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Millionaire Rice

Once in a while I come up with these clean-your –fridge recipes, especially when I am about to go on a trip. I have an obsession to leave the fridge as clean as possible from all the fresh ingredients that most likely will spoil by the time I return. This is how most of my stuffed peppers and stuffed mushrooms recipes come about…

So lately, I’ve been trying to eat less cheese… I go in phases trying to do this because I know that I can abuse cheese if I am not careful. And cooking rice for me is a way to come up with dishes that do not rely on cheese as a garnish or flavoring agent. Although this dish can very well be enhanced by some cheese too…

The “millionaire” term was coined by Carmen at the Yoga Center because in her version, she needs to buy lots of ingredients to make a very luscious rice. But in my case, I work with what I have in my fridge and/or pantry of what’s left-over from other recipes.

This is more a method than a recipe per sé… I will show you what I have added to my most recent version of “millionaire rice” but feel free to create your very own combination the next time you feel the need to clean-out-your-fridge, for a trip or just before a big trip to the market…

MILLIONAIRE RICE

2 cups of cooked brown rice

Broccoli, cut into small pieces

Carrots, chopped finely

Onions, diced

Red or Yellow Bell Peppers, diced

Mushrooms, diced

Almonds , sliced almonds work best

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

I do not include amounts of ingredients, because this is about what you have available in your fridge…

In a large skillet over medium heat, drizzle a small amount of olive oil and the diced onions, peppers and carrots. Cook them for a few minutes until they begin to soften.
Add the mushrooms and broccoli pieces … Mix well so the flavors mix. Season with salt and pepper, or the garlic salt if you prefer. If you have a lid, cover the skillet and let the mushrooms and broccoli cook for a few minutes.
Add the cooked rice to the skillet. Mix well and cover again. The steam in the skillet will soften the rice again if it’s hardened from being in the fridge. Allow cooking for a couple of minutes and add the almonds last. Tturn the stove off and leave it there for the residual heat to finish heating the rice, making it fluffy again.

This rice is a great side dish or even makes a great filling for stuffed peppers or stuffed tomatoes.

Tags: almond, broccoli, carrot, food, mushrooms, rice, vegetarian

Comments 3 Comments
Categories main courses

Quinoa Pilaf

6 Jun

I have never heard of quinoa until I met Diane Carlson a few years back. Diane is the wonderful chef behind the Conscious Gourmet culinary retreats and one of the founders of the Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC.

I took one of these culinary retreats once when they were still offered in Florida and it was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. I still carry with me recipes and friendships from that retreat. And at that retreat was where I learned I could use a blog to share my recipes with all of you. So many good things came about from that retreat. I am thankful…

But this is not my recipe… This quinoa recipe is Diane’s recipe that has become my way of making quinoa ever since. I have made some tweaks to it by all the times I have made it, but I can’t take full credit for it. Diane taught me how to make quinoa and she should get the credit.

Now quinoa is all the rage. I hear its super popular way west in California. And us at the yoga center make it a lot too. The first time I bought quinoa was at Whole Foods right after finishing the retreat because I thought I would not be able to find it here in Puerto Rico. Now, I can buy it at Costco in 3 lbs bags. How things change, no??

QUINOA PILAF

1 cup quinoa, rinsed under cold water and drained well

1 ¾ cup vegetable broth

½ tsp salt

2 tbs olive oil

1 small onion, chopped finely

1 carrot, peeled and cut into very small pieces

1 rib of celery, chopped finely

½ red bell pepper, chopped finely

½ green bell pepper, chopped finely

½ cup peas, frozen works fine

Salt and Pepper to taste

¼ cup of chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley

In a large pot, toast quinoa over medium-hi heat. Stir it occasionally until the grain is nearly dry. Then, stir constantly about 5 minutes more until it browns evenly and gets a nutty fragrance.
Add the vegetable broth to the pot of quinoa. Add ½ tsp of salt and bring the pot to a boil. Once it starts boiling, lower the heat to simmer, cover and cook until quinoa is tender. That will take about 15-20 minutes.
In the meantime, in a large skillet over medium-hi heat add the olive oil and the onions. When the onions have softened a bit, add the carrots and cook for a few more minutes. Add the celery, peppers and peas. Sauté for a few minutes until veggies are cooked tender but still somewhat crisp.
By now the quinoa will be cooked. Add the vegetables to the pot of quinoa and mix well. Stir in parsley. Serve immediately.

I love making quinoa because it’s a grain full of protein and nutrients and it’s very easy to make. This is the basic pilaf recipe I learned to make, but I have made this with many other combinations of veggies. Just like rice, it’s a great vehicle to use those little odds and ends you have in your fridge… go crazy and tell me what’s your favorite combination.

Tags: carrot, food, green pepper, peas, quinoa, red pepper, vegetarian

Comments 3 Comments
Categories main courses, side dishes

Easy Veggie and Cashew Stir Fry

27 Jan

I wasn’t going to blog about this… but my friends over Facebook were so excited about the photo and the recipe, that I said “what the heck…”. If those people who love food loved this recipe, possible you guys will also love it too.

This was something I just put together yesterday for lunch. Nothing planned in advance, unless you count that I started making the rice in my rice cooker since 10:30AM. I always get hungry and never consider making rice because whole grain rice takes about 1 hour to make, and by that time, I would be famished.

I have mentioned to you my love for adding cashews in stir-frys before… and the beauty for making it at home is that you can add as many cashews as you want!!!! Chinese restaurants are always skimping on the cashews even when they charge you extra for them every time.

