LemonGrassGirls.com

Rice Pudding

This lemongrassgirl is back and writing about food with new passion and vigor.  Seems as though since I was laid off from my technical writing job, the world has been spinning with opportunities:  shortbread, food writing, copywriting, my new position on the Board of Directors for the Vermont Specialty Food Association, learning about radio jingle production: it's nice to be wanted. 

There's something about writing about food, telling the story or the memory behind the meal that excites me more than all other types of writing I do.  There's something about it that calms me on a Sunday morning when the anxiety of all the work I have to do today threatens to bury me. 

Rice pudding soothes.  Writing about rice pudding heals. 

So here goes.  A post about a humble rice pudding. 

My mom made rice pudding when I was growing up.  I suspect she used Minute Rice because that's what we ate back in the 60s and 70s.  Mom threw a handful of raisins in her pudding and the tiniest sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon.  Creamy, thick, slightly sweet...rice pudding nurtures me. 

Last night, after an impromptu steak and broccoli stir fry (which was a tad too salty), I found myself with a couple cups of leftover organic brown basmati rice and decided its nutty, chewy texture would compliment the creamy custard of a perfect rice pudding which would satisfy me after my salty dinner.  I decided to try this without a recipe.  (I'm honing my skills by NOT following recipes lately.) 

Into a saucepan with the rice, I poured some 1% milk and a splash of Half and Half.  I also tossed in some sugar...not much, maybe a handful?  Then I set the pan to simmer for a long time, stirring occasionally.  I lost track of time, maybe a half hour of simmering?  As the already cooked rice absorbed the milk, I added more milk every 10 minutes or so.  Kind of like making risotto - you just keep adding liquid and the starch in the rice releases making everything oh-so thick and creamy. 

When the rice mixture was cooked to milky perfection, I tempered one egg in separate bowl with some of the milk mixture from the rice (the egg would scramble if I threw it right into the hot pan, thanks Mom and Grandma for teaching that piece of culinary knowledge!).  I tossed the tempered egg mixture back into the pan and continued to stir over the lowest flame as the mixture turned into a pale yellow custard with beautiful flecks of brown rice invitingly peeking through.   

When the custard phase was done, I added some vanilla extract and poured the whole batch into a large bowl for cooling.  I sprinkled the top with a tiny amount of cinnamon and nutmeg just like Mom and Grandma did.  No raisins for me this time - I wanted a creamy experience and didn't feel raisiny.  After our salty meal, sweet and smooth was just the ticket.   

As the bowl cooled and thickened on the counter, my daughter and I dug in to the warm pudding.  Slightly sweet, a little chewy, but simultaneously smooth, we ate the entire bowl in about 20 minutes.  Now there's a dessert I feel good about giving my child!

It's been a bit cold and damp these last few days so rice pudding on a Saturday night with my daughter was more than just a pig-out fest.  It made me think of loose teeth when I was 8 and the only food that was easy to eat - rice pudding.  It made me think of snuggling on the couch wrapped in an afghan watching the Wonderful World of Disney on a Sunday night (after Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, but right before bed). 

I found myself dreaming of new ingredients to add to my next rice pudding.  Orange peel came to me in my sleep.  Hmmmm...

Ann Zuccardy, Shortbreadpreneur and now....puddingpreneur 

Tomatoes!

Well, I am about 3 weeks late, but I am starting my tomato plants today.  I grown mostly heirloom tomatoes, with seeds purchased through Seed Saver's Exchange and other organic sources, as well as seeds traded with other tomato lovers.

Isn't it a bit early to be talking about tomatoes?  Well, actually no.  In Texas, the growing season is short - we have until about the end of June to get good fruit set, then the plants wait until August to start setting fruit again - the July sun and temps are too intense for the pollen to survive.

So lots of people started their tomato seeds on Boxing Day, but with the renovations at home, I just couldn't get it done.

However, today is the day.  I am heading to Home Depot to pick up seed starting mix and by tonight, I'll be happily incubating some tomatoes.

I can't quite explain my love of tomatoes -it is a deep and true devotion.  You know how it goes, you see a lush tomato plant at a friend's house, or maybe your neighbor shares some of the largess of their crop...you taste that warm tomato flesh, and you want another...

It is absolutely an addiction with me.  I promised myself "no more store bought tomatoes" and only gave in one time this winter -

Store bought tomatoes are not the same creatures as home grown - I might even suggest they are a different species!  The varieties are selected to withstand transit and still have a perfect tomato shape.  They are also cultivated to withstand long periods of storage.  they are picked green, and then ripen, if that is what you call it, along the way in cardboard boxes and grocery refrigerators. 

I do not like store bought tomatoes.  I think we should all grow our own tomatoes, or support local farmers and farmer's markets and buy up all their lovely tomatoes.

Heirloom tomatoes are different than hybrid tomatoes. 

