Posted on 05/29/2020 6:22:30 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
We recently went looking online for a wok - we wanted to try and become expert at stir-frying. It surprised me that everything we liked best was sold out everywhere. Then, I realized that lots of people have been stuck at home and doing more cooking for themselves. (I saw a recent cooking video on YouTube, in which a man stated that he had gone all over to find simple 8-inch layer-cake pans, and they were sold out everywhere that he was able to look; and I noticed last weekend that the baking section in my grocery – flour, sugar, baking mixes, leavening agents – was almost bare.)
We finally found a nice wok, and went through the process of curing it. We haven’t cooked in it yet (busy week) but we did some shopping for ingredients. In the process, I found in the local health food store something called Chinese ‘Forbidden Black Rice’, which I’d heard about but had never tried.
This rice is amazing! and the strangest thing about it is that it tastes like it’s full of butter, right out of the pot – with no butter added. It’s also lower on the glycemic index than ‘regular’ rice, and very rich in antioxidants and other nutrients.
I first tried this in a traditional ‘Carolina Rice Steamer’, which is sort of like a double boiler; but it took forever. You may be able to do it in an electric rice steamer (I pitched mine when it broke down) but I would suggest doing this on the stovetop as you would do brown rice.
The product we purchased was not ‘sticky’; so I’m assuming it’s the one referred to in this article as the actual Chinese Forbidden Black Rice:
Grace Young is one of the best instructors I’ve found on stir-frying; her various books are full of history, traditional Chinese culture, and information, and the recipes are very interesting and different from the heavy food that we call 'Chinese' in restaurants in the US. Here is her video on seasoning a new carbon steel wok:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZjkTPWBOf8
And here is her blog, with her recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken:
http://www.graceyoung.com/recipes/sweet-and-sour-chicken/">
I saw this cooking-coloring book for kids, on the Dover website today; it looks like a great way to keep the young ones occupied and also learning a skill that will be valuable throughout life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZjkTPWBOf8
-JT
Funny - a movie I have never seen.
I taught in a Christian grade school many, many years ago and we had a small veggie plot in the back of the schoolhouse. We had a good mix but I still remember the first time we harvested the broccoli and simply steamed it for the kids to try. I never saw six and seven year olds enjoy broccoli so much! It was SO tender and sweet - which I’m sure helped - and the fact that they nurtured the plants themselves added to their delight. There’s no doubt the fresher it is the better.
It’s charming & delightful.
I won’t even buy broccoli. What we don’t eat right away gets steamed 1 minute , cooled and vacuum sealed. In the middle of the winter is still tastes great.
"The battle of Hastings was in the 1600's."
"No, it was in 1066."
"1600's.
"Bet you a cookie it was in 1066."
So all disagreements end in trips to our local bakery where we buy her very tasty cookies of the day.
I think you are correct. We have an 8-quart Duo; I thought it was an 8-inch springform that I was looking for; but if it’s 7 inches, that explains why I haven’t found one in the thrift store.
I thought of the same thing! Great movie that I have seen many times. Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal were superb. One of my favorite screen couples. Her with Tom Hanks, as well.
I think another reason it was - and is - rare and more expensive, is that it produces a much lower yield than other rices.
But it sure is unique. I can’t even compare it to other rices - my favorite type is Basmati - because it tastes so different. But it’s definitely worth a try for a very interesting side-dish.
Archive.org is a great site.
I think what puzzles me about the differences in memory is that I remember everywhere I’ve driven or been driven, and how to get there. I mostly quit driving years ago - when we got married, there was no need for the expense of two cars, so I sold mine. But he kindly drives me all over the place - and doesn’t remember where we’ve been or how to get there.
Probably because he had little interest in going there anyway. (Hillary once said that Bill was a ‘hard dog to keep on the porch’. My husband is a hard one to drag OFF the porch!)
Would you say black rice is similar to what’s called “wild rice” in texture and flavor?
Great post. She was the IT girl for a reason.
Since we’ve moved, found that it is very difficult to remember how to arrive at point B from point A. He drives and I seldom pay attention. Trouble is, each time I DO pay attention, he seems to be taking a pathway other than the ‘normal’ one taken before. Should I go out and about on my own, it would be necessary to arm myself with a map before leaving the house! Having a driver is nice. However, he can be a real bear when I ask him to take me shopping for me. No patience and no chance of his finding his anytime soon.
No, I don’t think so, at least from my experience of North American Wild Rice. It’s an Asian rice, and more like brown rice. It has the nuttiness and somewhat the texture of brown rice, but a much more ‘buttery’ flavor. Unless it’s the way I cooked it, it also seems more tender and slightly less ‘chewy’ than brown rice usually comes out.
I Like your ‘chips’! Umm Good.Chocolate Chip or even the old fashioned sugar cookies are made so much better at a bakery. Moist and chewy. Really great that bakery cookies have fewer calories than others. :-)
So when cookies are placed in a glass case they leave the cookies to run and hide.
That's my theory anyway.
I’ve heard an alternate theory: if you eat a cookie standing up, the calories don’t ‘settle’.
Works for me.
This allows the calories to just run out.
LOL!
I’ve also heard that the more you eat of any one thing, the more efficiently your body metabolizes it, and the less weight you gain from overeating of it.
I have no rigid research to support this theory; but since about two weeks into lockdown, I mostly lost my appetite. Nothing has tasted right, and after a few bites of anything, my stomach turns - except for -
Pepperoni Pizza!
I’ve eaten it several times per week, sometimes twice a day - for months, now; and regardless the lack of usual exercise, not only have I NOT gained weight - I’ve LOST weight.
So: There :-)
Try rice in a solar oven. Even plain long grain white rice comes out with a nutty taste.
Foil covered angled cardboard box would work as the oven without any long term investment if you just want to give it a go for the taste.
Zero rice at the stores here.
My eyes! The only work crew guy who showed up next door has his pants on the ground. Literally. Mooning me the whole time he’s been working. No!!!!! Sadly, as horrible as that sight is, it isn’t as bad as their continuous boom, boom, boom loud music.
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