Italian-style Rice Salad

I lived in Italy for a few years. Italian summers are really hot and humid. It's rather like a North Carolina summer, except in Italy most places don't have any air-conditioning at all. This is true of places of business, but definitely true of houses. So all the Italian people change their eating habits in the summer so they don't have to heat up the kitchen (and the whole apartment). One of the common meals is a cold rice salad. This salad is meant to be served cold and is quite refreshing. You could heat up the rice a little before you toss the veggies in with it though. The other great thing about it is how quickly you can make it if you have leftover rice in the fridge.

As is typical with salad recipes, I totally just eyeball this, so this "recipe" doesn't contain real measurements.

Italian-style Rice Salad

Cooked brown rice

Cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half

Celery

Cucumber

Carrot

Onion or Leeks

Frozen green peas, warmed up

Olive oil, drizzled over the salad

Salt

Pepper

Directions: Chop up all the veggies into decently small pieces. Toss everything into a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Rice with Pumpkin

I've been thinking this weekend that maybe I should change the name of this blog (again) to "Simple Food." I won't, but simple food is all I eat these days. I'm pretty impressed with myself if I make a dish that has more than two ingredients in it (not counting oil and salt).

This dish came together because it was a Sunday evening and I opened the fridge and just tossed stuff in a bowl. It was delicious.

Rice with Pumpkin

2 wedges of roasted pumpkin

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

sunflower oil

dried sage

salt

I roasted a pumpkin a couple weeks ago by just cutting it into wedges and roasting it at 425. I think I had grand plans for the pumpkin, but they never materialized. I just froze the wedges instead.

So to make this, I cut up two of the pumpkin wedges, dropped them into a bowl with rice, heated that up in the microwave. Then before everything was completely warm, I took it out, drizzled it with oil, sprinkled salt and about a 1/2 teaspoon of sage, and heated it again. Then I stirred, and ate it.

Rice and Peas Risotto

I decided to change the name of my blog. When I first went gluten-free (more than 3 years ago), my mom joked that I was gluten-free plus. Back then, and still now, my "sensitive little system" couldn't handle mayonnaise or chocolate. There's no gluten-related reason for that, I just couldn't do it. And I still can't. In addition to these things I can't eat, I am trying not to eat sugar. Life is just better without it, so that's the second plus.

Today I have a recipe for you. I thought that I got this straight out of a cookbook. Silly me for thinking that I actually followed a recipe. Apparently what I did was look at the ingredient list and then make up my own technique. I made this on a regular basis in grad school, because the ingredients are things I always had around.

Again here, I just had the ingredients on hand, so I don't have prices (in my mind pantry meals are free). But I can tell you that arborio (risotto) rice is more expensive than brown rice, I think around $3 for a pound. Pay for it. Other types of rice do not act the same way. Also, I am paying about $2.29 for a box of chicken stock, so that I get one that is gluten-free, sugar-free, and yeast-free. (Yes, maybe I will start making my own).


Rice and Peas Risotto
Inspired by "Risi e Bisi" in The Little Italian Cookbook
1 cup arborio (risotto) rice
2 cups chicken stock
3 tbs butter
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups frozen peas
handful parsley, chopped (large handful if using fresh parsley, 1 tbs if dried)
parmesan cheese

In a pot, melt 2 tbs of butter. Toss in the chopped onion, and saute until translucent.
Add the rice, stirring until the rice is coated by the butter and begins to turn more opaque. This should take 1-2 minutes.
During this time, heat the stock (I use a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave). It doesn't have to be boiling, just hot.
Add 1/3 of the stock to the pot. This should be enough to cover the rice. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed.
Add another 1/3, repeating the same process.
While the rice is cooking, add the frozen peas to the final 1/3 of stock, and microwave until warm. Add the stock and peas to the rice, and simmer while stirring occasionally.
When stock is almost absorbed, melt in the parsley and last tablespoon of butter. The consistency should be creamy, and the rice should be cooked. Eat a grain of rice to make sure. If it is still hard, add more stock.

You may choose to salt and pepper, I find it doesn't really need salt and pepper, but to your taste. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Muffins and menu plans

I've been slack. I have been eating, pretty good food too, and I haven't been sharing.

Here's the "menu plan" I've been working with this week. I do actually use those quotation marks to show sarcasm. I think I have commented before that I don't like planning. So this is just a vague representation of some of the things I might eat this week. And if I don't feel like it, I don't have to.

Soup - leftover homemade soup from my sick week last week
Stuffed Green Pepper - frozen leftover
Green Goddess Rice
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Spaghetti Squash, with homemade tomato sauce
Salad
Green Tomato Pasta Toss

Plus a few extra snacks
Lemon Muffins
Apple Cinnamon Raisin Muffins
Hummus

I made the Green Goddess Rice on Monday. It was pretty tasty, however it is really bad as leftovers. The avocado turns brown, and it is really not as nicely flavorful. But I can recommend the recipe if you are going to have a party and eat it all that night. Or ... not a party... but you just happen to actually feed a family.

The lemon muffin recipe is simply a modified Orange Juice muffins recipe. I added lemon juice and lemon zest.

Apple Cinnamon Raisin Muffins
2 cups featherlight gluten free flour mix
1 tsp xanthan gum
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup apple juice
1/3 cup veggie oil
1 egg
1 cup grated apple
1 cup raisins, lightly chopped
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix everything, bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

I made my muffins this week in my mini-muffin tin. That means I baked them for 13 minutes, and they are my fav because the bottom part of the muffin gets a little crispy, and it's just delightful. Unfortunately they are only like that right when you take them out of the oven. So I had to eat a lot straight out of the oven.