Hybrids are cultivated to select for desirable properties - like really big tomatoes, or tomatoes perfect for sauces and canning.  there are some great hybrid varieties - Sun Gold and Early Wonder come to mind.  Hybrids are cross pollinated and then the seeds are grown out over several generations to make sure the crossing is stable (so if you are looking for Sun Gold you actually get that delicious little golden tomato - not red, not yellow)

Heirloom tomatoes are grown from seeds that have a history.  They often have stories like, "variety grown by my Russian grandfather" or "saved from tomatoes my Aunt Sue got from her husbands mother."  They have names like Earl of Edgecomb, Aunt Ginny's German Green, Mortgage Lifter, Brandywine, and Pink Ping Pong.  They don't come out perfectly shaped, some need to be eaten almost as quickly as you pick them because they don't store very well.  But oh my, are they delicious!  They even have a bit of a pedigree.  The seeds can be traced back to the person that had them first - that always amazes me.

Here is to the tomatoes of 2007 - I can't wait to taste them!

Just in case you want to know more about heirloom tomatoes, check out Tomatoville - and tell them I sent you!

Cynthia
*************
Cynthia McKenna, LPC, NCC
www.cynthiamckennacounseling.com

The Reluctant Gourmet

I wouldn't call myself reluctant about gourmet food. Nope, not reluctant to try it, not reluctant to cook what some consider "gourmet" fare. And I'm not the least bit reluctant about making my newfound foodie home-away-from-home online at http://ReluctantGourmet.com.

The Reluctant Gourmet is an ex-Wall street professional-turned-cook/writer. Whew, now that is what I call a winning combination of intellect/personality traits and someone who must surely be a fascinating storyteller and conversationalist.

I happened upon this website while doing food marketing research on Google. I wasn't looking for cooking advice for myself, but that's what I found. Jackpot! Soup pot! Tucked away in this man's little corner of the web lie the answers to every culinary question I ever had but didn't think to ask. Last night I learned how to keep myself from slicing the tip of my thumb off while chopping onions. This morning I discovered several new techniques for cooking  chicken cutlets on the stovetop without letting the meat become rubbery and overdone. I always overcook my chicken breast sautees. I mean I always DID. Thanks to the Reluctant Gourmet, my chicken scorching days are over!

Dina at Wordfeeder.com -
Copywriter, Marketer, and Avid Student of the Internet's Greatest Chefs

Rave: Bolthouse Farms

Several months ago, I splurged on a couple of impressively packaged healthy fruit drinks that appeared not to have any of the usual High Fructose Corn Syrup Emptiness that everyone seems to be filling their trendy drink bottles with. The lip-smacking nectars with kitschy names like "Blue Goodness" were from Bolthouse Farms, and truth be told I picked them up because the shape of the bottle pleased me, as did the photographs of plump, juicy-looking berries and the pretty, handwriting-style font. (I'm a sucker for fonts like Bradley Hand ITC and Lucinda Sans 10 point).

So, I had my eye on the blue bottle, and I was also looking for an energy lifter so I grabbed a "Perfectly Protein" Vanilla Chai as well. The chai, though silky and tasty, was a little too sweet for me (I scoured the ingredients list in search of sugar, fructose, sucrose, glucose, turbinado sugar, dehydrated cane juice, and other things that mean sugar, but I don't recall seeing any of these, although I think this drink had well over 30 grams of sugar under the Nutritional Facts... hmm.) But the Blue Goodness... wow. As the first swallow went down, I could feel myself morphing into some sort of Immuno-fortified, disease-resistant super-human. I swear, there really was pure goodness in that bottle and I had this uncontrollable urge not to sip but suckle like a newborn babe. (Oh my, did I really just say that?). Yes - this drink was THAT nourishing.

After becoming enamored with the antioxidant-loaded, blissful berry-bursting smoothie drink that was My Blue Heaven, I decided to sample the Valencia Orange. Kind of grapefruit-like, not really worth the money. However, this is not going to stop me from going back for a taste of the Vedge (V8 equivalent) and the Green Goodness (just because with ingredients like wheat grass and spirulina, that sounds like one of the funkier choices. I wonder if it costs extra.)

On the whole, I give a two thumbs up to Bolthouse Farms for creating these amazing thirst-quenchers that are delicious and great for your health, too.

Your berry smoothie-slugging friend,

Dina at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing

Food Writing and Life

I started a food writing class on Tuesday night.  It's a short class, but it inspired me to pop on over here and post that I'm still alive and eating heartily. 

I recently bought a book on cheese and am planning a cheese tome coming to this blog soon. 

Stay tuned. 

Yours,
Ann Zuccardy
Vermont Shortbread Company President (and big cheesehead)

Yogurt

My brother and his wife eat a pretty steady breakfast diet of plain yogurt, fruit,  nuts, and granola.  This is an appealling breakfast diet for me because I don't drink milk and want to be mindful of getting calcium into my diet and I like sweet things for breakfast.   

On a recent visit with them in Brooklyn, I was surprised to learn that my sister-in-law is opposed to flavored yogurt.  It made me giggle and start reciting my old personal rant about flavored coffees (I believe flavored coffee is gross, to put it bluntly.) 

