Yummy Yellow Rice Salad with a Kick

I love salads composed of rice, beans and/or pasta. My brain thinks I'm eating a healthy salad and my stomach is happy because it's actually FULL (unlike those salads with pitiful greens). For today's overcast / cloudy lunch, Rob and I whipped up a very bright and sunny Yellow Rice Salad with Roasted Peppers and Spicy Black Beans from Bon Appetit. It's good. REALLY GOOD.



I didn't realize it until I started collaborating on this blog, but I clearly have some cooking themes. Cilantro shows up A LOT. Lime Juice -- ditto. Cumin is also one of my favorite flavorings and I'm rather surprised that I haven't grown tired of it. This recipe is no exception. I had to add more roasted red peppers (shucks) to make up for the lack of green bell pepper, but it wasn't missed.

Hot Tofu

There's just something awesome about making stir fry dishes. They're fast, have tons of flavor, and somehow exciting, but I can't explain how or why. Rob thinks it's the peanuts.

Tonight I decided to make Cooking Light's Szechuan-Style Tofu with Peanuts. You broil the tofu (gotta love that whole roasting/broiling/carmelizing thing), while the rest is cooking on the stovetop. The recipe doesn't have rave reviews on the site, but I thought it was pretty good. It's not something I'll probably make again (or at least I'll add some garlic), but I like the idea of broiling the tofu, which is new to me. It also calls for a full tablespoon of sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste), not that I'm complaining (YUM).

Tofu. It used to scare me. Tofu is fairly harmless, though. It takes on whatever flavors you throw at it, which is handy since it won't interfere or clash with anything else. I've come to love the firm variety, and I especially love tofu in stir fry dishes. It almost seems like tofu was made for a stir fries (maybe because it's Asian, but maybe not). I hear that it might originate from cheesemaking in Europe (source).

At any rate, this week it seems that the cooking bug has bit (note photo). Library books that I just wanted to 'take a little look at.' Gah! Looks like my reading schedule is booked up (HAHAHA) for awhile (oh, come on.. I'm a former librarian, so I'm allowed one or two awful book-related puns).

Everyone Loves Eggplant

Or everyone should love eggplant. I certainly have an odd fondness for it, much to the dislike of my family and friends (some of them). I love the texture and how it feels between my teeth (like I said, an odd fondness).



At some point I taught myself how to cook stir-fries. This type of dish is a whole lot of fun to make, as long as you're prepared before the first items hit the pan. Once a stir-fry begins its course, it's cooking in fast-forward high-speed until it's all over. I learned this the hard way -- burning a few in the process. The reason it's so quick is that you cook over high heat. Using peanut oil (THE stir-fry oil of choice, as it has a higher smoking point - meaning that you cook at high heat without it smoking/burning as quickly) makes it uber flavorful.

Tonight I tried a Cooks Illustrated recipe: Stir-fried Eggplant with Garlic and Basil Sauce - very Thai-inspired. It, like many stir-fries, calls for Fish Sauce. Now, in my house I have to hide the fish sauce when I use it. Rob nearly has a gag-reflex every time he thinks that 'vile nastiness' is in the vicinity. So I tend to use it quickly and slyly put it away without his knowledge. Ironically, he usually hasn't a clue that it's in my dishes. He senses something when I start frying with it (it's very odorific), but I just tell him it's vinegar. He believes me. We agreed that this recipe was pretty good - I added some jasmine rice as well.

Heaven in a Bowl

This whole experiment has been fun. I am trying new things I haven't ever done before. Today was one one of those days! Today I made Red Beans & Rice. From scratch. Seriously. Like soaking the beans and everything. This was new to me.

I began this morning soaking 2 cups of red beans. I decided on a recipe I found on Food TV. It was one of Emril's. Now... I have never been a real fan of Emril, but I figured the man made his name in cooking in New Orleans, so I figured he might know a thing about Red Beans & Rice - and he did.

Before I go further, let me explain WHY I made this particular dish. See, we live near Costco. Like, too close to Costco. We run in for juice for the kids, and leave with things we didn't plan on getting. I really love Costco. They have good food. I was getting clementines from there which were absolutely to die for. The kids and I were going through a 5lb bag a week. I'll admit it too... I like to go to Costco for the samples too. There, I admitted it. I am frugal and I like to graze there sometimes. It can be a decent lunch if it's a good day.  So, why all the fuss about Costco? Last weekend they had sausages as samples (surprise!). The were from Bobek's out of Chicago.  Now, my son is a vegetarian, but my daughter is not. If given a chance she'd have bacon in one hand and sausage in the other. We did exactly what Costco wanted us to do and bought the sausage after sampling it. It was good!! So, I had 2lbs of Hot & Spicy sausage (that was only $6.49, BTW) and I didn't have a clue what to do with. That's when it it me! Red Beans & Rice!

So, that's where the idea came from. Back to the recipe. As I mentioned, I used Emril's Receipe on Food TV. The beans weren't vegetarian, but I made it them that way. I left out the bacon grease, didn't include the ham hocks and used vegetable broth and finally... brown the sausage separate from the beans. I am DETERMINED to get my vegetarian to eat beans!

Anyway, it came out incredible. It was delicious. I even added a little dash of Tobasco to "kick it up a notch" (sorry, I couldn't resist!).

Time Management

This month, I finally started working relatively "normal" hours (this means during the day). Up until now, I was working evenings and weekends and it really wasn't working for me. While this is great to have a real life - it's really messed my time management up.  I was used to getting my errands done during the day and spending the weekends having fun. Now that my days are occupied (which is a GREAT thing!), I am having trouble getting used to 'normal' family life. This means getting laundry done in a timely manner and the biggie - planning ahead for my meals. Don't worry. We didn't escape to dine out, but I have been struggling to make good decent food all while getting everyone from point A to point B and of course work. I realize to some of you this sounds silly, but after 10 years of being an "at home parent" and only working evenings and weekends, it's hard. Especially when doing it for 3 other people.

This week, I reverted to an old stand by. Something my mom used to make me when I was little. It's simple, it's easy and it's so so good.

Chicken & Yellow Rice.

Knowing that I needed enough for some leftovers and some to feed my vegetarian, I made 2 batches - one with chicken and one with yellow rice only. I use a package (one day I will make it from scratch with saffron!) from Vigo which is the very same thing my mom used. I make it a little different from the package - basically about 50% more water plus LOTS of garlic and a little olive oil. Cook for about 45 mins. For the chicken, I usually use skinless chicken thighs. Breasts will dry out too much in the oven for 45 min. I also like to finish with some peas, preferably LeSueur.

I had enough leftovers for lunch the next day, which was perfect.

Next week, I am hoping to plan things out a little bit better.