ROUND EIGHT REBUTTAL: Island Rice

We just happened to be making this dish the evening that Kristin posted her risotto. I've checked with Beth and she assured me that this rice dish could be posted as a rebuttal to risotto. So...here it is!Island Rice
1 pound of rice, cooked (we used brown rice)
2 T soy sauce
1 T butter
2 T red onion, diced
1/2 T garlic, minced
2 T green onion, chopped
1/4 c carrots, diced
1 package of chopped cabbage (found by the bagged lettuce)

Seasoning Mix
1 T granulated onion
1 T salt
1 tsp ground garlic
1 1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp celery salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar

Saute the veggies in the butter until softened. Add the cooked rice, soy sauce and the seasoning mix to taste. Simple, simple! And it's even better the next day!

We found this recipe on allearsnet.com under recipes.

ROUND EIGHT: Green and White Risotto

I enjoy naming my recipes by the colors in them. :) Anyway, since Jamie is still in India and I actually had time to cook and wanted an excuse to use my new fancy camera, I decided to start a new round. As usual, I took a general idea and went with it, almost entirely without measuring. :)

Ingredients (or some approximation thereof):
3 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp salt
2 small or 1 large clove(s) garlic, minced
1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup rice (I did measure this!)
2 glasses of water with about 1 tablespoon (or less) of soy sauce mixed in each
white wine (I used Savignon Blanc, no idea how much though - I just poured it in until I stopped)
4-5 white bella mushrooms, sliced
handful fresh parsley, chopped
1 sheet nori seaweed, roasted and chopped (just to add something healthy)
sage to taste
coriander to taste
nutmeg to taste
pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat oils and salt in wok or heavy-bottomed pan, add garlic and onions and saute until onions soften. Add peppers and celery. Sample the wine.
As peppers begin to soften, add rice and toss to coat the rice with the oil. Saute and allow the rice to begin to absorb the oil, stirring frequently. Better double-check that wine; sample again just to be sure it's good.
Add 1/2 glass water/soy sauce mixture and stir. Add the rest of the glass after about a minute or so and continue simmering, stirring frequently. Add wine, mushrooms, half of the chopped parsley, and seasonings.
The rice will need to cook another 15-20 min, so add water/soy sauce as needed throughout this cooking time and stir every couple of minutes. Go ahead, have another glass, you've got time.
Shortly before serving, stir in the nori and remaining parsley.

Serve with remaining white wine (if any).

Round Seven Rebuttal - Black Bean Soup and Red Rice

First, let me say thanks for allowing me to be a guest foodie while Jamie's away. Second, let me say that I didn't really measure anything when I created these recipes, so you'll have to bear with me if it's not 100% accurate. :)

For a little while i wasn't sure what I was going to contribute, but then I remembered that I love black bean soup. And I made a fantastic mess in the process. Yum. So here goes:

Black Bean Soup:
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 habanero pepper, finely chopped
juice from 1.5 square inches of fresh ginger
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tsp dill
1 tsp cumin
1 can beans
water as needed
1/2 large green bell pepper
juice of 1/2 lime
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro to garnish

Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil, add habanero and sautee until softened. Add juice from ginger (I press it in my garlic press to extract the juice), carrots, spices, salt/pepper, and water. Allow this to simmer for a moment before adding the beans and continue simmering 20-30 minutes. At the last moment add the bell pepper and lime juice. Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt and cilantro.

Red Rice:
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cayenne
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/4 C tomato paste
1/2 green bell pepper
2 tomatoes, chopped
1.5 C long-grain white rice (I used basmati)
juice of 1/2 lime
salt/pepper to taste
cilantro to garnish

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil then add spices. Heat the spices through and then add in the rice, tomato paste, and just a little water to thin out the paste. Sautee the rice for 10-15 min, then add the bell pepper and the equivalent of one tomato chopped. Add salt and water to cook rice (the water should be one kuckle-length above the surface of the rice), cover and allow it to boil. As soon as the mixture is boiling, turn off the heat and keep covered until rice is finished. add the remaining tomato, lime juice, and cilantro when ready to serve.

