In my opinion, there are two types of cooks: the kind that follow recipes to the letter and produce flawless food every time, and the kind that employ their creativity (and hopefully common sense) to draw outside the lines of recipes and invent completely new dishes in the process. I consider myself among the latter category. I'm not one to abide by the rules of a recipe (BO-ring!).
So, since I choose to cook in this flexible way, I often find it easy to make use of my leftovers. "And here I am!" says the newborn rice ball.
This is less of a formal recipe and more of a guideline that goes as follows:
- For each cup of leftover rice (or other grain - I also had whole wheat berries) mix in one beaten egg.
- Add spices, herbs, seasoning, or a whole other leftover dish - I added black lentil hummus here.
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Oil lightly.
- Form one-tablespoon sized balls of rice mixture with your hands and space out evenly on the baking sheet. You should be able to fit 5 rows of 6, for a total of 30 rice balls.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, longer if needed, making sure each rice ball is golden and crispy on the outside. Remove to a serving dish and enjoy as a low-cost, highly-tasty appetizer!
I've been experimenting with (among other things) using my gas oven as a dehydrator. I've dried herbs, garlic and now: tomatoes. Dan is a big fan of sun-dried tomatoes, so I figured, why spend the extra moolah buying those fancy, non-eco-friendly, imported sun-dried tomatoes when I can make my own at home?! Granted, they're not exactly sun dried (although it looks like the sunshine is returning again to New York, yippee!!), but they're virtually the same. To make them, I simply core and vertically slice plum tomatoes (they're less juicy, more meaty - better than the beefsteak tomatoes for drying), lay them out on a baking sheet, and put them in the oven overnight, until they're all wrinkled up and leathery. You don't even need to turn the oven on - just trust in the steady low heat of the oven pilot to do the job right.
Here are my oven-dried tomatoes, packed into a jar with some extra virgin olive oil to cover.
Packaged this way, they should keep for months in the fridge. And if I weren't so tired of kitchen appliances, I would use the nifty canning kit that Paul got me for Christmas (thanks, bro!) and make 'em last forever. However, considering I live with a jiu-jitsu trained eating-machine, I needn't worry about these sweet snacks going sour :)
When 2010 hit (Welcome to the food-ture!) and I realized I'd neglected to share my homemade meals with you all for over a month, I decided a resolution was needed: at least one posting a month! I'm sure that between my job cooking at the restaurant, sleeping, spending time with Danimal, cleaning the house, staying connected with friends, getting adequate exercise, reading my book, and trying to relax (ommmm...), there ought to be some time left for "What Color..."!
Today after hitting the gym I threw together a delicious and easy French lentil soup. Lentils are an amazing kind of legume that require no soaking, very little cooking time, and that are so tasty you can cook them in water and the finished liquid will taste like a rich vegetable stock. Plus, these fancy little beans weigh in at about $1.50 a pound, so they're great for living on the cheap.
French Lentil Soup
(makes about 6 cups)
- 2 tbsp. butter or olive oil (or a mix)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup diced onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
- 1 red chile pepper, deseeded and minced
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 2 cups French lentils (or brown, green, black, red... pick your poison)
- 6 cups water
- 1 28-oz can organic crushed tomatoes
- 1 bouquet garni: small bunch thyme, 2 bay leaves, 5 peppercorns (bundled together in cheesecloth)
- 1/4 cup picked thyme leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
1. Set a large, thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and add the cooking oil/butter. Once hot, add the garlic and onion and a pinch of salt and stir until fragrant and translucent. Add the chile pepper and cook, stirring, a minute longer. Then add the sweet potato, cover the pot, and let cook 3-5 more minutes.
2. Stir in lentils, water, tomatoes, and drop in the bouquet garni. Bring to a boil and lower to simmer. Leave simmering, partially covered, for 30-45 minutes, until the lentils are fully cooked and the soup has thickened to the desired consistency.
3. Remove from heat, stir in the thyme leaves, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, or allow to cool and store in refrigerator up to a week or freezer up to a month!
