Red Beans and Rice in the Pressure Cooker

My version was mild enough for every member of my very white family.  Even both my picky kids liked it and asked for seconds and thirds!  Look at the end for tips to spice it up and a low-glycemic version.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 red onions
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• cherry tomatoes (or other ripe or canned, drained tomatoes)
• 1-2 dry bay leaves
• 1-2 large dry hot peppers - seeded, no need to chop or pre-soak
• 
• dry or fresh chopped thyme
• 1 cup long-grain brown rice, rinsed
• 1 cup red/kidney beans (See step 1 for soaking tips.)
• 3.5 cups water or broth, plus water for rinsing and soaking
• smoked paprika
• salt

5 Days Remain to Enter Apron Giveaway

Update: WINNER ANNOUNCED 
 
Giveaway ends July 31, 11:15 pm California time (UTC -7) .  Entering is EASY:

1. Subscribe (follow, like, join, tweet, share, etc.) any way you want.
2. Comment telling me what you did.  (Make sure to enter your e-mail address, or e-mail me: nonrecipe (at) gmail .com.) 

 For full details see original contest post. Worldwide entries accepted!

My First Linky Entry

If you're a regular blog reader, you know that many blogs have a weekly Blog Party or Blog Carnival that they run where other bloggers can link recipes or posts that fit the topic.  Today I joined "Slightly Indulgent Tuesday" on a blog I just found, Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free.  Slightly Indulgent Tuesday is a collection of recipes that are not necessarily Sugar or Gluten Free, but they are in some way healthier than the standard option.  I posted "No Sugar Added, Whole Wheat Carrot Zucchini Muffins".  There are lots of exciting recipes worth checking out.  I'm looking forward to trying "Dairy-Free Chocolate / Carob Almond Fudge (with Sugar-Free option)" on Whole. New. Mom.

On a related note, I'm planning to start my own monthly Linky on what's is season!  This is a great place to share whatever foods you are currently enjoying wherever you live.  There will be no recipes required, all food-related pictures, thoughts, and love-notes are welcome.  Come back at the beginning of August to link up.  If you are not a blogger, or don't have a post to link, send your pictures and stories to nonrecipe@gmail.com and I will include them!  (Make sure to include whatever bio info you want me to include.)  You can also send me links from the last month on this topic.

I have also started reading some new blogs and plan to update my blogroll soon.  What are your favorite food-related blogs?  What Link Parties do you enjoy?

Artist Video: Food About You by Alexandre DUBOSC

I saw this on one of my favorite crafty blogs, MiniEco.  It made me smile.  Very clever and artistic.


Food about you - Annecy festival 2010 from Alexandre DUBOSC on Vimeo.
Film de / by Alexandre DUBOSC (France, 1' 37", 2010)

Alexandre DUBOSC is a French atist/photographer/stop action filmmaker in France.  You can see more of his work on his website.

One Pan Roasted Chicken and Veggies

I hope you will see this as a great technique, not a recipe.  Each individual ingredient is optional.  What matters is the layering and the size of the raw vegetables.  Your goal is to cut the veggies to a size where they will be cooked to your preference exactly when the chicken is done.

Optional Layer 0:  White rice with water or partially cooked brown rice.  If you skip this layer, you will want to serve this with a grain that can soak up all the incredible juices.  I served this over medium grain brown rice.

Layer 1: Olive oil, fresh green beans, mushrooms, finely chopped garlic, white part of scallions (I use the more mild green part for raw things), shallot, seasoning such as crushed red pepper and ground coriander seeds.

Layer 2: Chicken (see why I like dark meat) brushed with tomato paste and seasonings of choice.

Cooking With Preschoolers

Check out my guest post on CookingManager.com, titled Cooking with Preschoolers: Distraction or Interaction?

I discuss various tips to both keep your youngsters safely out from underfoot, as well as great ways to involve them including counting, tasting, smelling, and seasoning.  Here's the intro:

Cooking with preschoolers, even a single child, can feel like running a circus.  You have to balance their attention and their safety on top of timing the courses to be cooked, not burnt, at the right time.  First, choose your goal: distract or involve.  Sometimes the choice is obvious.  If you are constantly putting things in and out of the oven, or you have many things boiling on the stove, you will want to distance your child from the action.  Other times the food prep is G-rated, but you simply don’t have time for explaining and teaching.  Read more...

You may also enjoy:
Frozen Fruit PLUS More Ice Pop Ideas
Tehina Health Cookies 
Fruit Leather Flowers 
Kids in the Kitchen
Feeding Picky Eaters 

Rigatoni a la Vodka - Non-dairy

This was so delicious, I have to share!  Very non-restaurant ingredients with restaurant-worthy flavor.  I used leftover rigatoni and rewarmed it in my semi-homemade thick, creamy sauce.

