Wahoo -- what a cool discovery!! I've had an Aroma rice cooker (about $30 at Costco) for awhile now, and have had the feeling I wasn't getting the most out of it. Finally had the sense to get my hands on some cookbooks, and wow -- you can do SO MUCH MORE with these babies than I ever imagined!!
Turns out you can even cook pasta in them!! As a "trial run", I cooked some pasta (happened to be orzo), some cubed pork, a little garlic & salt. Used a 2 - 1 ratio (2 cups water to 1 cup pasta), set the machine for 25 minutes, and let 'er rip. Twenty minutes into it, threw some veggies in the steamer tray & put them in to steam as it finished cooking. It browned a bit on the bottom, though, so next time I think I'll try 20 minutes. What a great option for a busy weeknight -- whether anything's thawed or not!! And cleanup couldn't be easier -- especially if you spray the pot with Pam first. What's even better -- it takes a lot less water and energy to cook in, and clean up, a rice cooker than a couple of pans on the stove!! I happened to have some frozen cubed pork on hand (knew that $.99/lb tri-tip would come in handy one of these days!!), which I thawed in the microwave, cut into smaller pieces; I think 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes, or maybe even a little bigger would work ok.
Soooo, I think you could really cook just about any one-dish meal in a rice cooker, so long as there's enough liquid in it. I've seen several different mac-n-cheese versions, as well as various ethnic dishes (rice and otherwise)... So, now I'm keeping my eye out for casserole recipes to try.
The other thing, and I can't believe this didn't occur to me before, is fried rice. What a great way to use up leftovers, and throw together a very quick one-dish meal, to boot!!! You want to use cold rice, and break up any clumps. Saute it with a little soy sauce & oil, then add diced ham, sliced green onion, chopped cooked veggies, scrambled egg, or whatever other bits of this and that you might have hiding in the fridge... I think next time I cook rice, I'll cook extra so I'll have it on hand -- either in the fridge or the freezer.
Read more!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Corn Harvest
10:28 on a Wednesday night in the middle of August. Was the happy recipient of a whole fridge-full of sweet corn after work tonight, and with DH's help, have managed to get the first couple dozen ears into my stalwart Nesco dehydrator. Made 4 trays, which should fill a quart jar, maybe 2. It's a messy proposition, no getting around that. But the effort required offers its own rewards, and drying it's a lot easier & faster than canning, to say nothing of the much lovelier flavor of the end product. It'll brighten up many a cold winter evening...
The experience reminded me of my childhood -- growing up in an area where a lot of food is grown, I had opportunity to go with my family and pick various things. I remember picking pomegranates, later helping my mother peel and seed them for her famous pomegranate jelly. We picked pecans, my father knocking them with a long pole. Once I ate so many of them, I couldn't look at a pecan for quite awhile. One of my dad's friends had a pasture, and one especially wet year we brought home enough field mushrooms to add depth and flavor to spaghetti sauce, among other things, for quite a while. My mother treated them as the rare treasures they were, saving them for special occasions -- or when she'd grown tired of hearing us ask. I can still, over 40 years later, recall the long walk through the muddy grass to get to them, and their wonderful, earthy flavor. And I remember asking, long after they were gone, if we couldn't go back and get some more.
And so, abundance translating to generosity, a friend invited me to come and pick. Despite the fact that we drove to the cornfield in a vehicle powered by fossil fuel, wearing clothes loomed by machine and shoes manufactured, at least in part, of plastic, the experience was wonderfully primal. Corn -- ancient, simple, basic, delicious. The act of picking, a connection with generations uncountable, cultures aboriginal to sophisticated, time out of mind. Countless feet, yellow, red, brown, black and white, finding cool respite on ground shaded by skinny stalks stretching high overhead; many hands pushing long, slender, slightly scratchy leaves aside to grasp long, slender ears, gift-wrapped and ready for cooking, crowned with the brown tassels that indicate perfect ripeness. The original "fast food". All that was required of our ancient forebears was to throw them into the coals of the cooking fire, and then summon the patience to wait until they were ready to be plucked, smoldering, from the fire, and devoured.
And something about being involved in harvesting, whether or not one has grown the produce, adds a whole dimension to the enjoyment of food. It is empowering, in an undefinable way. A feast for all of the senses, from the moment one arrives at the field, lush green of the plants setting one's retinal cones abuzz, the sun warming one's face, the heavy scent of earth, perhaps a breeze to ruffle one's hair, arms brushing sandpapery leaves, the warmth of the ear in its grasscloth cloak. The snap-rip as the ear is broken away from the stalk, then twisted free, and, finally, the first tangible reward in the process -- the weight of the ears in one's arms.
Or perhaps we enjoy it more because we are accustomed to the utterly uniform offerings at the supermarket, and our brains (and psyches) appreciate the opportunity to choose something a little smaller, or bigger, or riper.
Or that what you pick yourself is, invariably, fresher.
