Coconut Ginger Rice with Crispy Fried Shallots

My Husband wanted me to make this for a potluck that his work is having....I wanted to make pasta salad. We have a jar of mayo in the fridge (no clue why, I just work here), and I'd like to get rid of it because little man is allergic. My thought is...people like mayonnaise. If I make a pasta salad, people will eat it, the mayonnaise will be gone, and all will be right with the world once more.

But my husband looked at me with those eyes that said, " I am really excited about this* dish." So I gave in. I won't be there to see the polite, yet inquisitive faces when he sets down a large bowl of rice and lentils, so I don't have to know how it is received. I will be at home chowing down on some leftovers and watching "13 going on 30" in peace.

This decision however posed another question....do I make it to suit my own taste? Should I tone down the spices for a more mellow flavor that would be pleasing to the masses? Or do I kick it up a notch and wait for the leftovers to come back to me. I decided to compromise at about halfway. Feel free to adjust it to suit your tastes.

I really enjoy this recipe, and so do the kiddos. The coconut milk is full of fat and calories that are super good for their little growing bodies. I usually take a smaller portion for myself, and load up with a big side of steamed veggies. It's all about moderation, don't ya know.

Also important to note, the crispy fried shallots make an excellent topper on steamed veggies! It's the crunch of a breadcrumb, the taste of an onion ring, all without the gluten!


What you need

1 can coconut milk
2 tbs plus one tsp minced ginger from a jar
6 cloves garlic peeled and pressed
2 tbs sugar
cayenne to taste
2 dashes nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
3 rice cooker cups rice
1 rice cooker cup lentils (rinsed well, drained, and sorted as always)
broth
more salt
rice cooker

oil
shallots
more salt

Whisk together the first seven ingredients in a bowl.

Add the rice and lentils to your rice cooker, and pour the coconut mixture over the top. Add broth up to the liquid line required for four cups of rice.

Press down the lever and walk away.

Meanwhile in the frying pan.....

Heat your oil over medium heat and thinly slice your shallots.

Carefully add the shallots to your hot oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

Cook until crispy, flipping once. For me it took about 3 minutes on each side, but it may take longer depending on how your stove cooks...how thin you slice...etc.

Remove shallots with a slotted spoon and set on a paper towel (preferably out of reach of the hubster, trust me it makes a difference) taste, and add more salt if desired

At some point your rice cooker will tell you it is done. At this point you should walk over and find out if it's a lying sissy la la or not. You will be able to tell by...
1.) the liquid will be gone
2.) the taste test, it should be the right texture............................................

....

Mine was not done...grrr....slam down the cook button and show that rice cooker who's boss. If it makes you feel better you can mutter under your breath, "I'll tell you when you're done". When your rice cooker is really and truly done, dump the contents into your serving bowl, season with salt to taste, fluff, and sprinkle shallots over the top as garnish.



*I was going to say, "look at me getting all fancy here with the italics and stuff. Don't worry it took me about twenty minutes to figure out how to do that, and switch it back. I'm not getting all high tech on you". Then I hit publish and totally forgot about my little asterisk friend for about 24 hours...oops....ya high tech editing is at the bottom of my list of stuff to improve on. How bout I focus on finishing my blog once and a while.

Rest in Peace....my rice cooker

Today is a very sad day. Today marks the end of my Rival rice cooker. I loved my Rival rice cooker. I have had it for about two years, but because we used it every other day (if not every day) I am sure we got about ten years of normal people use out of the thing. For fifteen bucks you really can't ask for much more. Yes those Rival rice cookers are quite the deal. And it didn't even really break, I just managed to scratch the non-stick surface with my ring....boo.

OK, so I am saying "Rival rice cooker" a lot, I know. I am not going to lie. I not so secretly hope they send me a free one....it could happen. But in all seriousness, I am very disappointed. And in the event that I don't receive a package of free goodies from Rival I will go out and buy a new one....from a store...sigh. Because I had big plans for my rice cooker, she and I were going to hit the road together...see the world (or at least California). "Rice Cooker on the Road"....ya, we could have been famous.

It really makes perfect sense to take a rice cooker on the road when you think about it. Rice travels well, you can mix in other non perishable items like lentils and boxed veggie broth to make healthy meals where ever you go. Plus rice cookers are easy clean up, and my Rival even steamed veggies!

OK....so I'm done plugging Rival....for now. But maybe if you all click on one of the several links I have provided the people down at Rival will be like "Whoa, look at this out of 5,000 visits today six were from this blog". Then they will come to my blog and be blown away by my wit and charm. And then they will have to send me a new rice cooker....






