure I remember all the story to go with this yummy, thick, salad-dressing-of-sorts. Perhaps Lisa will edit it soon. If I remember correctly, a Yumm Sauce is more from an Indian background. Lisa says although Indian food is a favorite for them, most foods are not made gluten-free. So, Lisa found this recipe on line and it makes a perfect topping. I'm most impressed by the quality of ingredients, like garbanzo beans and almonds, which add good nutritional value to the sauce.

Notes from Lisa

This sauce is great with rice or pasta. It can also be used as a dressing for salads, a topping on soup & chili, a spread for sandwiches, a dipping sauce for veggies, a basting sauce for grilling, or a mayo alternative. It's really quite versatile! But best of all, it's egg free, dairy free, wheat free, gluten free, sugar free, cholesterol free and low in sodium. There are nuts in it, however, for anyone with allergies to nuts. My kids love it! I'm sure if you make it you'll find a ton of creative uses for such a flavorful, yummy sauce. Go for it!

Recipe for Original Yumm Sauce

Source: http://mpchickchat.blogspot.com/2005/11/recipe-rip-off-edited.html

• ½ cup oil
• ½ cup almonds
• ⅓ cup brewers yeast
• ⅓ cup garbanzo beans, (or more- 1/2 c.)
• ¼ cup soybeans, (or 1/2 c. silken tofu)
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon curry powder

Blend nuts, beans and oil in food processor. Then blend in yeast and liquids one at a time. Puree until smooth. Voila!

The luncheon item in question is in the center right of the photograph. It is a package very similar to the Uncle Ben's 90 second Wild Rice packs that I love. I heated it at work and dumped only 3/4 of it out onto a plate with all eyes on me, amazed that such a tiny package could contain so much. It actually contains two servings, and I could barely eat half of it. I think for a guy, like Paul, it would easily make a full meal.

I was very impressed by the minimal ingredients in the jambalaya and the good amount of protein and fiber per serving (4g, if I remember correctly). The package says gluten-free, which is a wonderful thing--both that it is gluten-free and that the company is known for putting such important information on the front label. On the other hand, I was surprised that butter was one of the ingredients. I don't require butter in my rice when I make it. Why would I expect it in other rice packages? Perhaps the biggest reason that the thought upset me is because I might have accidentally served it to someone I knew who was allergic to dairy without thinking. Such an ingredient just isn't expected.

While making a lonely, but profitable walk around the library last week, I came across a book called Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom. I was hoping she would give me new ideas to help cut my grocery budget. (Currently, I spend an average of $50 a week for two people. I generally purchase the bulk of items the first week and stock up on sale items and fresh produce the second week.) I learned a few things like the fact that some BOGO deals at grocery stores mean you pay full price for the first item and nothing for the second or half price for each item. I won't go into detail, but there is a difference. I also joined her website (for free) to view weekly sale products. I think she has a detailed list for a number of stores, which is so helpful when there are sales, but at the same time, all those deals weren't directly linked to printable coupons, which are my main source of discounts for my groceries.

Sign up on the Uncle Ben's website to get $1 off of two packages coupons. Use them at Publix where the Country Inn versions are on sale (Buy one, get one free) until Wednesday night of this week. You can use one coupon and pay just $0.25 per box.

Personally, I would save them to get the microwaveable rice at a discount. I buy the Wild Rice packs that warm in the microwave in 90 seconds. They are a fabulous source of protein (5g), fiber (2g), Folate (20%), Thiamin, and Niacin. That's a really healthy investment at a great price!

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