And there is the satisfaction that comes from the rows of jars safely stored in a dark pantry, waiting to bring a bit of summer sun to a cold winter day. A few hours spent shucking, blanching, cutting kernels from cobs and spreading them onto trays yields the second reward -- half-gallon mason jars of dried corn to be tucked away, and brought out to savor long after the last of the bright green stalks, ground into silage, has fermented into cattle feed. The jars, a gift from my mother-in-law, no doubt indispensable in feeding her three boys and two girls, a treasured connection to my husband's childhood.
The third reward is the comfort of knowing that each jar of dried corn (or canned peaches or strawberry jam) puts the possibility of suffering if food ever, for whatever reason, becomes scarce, that much further away.
And the ultimate incentive: Pleasant crunch and bright corn flavor, enjoyed out of hand or sprinkled on a salad, singing out sweetly in a chowder, adding a high note to cornbread, all throughout the winter.
So I found myself threading my way between stalks and in and out of rows, gathering up armloads of bright, sweet corn. Dropping it into my Costco totebag (you can use them for groceries, too!!), heading back into the corn forest for a few more ears... Knowing full well the amount of work I was getting myself into.
And certain, as our ancient forebears knew, that it would be worth it.
Read more!
The experience reminded me of my childhood -- growing up in an area where a lot of food is grown, I had opportunity to go with my family and pick various things. I remember picking pomegranates, later helping my mother peel and seed them for her famous pomegranate jelly. We picked pecans, my father knocking them with a long pole. Once I ate so many of them, I couldn't look at a pecan for quite awhile. One of my dad's friends had a pasture, and one especially wet year we brought home enough field mushrooms to add depth and flavor to spaghetti sauce, among other things, for quite a while. My mother treated them as the rare treasures they were, saving them for special occasions -- or when she'd grown tired of hearing us ask. I can still, over 40 years later, recall the long walk through the muddy grass to get to them, and their wonderful, earthy flavor. And I remember asking, long after they were gone, if we couldn't go back and get some more.
And so, abundance translating to generosity, a friend invited me to come and pick. Despite the fact that we drove to the cornfield in a vehicle powered by fossil fuel, wearing clothes loomed by machine and shoes manufactured, at least in part, of plastic, the experience was wonderfully primal. Corn -- ancient, simple, basic, delicious. The act of picking, a connection with generations uncountable, cultures aboriginal to sophisticated, time out of mind. Countless feet, yellow, red, brown, black and white, finding cool respite on ground shaded by skinny stalks stretching high overhead; many hands pushing long, slender, slightly scratchy leaves aside to grasp long, slender ears, gift-wrapped and ready for cooking, crowned with the brown tassels that indicate perfect ripeness. The original "fast food". All that was required of our ancient forebears was to throw them into the coals of the cooking fire, and then summon the patience to wait until they were ready to be plucked, smoldering, from the fire, and devoured.
And something about being involved in harvesting, whether or not one has grown the produce, adds a whole dimension to the enjoyment of food. It is empowering, in an undefinable way. A feast for all of the senses, from the moment one arrives at the field, lush green of the plants setting one's retinal cones abuzz, the sun warming one's face, the heavy scent of earth, perhaps a breeze to ruffle one's hair, arms brushing sandpapery leaves, the warmth of the ear in its grasscloth cloak. The snap-rip as the ear is broken away from the stalk, then twisted free, and, finally, the first tangible reward in the process -- the weight of the ears in one's arms.
Or perhaps we enjoy it more because we are accustomed to the utterly uniform offerings at the supermarket, and our brains (and psyches) appreciate the opportunity to choose something a little smaller, or bigger, or riper.
Or that what you pick yourself is, invariably, fresher.
And there is the satisfaction that comes from the rows of jars safely stored in a dark pantry, waiting to bring a bit of summer sun to a cold winter day. A few hours spent shucking, blanching, cutting kernels from cobs and spreading them onto trays yields the second reward -- half-gallon mason jars of dried corn to be tucked away, and brought out to savor long after the last of the bright green stalks, ground into silage, has fermented into cattle feed. The jars, a gift from my mother-in-law, no doubt indispensable in feeding her three boys and two girls, a treasured connection to my husband's childhood.
The third reward is the comfort of knowing that each jar of dried corn (or canned peaches or strawberry jam) puts the possibility of suffering if food ever, for whatever reason, becomes scarce, that much further away.
And the ultimate incentive: Pleasant crunch and bright corn flavor, enjoyed out of hand or sprinkled on a salad, singing out sweetly in a chowder, adding a high note to cornbread, all throughout the winter.
So I found myself threading my way between stalks and in and out of rows, gathering up armloads of bright, sweet corn. Dropping it into my Costco totebag (you can use them for groceries, too!!), heading back into the corn forest for a few more ears... Knowing full well the amount of work I was getting myself into.
And certain, as our ancient forebears knew, that it would be worth it.