*whispers*....rival


P.S. My camera broke so.....Cannon....hey a girl can dream

Saffron Rice with Lentils and Garlic Butter

The good news is I found my camera...the bad news is that it wasn't before I took this picture.
This was yummy. I'd like to say we all enjoyed heaping bowls of this round the dinner table, but that would be a lie. The truth is that my darling son woke up early from nap time, and he woke up hungry. And consequently he ate 3 adult size bowls of this, the result being that there was little left for the rest of us to eat. So I will definitely be using this as a side dish next time. Maybe along side some grilled veggies. If you don't have saffron, I'm not going to say you should go out and buy some just for this recipe, as it is very expensive. However, should you happen to have a bit left over from another recipe, or if you just love saffron rice as much as I do I think this is a good place to use it. I made this in my rice cooker......what's that, you don't have a rice cooker? Well go get one, no seriously, they are awesome.

What you need for the rice
1 1/2 rice cooker cups of rice
1 1/2 rice cooker cups of lentils rinsed and sorted
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 pinches of saffron
1 tbs butter
3 cloves of garlic peeled and finely chopped
Broth

What you need for the garlic butter
1/4 cup softened unsalted butter
Pressed garlic (I used 4 cloves) and salt (I used about 1/4 tsp) to taste.

Add the rice, lentils,salt, pepper, chopped garlic, butter, and saffron to your rice cooker. Add broth to the fill line required by your rice cooker for 3 rice cooker cups of rice. Cook. :)

Mix together the remaining garlic, butter, and salt to taste. Top your saffron rice with this mixture as desired. I think this would have been outstanding with a few tablespoons of freshly chopped herbs. Maybe next time.

To veganize simply replace butter with vegan "butter".

Cilantro and Ginger Rice with Chickpeas (late night snack)

Since about February I have been working out.... a lot. And so far the main difference I've seen is that my rings are loose......but my pants are still tight. You do realize what that means right? All of my weight is redistributing from my hands to my aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway. Not quite fair if you ask me, the point being that the hubster and I went to the gym tonight and when we got home, after feeding, dressing, changing, and putting the kiddos to bed we found ourselves HUNGRY. In need of some good fuel for our bodies (and apparently mainly my...back to the point) I thought I'd whip up a sauce that go over some chickpeas and rice that we already had on hand.

Ingredients:

1 cup cilantro washed very thoroughly
2 cups spinach ditto
3 cloves peeled garlic
3 tbs olive oil
3 tsp vinegar of your choice
3 tsp minced ginger
1tsp honey (or more to taste, some vinegars might be sweeter than others requiring less to balance the acidic taste)

Salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

Everything except the salt, pepper, and cayenne, goes into the food processor until smooth. Add salt pepper and cayenne to taste. Spoon over rice and chickpeas. Super simple, super good.

In other fantastic news little man's sweat test (test for cystic fibrosis) came back normal! :)
/happy dance

I heart my rice cooker

I made Spanish rice today...with brown rice...in my rice cooker....don't tell Grandma.
My rice cooker cost about seven dollars, and it has never done me wrong. I won't say that this recipe will work in just any old rice cooker, but it came out perfect in mine. If it doesn't work for you, you are welcome to come on over and use mine....but bring tortilla chips...and avocado...mmmmm avocado.

2 1/2 rice cooker cups of rice
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 onion chopped
1tbs butter
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic salt
dash o' cayenne
1 can of tomato sauce
water

I mixed the first eight ingredients in my rice cooker (the butter can be omitted or replaced with a vegan substitution for a vegan version of this dish) then I added water up to the top line. We ate this with beans and potatoes fried up with bell pepper and onion, simple, cheap, delicious.

Pantry cooking....really mostly lentils

The dishwasher, and bathtub broke.....so we didn't go grocery shopping this week. I love that I live in a place and time where even when we "don't have anything to eat", we still have food. And I feel incredibly blessed to have a dishwasher in the first place so I am not going to complain if it doesn't work for a week or so.
I love a challenge, if they cooked with lentils, and artichokes on Chopped, instead of eel and scallops I would totally go on that show. I may bomb, but I think I would have fun. Now I don't have measurements, because I wasn't paying attention, because I was really absorbed in the fact that I felt like poo....but if I make these again (which I totally will because they were the bomb diggity) I will come back and amend this blog.
The first dish, I have decided to call "citrusy lentils and Thai lime pilaf salad". I sauteed some garlic, ginger, and a healthy dose of cayenne in olive oil and soy sauce. Then I added about a cup of lentils (rinsed...always rinsed) and enough water to cover, a bay leaf, and about 1/4 cup of orange juice. I simmered it until the lentils were done, adding more water and O.J. as needed. Then I tossed this mixture (minus bay leaf) with some Thai style lime pilaf from T.J's...it was fantastic, I could totally see myself serving this in lettuce cups on a hot day. DH loved it.

The second dish is a lentil curry I make quite frequently in my rice cooker, it's just two parts lentils, one part rice, an onion, crushed garlic, cayenne, curry powder, turmeric, salt, and a couple handfuls of raisins, it comes out delish, and DD loves it!