What I did this time:

1. Pulse in a food processor: 1 medium red onion, 2-3 cloves garlic.  While blade is spinning, quickly drop in about 10 fresh cherry tomatoes and then stop food processor.  (You can add bell pepper or mushrooms if you like...whatever you want to use up.)
2. Add to pan/pot with hot olive oil and sauté briefly.
3. Add a jar/box/can of crushed tomatoes.  I used a small carton of very smooth "strained crushed tomatoes."  But you can use whatever you have in the house, be it tomato juice, tomato paste, or stewed tomatoes.  Just play with the consistency by blending or adding additional liquid.
4. Simmer sauce and season to taste.  My fresh herbs couldn't take this heat, so I used ground coriander seeds, dry basil, ground red pepper flakes, and salt. 
5. Add Vodka.  Yes, real vodka.  However much you can afford... maybe 1/4 cup.  Tomatoes contain alcohol soluble flavors that can only be thoroughly enjoyed when cooked with alcohol.  There is no way to scientifically determine how much alcohol has "cooked off," so consider your audience and pour responsibly.*
6. Continue to simmer.  Then stir in the secret ingredient... 

Roasted Beet & Walnut Salad

I love beets!  I got the original recipe through my mom from Marilynn Clark in Florida.  This is a great autumn salad, and I love dishes you can mostly prepare long before guests arrive or just keep in the fridge until you get hungry.

8 to 10 med beets (2 lbs) rinsed, trim stem ends to 1”
2 Tbls. Cider vinegar
1-½ teasp Dijon mustard
½ teasp sugar
Salt & pepper to taste
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
(optional) 4 oz. Blue cheese, crumbled
(optional) Mixed baby greans, Belgian endive, or greens of your choice

Frozen Fruit PLUS More Ice Pop Ideas

UPDATE: One of my kids' favorite summer activities is picking grapes from the fridge, putting them in a cup and waiting for them to freeze.  (Then they eat them.) Go figure.  I also froze half bananas on popsicle sticks and my kids LOVED them.

Fruit almost too ripe?  Freeze it!  Is that too obvious?  It's surprising how much my kids enjoy eating frozen bananas and frozen grapes.  And now I never have to worry about buying more than we can eat. 

Besides bananas and grapes, I've frozen strawberries, apricots, watermelon and cherries.  I froze the watermelon in silicon muffin trays with a pitted cherry on top.  The strawberries I froze in half and quarter pieces spread out in a single layer on a tray.  Then I transferred them to a zip-top bag.

Going away this summer?  Freeze any produce you won't have time to eat.  Wash and prep fruits and veggetables so they are ready to eat or cook when you get home.  It will be nice to have some healthy food awaiting your return, and the washed and cut veggies will save you time when you are catching up on laundry and work.

Bananas and strawberries make great shakes, "ice cream," and ice pops.  (I add yogurt and milk for pops.)  Ice pops can also be stored in a zip-top bag or container after they are solid.

Want to involve your kids?  Have them add tiny pieces of frozen fruit (or fresh or canned fruit) to ice pop molds.  They can make different fruit layers or mix fruit together.  Then pour juice or milk over the top and freeze.  What else can you put in popsicles?  Chocolate, sprinkles, vitamin D drops... ?

Also see my post on Adult-Worthy Ice Pops.

Are You a Poultry Racist?

McCormick Rosemary Chicken

Maybe it's just my pregnancy hormones, but I'm been craving dark meat chicken lately.  In general, I barely eat meat once a week, but when I do, I want it to taste good!


I used to only buy boneless, skinless chicken breast, but this year I started putting taste and simplicity before health (so I thought) and chose whole chicken or legs and thighs, skin on.  Now, I keep hearing about the benefits of dark meat, so I thought I'd share with you.

Why is dark meat dark?  The leg and thigh muscles of a chicken contain more of the protein myoglobin, which plays a key role in oxygen uptake within cells.  Myoglobin is high in iron.  It is necessary for sustained activity like walking.  Birds that fly, like ducks, have this tasty muscle through their chest.

Turkey and chicken dark meat has more B vitamins, iron, and zinc than their lighter counterparts, and dark meat is an excellent source of the antioxidant selenium. Ounce per ounce, dark meat has more nutritional value than white meat (source link).  White meat contains no iron.  The fat in dark meat may also aid in the absorption of nutrients in the chicken and your whole meal.