Read more!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Dehydrating Cantaloupe
Found myself with an abundance of cantaloupe, and decided to dry it. Turned out to be one of the few things that seems to retain its true flavor when dried!! I just cut it into about 1/2-inch slices, put it on the trays & let'er rip. Next morning, we had nice, dehydrated melon. Retains its lovely peach color, too. This is one of the things I'll definitely put the effort into drying, if I can get my hands on some more!!
Funny -- I'm actually starting to look forward to winter, which is not usually my favorite time of year. But as I've put so much time and energy into food preservation this summer, I find I'm actually enthused about having a little more free time (DH doesn't mind this idea, either)!! Although, no matter what time of year it is, there always seems to be plenty to do... I figure if I'm not canning or drying something, I'll probably be canning meat. Of course, I've been doing that all along, buying only what's on sale for less than $1 a pound...
I was reading a bit about the pioneer women, and what they went through trying to feed the folks they were responsible for, and in the various cirumstances in which they found themselves. It gave me a better appreciation for the challenges they faced and overcame, and reinforced my determination to make sure we have something "put by", and in a form that can be stored at room temperature.
Lucked into a bit of corn recently, and enjoyed being able to give a little of it back, in a form my benefactor can enjoy long past corn season. She was pleased to get it, but we were both a little surprised to realize that it takes about 18 fresh ears to fill a quart jar with dried corn! But it doesn't seem to take as long as one would think to prepare it (you just shuck it, blanch it for about 3 minutes & cut it off the cob, scraping with a spoon or the dull side of the knife to get all the good stuff, then dehydrate), and it's certainly worth the effort --it's quite sweet -- and shelf-stable!!0 Read more!
Funny -- I'm actually starting to look forward to winter, which is not usually my favorite time of year. But as I've put so much time and energy into food preservation this summer, I find I'm actually enthused about having a little more free time (DH doesn't mind this idea, either)!! Although, no matter what time of year it is, there always seems to be plenty to do... I figure if I'm not canning or drying something, I'll probably be canning meat. Of course, I've been doing that all along, buying only what's on sale for less than $1 a pound...
I was reading a bit about the pioneer women, and what they went through trying to feed the folks they were responsible for, and in the various cirumstances in which they found themselves. It gave me a better appreciation for the challenges they faced and overcame, and reinforced my determination to make sure we have something "put by", and in a form that can be stored at room temperature.
Lucked into a bit of corn recently, and enjoyed being able to give a little of it back, in a form my benefactor can enjoy long past corn season. She was pleased to get it, but we were both a little surprised to realize that it takes about 18 fresh ears to fill a quart jar with dried corn! But it doesn't seem to take as long as one would think to prepare it (you just shuck it, blanch it for about 3 minutes & cut it off the cob, scraping with a spoon or the dull side of the knife to get all the good stuff, then dehydrate), and it's certainly worth the effort --it's quite sweet -- and shelf-stable!!0 Read more!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Drying Sweet Corn
I put this in my tips, but liked the end product so much, I decided to do a post about it. As always, my goal is to provide us with a variety of good things to eat all year. But I was very disappointed when I tried the creamed corn recipe in the Ball book -- first time it's ever let me down. Decided to dry the next batch -- 'way better!! It takes 3 - 4 ears per tray, and about 12 - 16 ears will fill a quart jar.
It tastes almost exactly like fresh corn -- except sweeter, because all the sugar gets concentrated as it dries. It's nice just to eat on its own, or you could toss it into soup, sprinkle it over salad, even rehydrate & mix it into cornbread. Someone even suggested mixing it with toasted nuts & raisins, on the order of trail mix...
Corn is very easy to dry -- just husk, then blanch the ears for 3 - 4 minutes. Cut the kernels off the cob, then scrape the cobs with the dull side of a knife or a spoon, to get all the good stuff. Spread the corn onto drying trays. Depending on your dehydrator, it should be done in a few hours, or overnight. (You could also spread it onto cookie sheets & dry it at very low heat in the oven.) We both love corn, and I'm very pleased by the prospect of brightening up a winter dinner with this little bit of summer!! Read more!
It tastes almost exactly like fresh corn -- except sweeter, because all the sugar gets concentrated as it dries. It's nice just to eat on its own, or you could toss it into soup, sprinkle it over salad, even rehydrate & mix it into cornbread. Someone even suggested mixing it with toasted nuts & raisins, on the order of trail mix...
Corn is very easy to dry -- just husk, then blanch the ears for 3 - 4 minutes. Cut the kernels off the cob, then scrape the cobs with the dull side of a knife or a spoon, to get all the good stuff. Spread the corn onto drying trays. Depending on your dehydrator, it should be done in a few hours, or overnight. (You could also spread it onto cookie sheets & dry it at very low heat in the oven.) We both love corn, and I'm very pleased by the prospect of brightening up a winter dinner with this little bit of summer!! Read more!
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