Round Seven Rebuttal - Black Beans, Corn and Quinoa

I have picked up some decidedly hippie-ish characteristics since moving to Gainesville, including, but not limited to: yoga, keeping my AC set on a balmy 80 degrees, and buying bulk grains from the local hippie-mart. It is this last habit that inspired this variation on Susan's black beans and rice.


For those of you who have never cooked quinoa, I'll tell ya - it's weird stuff. It's like the secret love-child of rice and couscous. It's a variety of Chenopodium, which, if I recall correctly from grad school, was one of the first grains domesticated in Central and South America, a staple before maize (or taosinte, to be a complete nerd about it). In any case, it's crazy nutritious and you should try it.

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t ground coriander
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t paprika
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 1/2 c water
3/4 c quinoa
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 tomato
juice of half a lime
Sour cream

Saute the onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a teaspoon of olive oil until veggies are tender. Add spices and cook with vegetables for a couple minutes. Add water and quinoa and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce heat to med-low and simmer for 20 minutes.

The quinoa will have absorbed the liquid and poofed up a bit - a little curlie-cue will have sprouted from each grain. Add the black beans, corn, tomato, and lime juice. Salt and pepper to taste and serve.

I hesitated before garnishing with sour cream, it seemed like it might be a weird combination. Then I remembered that sour cream is AWESOME and flung a dollop on top of the quinoa and veggies. Turned out to be a good move.

Let me know if you try this!

ROUND SEVEN: Black Beans and Rice

Our fellow foodie, Jamie, is out of the country at this time but I didn't think she would want our blog to just sit here ...abandoned! With that being said, I decided to post this new recipe that I tried this week. Beth will have time to tweak it and post her rebuttal. By that time, Jamie should be back! Here goes...

Super Simple Cuban Black Beans and Rice

1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 cup orange juice
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) whole chopped tomatoes, undrained
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt

The original recipe (from Betty Crocker's Healthy New Choices cookbook) called to heat the first nine ingredients on the stove top for 45 minutes. I didn't want to be handcuffed to the stove that long so I decided to let my crock pot do the work for me. I put all the ingredients except the rice and yogurt into the crock pot on high and let that go for about 4 hours. You could probably do the same thing at 7am and let it go until dinner time too. About 10 minutes before I wanted to put supper on the table, I cooked the rice per package instructions. Spoon some rice into a bowl and top with the black bean mixture. A dollop of yogurt and an additional sprinkle of paprika finished off the presentation.

This recipe serves 6 and makes great leftovers. The orange juice gives it a sublet orange flavor and the yogurt adds a nice tang. It is also low calorie, low fat, and high in fiber. What more could you want!

ROUND SIX REBUTTAL: Rummy Strawberry Daiquiri

My brother just recently visited and we did some experimenting with the Rum. So much so that I "forgot to" "was not able to" "was physically incapable of" taking a picture of the final product(s). However, I think I remember the recipe!

Rummy Strawberry Daiquiri

4 large frozen strawberries
1/2 c. Sprite Zero
1/4 c. Cruzan Coconut Rum
2 T. lime juice
1 slice of pineapple

Blend well. Drink, then repeat.

Picture will be coming soon!

ROUND SIX REBUTTAL: Polynesian Sunrise

Here is my offering in the adult beverage category: Polynesian Sunrise (aka The Baby Maker or Parent-Aid...just joking! Wish I could see the sickened look on Beth's face! Ha ha!). It's simple to prepare and refreshing to drink.



4 oz orange juice

2 oz cranberry juice

1 1/2 oz coconut rum

splash of lime


Pour over ice in your favorite Tiki god glass or plastic cup. Paper umbrella and plastic palm tree stick are optional!