The secret here… use whatever you have in your fridge… I would have added some bean sprouts, but I didn’t have any. Some spinach would have worked great too instead of the lettuce. I actually used lettuce because I was out of spinach. So work with what you have… the end product will still be delicious!!!

Easy Veggie and Cashew Stir Fry

½ onion – sliced

½ green bell pepper – sliced

6-7 white button mushrooms – quartered

1 small carrot – shredded or peeled into slices with a vegetable peeler

4 romaine lettuce leaves – sliced

½ cup roasted and salted cashews – but this measure is optional. You can add as much cashews as you want…

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup of water

1 tsp cornstarch

2 tbs agave nectar

Olive oil

Salt to taste

In a large skillet, drizzle some olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and peppers. Season with a bit of salt to allow the moisture to drain out of them a bit. Sauté for a few minutes until they start to soften a bit.
Add the carrots and the mushrooms. Mix it all together and continue to cook over medium heat. Add the lettuce or spinach and toss to wilt into the mixture.
Add the cashews to soften a bit and mix together with the flavors of the veggies.
In a separate measuring cup measure the soy sauce, water and mix together with the cornstarch. Add the sauce to the pan and mix it all well.
Drizzle a few turns of the pan of agave nectar and mix it all together. Turn the stove off. The heat in the stove and the pan will thicken the sauce and coat every veggie and cashew.

Serve over brown rice.

This is a very satisfying lunch or dinner without feeling heavy at all.

Tags: agave nectar, carrot, cashews, food, soy sauce, vegetarian

Comments 5 Comments
Categories main courses

My first Bánh Mì in NYC

18 Nov

I have been reading about Báhn Mì’s for about a year now… maybe even longer. These Vietnamese sandwiches are all the rage in the US.

I have heard about them during the first season of The Great Food Truck Race via the successful Nom Nom Truck from Los Angeles. They were selling these sandwiches like there was no tomorrow… And even in Serious Eats, Kenji went on a dissertation of what makes a Báhn Mì a Báhn Mì and he even went on a search for the best Báhn Mì in NYC.

Báhn Mì’s are a Vietnamese sandwich that originated as a fusion of cultures when Vietnam was under French rule… According to Kenji, the main aspects of a Báhn MI are:

Bread – French-baguette type bread usually made using rice flour for added crunch and lightness
Main Ingredient – we will concentrate on vegetarian, tofu-based Báhn Mì’s for the purposes of this vegetarian blog post
Sauce – the traditional Báhn Mì has a spreading of mayonnaise or butter cut with mayonnaise. These sandwiches are considered vegan, so there were no spread included. However, we should introduce these Báhn Mì people to Vegenaise. I think it would add a certain something- something closer to the traditional offerings.
Vegetable toppings – usually made of pickled daikon radishes, pickled carrots and cucumbers all cut into small thin sticks. Cilantro stems and some sort of spicy chili pepper. Some people put Sriracha sauce on theirs, but according to expert Kenji, this is neither typical nor respectable in the Báhn Mì world.

In the search for my first Bahn Mi, I deferred to Kenji, the expert in the matter and decided to head to Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich located at 369 Broome Street, New York NY; 212-219-8341. Saigon was rated third best sandwich in Manhattan so I knew it would be a good choice over all and was easily reachable by subway. Something I liked about them as well, they had 4 vegetarian options on their menu… so we had plenty to choose from.

Mom and I were super hungry and decided to try two of their tofu sandwiches – the Bánh mì chay đạc biêt – House Special Vegetarian (with tofu, mushroom, pickled carrots and radish) and a Bánh Mì Chay Đậu Hũ, Xả Ớt Rau with Vegan chicken (tofu) with lemongrass.

I tried both versions… and my favorite was the House Special Vegetarian. Way more flavorful and interesting than the tofu lemongrass in my opinion. The House Special Vegetarian has a delicious sweet/salty peanut sauce that made the sandwich. As for the cilantro, I can certainly do without the stems. Only a few leaves on mine, please!!! I added a few drops, literally, 2-3 drops of sriracha to mine and the heat level was too much for me. I am still a spicy wimp… sorry!!!

The verdict… I loved the Báhn Mì. And if I have it again in Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich, I will order the House Special and not bother with anything else. I will try to bring some Vegenaise to use on mine… I will try to scope out other places to get a more complete sense of what a true Vietnamese báhn mì is… but for now, the intrigue is OVER!!!

Have you had a vegetarian báhn mì before??? Where are your favorite spots???

Tags: bahn mi, carrot, cucumber, daikon, food, tofu, vegetarian

Comments 4 Comments
Categories MY EDITORIAL, sandwiches, Travel

The Shape of Foods Helps Specific Organs?? O yes they do…

25 Aug

I received a few times a “chain email” telling me the importance of certain foods for certain organs based on how their shape resembles the organ they’re supposed to help.

My natural medicine doctor always tells us… “Let your food be your medicine. Health starts with what you eat.” And this Teleological Nutritional Targeting, or as it was once known as Law of Similarities, is right alongside the same path as what our doctor always says. Let’s eat more naturally to create a healthier, better future. We’re the creators of our own destiny and that includes what we eat…

I was intrigued by the visual impact of how much the food and the organ shape resembles. I am sure each fruit/vegetable has many more benefits than just the ones to the organs they resemble, but I found it so curious I wanted to share with all you…

CARROTS – EYES

When you cut a carrot crosswise, the insides resemble the iris and pupil of the eye. The Vitamin A in carrots help protect the cornea and promotes good blood flow inside the eyes. Carrots also protect your night vision and prevent macular degeneration and cataracts.