I've always found it hard to eat plain yogurt on its own, but the flavored yogurt thing got me to thinking...how much sugar is in my favorite flavored yogurt?  Mind you, sugar is not "bad", but like many people, I want to watch my intake of refined sugar AND I am opposed to eating yogurt flavored with sugar substitutes such as Splenda and Equal, which I simply don't trust. 

Think about it: if you add fresh berries, granola, and nuts to PLAIN yogurt, who needs extra sugar?  The sweetness from in-season, freshly picked blueberries (or whatever is in season when you read this) is lovely on its own.  Mother Nature sure knows what she's doing! 

Still, I would have a hard time giving up my own favorite flavored yogurt (Stonyfield Farms Banilla) so here's what I'm doing to reduce early a.m. sugar intake.  I'm cutting my Banilla yogurt with plain yogurt; about half of each and adding my fruit and granola to this mixture.  I also tried adding a mashed banana and a teaspoon of vanilla extract to 100% plain yogurt and it was surprisingly good.   

I'm not sure I'll ever kick my Stonyfield Farms Banilla habit.  I adore the stuff.  But I must thank my sis-in-law for some great food for thought and inspiration for new yogurt ideas that incorporate my values about eating a little of everything in moderation AND healthy, natural habits. 

Ann Zuccardy, Vermont Shortbread Company President and Yogurt Lover

Speakeasies are Back

The concept of "speakeasies" has always intrigued me. It seems nearly impossible that alcoholic beverages were once prohibited in this country. But then I would also think that as soon as something becomes forbidden, it's infinitely more appealing. Heck, I'll bet plain old vanilla sex was amazing during Victorian and Puritan times just for the Taboo factor.

Booze and sex aside, there's a new kind of speakeasy on the rise: unlicensed, underground restaurants. While searching for gourmet PR sites for a client this morning, I stumbled upon this article about San Francisco speakeasies. Oh, man, I crave this forbidden scene! Imagine slinging plates of paella to a house-full of dinner patrons who wine and dine in secret on the floor of your livingroom as Billie Holiday wails thinly in the background. This is my ultimate foodie fantasy. Go read for yourself!

Rich foods, tooth placque and Dr. Atkins

This morning I had to brush my teeth twice. First, immediately upon rising from the bed, and again just a few moments ago. They seemed coated with something, and a bit fuzzy.

I know why this is so. It's what I ate last night - pork scallopine, sauteed with olive oil, butter, garlic, then layered with breaded and fried eggplant slices and mozzarella cheese, and smothered in mushroom and white wine gravy made with the drippings from the meat sautee. We ate this with pasta and homemade tomato sauce, justified it with a green salad... and then, for good measure, I inhaled a vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sundae with walnuts and whipped cream.

My hormones told me they wanted this meal and might even kill for it, and my rich-food-loving fella was more than happy to partake with me. But I can tell by the situation in my mouth this morning that all the extra fat I consumed probably wasn't the best thing for my bones and teeth.

I read about that before and was inclined to believe it - that diets high in fat and protein and low in fiber promote placque growth on your teeth and deplete your body of the calcium needed to maintain healthy bone structure. But it's funny, no medical doctors seem to want to discuss the danger of overconsuming rich foods while depriving yourself of calcium and potassium found in potatoes and green leafy vegetables.

I had a cat who was diabetic once. We got him from a friend who got him from the pound. He was older than dirt and you could tell by his teeth. The vet told me that "he really needs a good tooth cleaning, because high levels of placque on the teeth is linked to increased liver and organ damage from bacterial infection."

Well, I don't know if that's so or not, but did it occur to anyone that if sugar and fat are causing bacteria to multiply at your gumline and turn into placque, the same thing probably happens in your organs and in the ventricles of your heart.

You can brush the placque off your teeth. But you can't fit a toothbrush into your main artery and scrape out the placque that's blocking bloodflow to your heart muscle. So the only logical solution is to limit or eliminate meals like the one I consumed last night and instead satisfy your hunger with whole grains, potatoes, fresh vegetables of all colors, shapes and sizes (particularly green leafy - they're loaded with minerals that come straight from the earth), nuts, legumes, fish, "good fats" (think Omega-3 fatty acids in salmon, flaxseed oil, olive oil), natural sugar from fruit, plenty of soy (source of phytoestrogens), and plain yogurt loaded with cultures of the same healthy bacteria found in your intestinal lining.)

Note: When I eat the healthy way that I described above, I don't wake up in the morning with moss growing on my teeth.

Now, all you Atkins freaks: I feel sorry for you, with your sad, potato-less existence. You're depriving your body of the carbs and natural sugar (glucose) needed to keep your liver from burning out early. I think that Dr. Atkins was right on the one hand to advocate elimination of processed sugar from the diet. But I think he misled a LOT of people into thinking that it's okay to eat as much fat and protein as your body thinks it wants while denying it the fiber that promotes calcium absorption and healthy balance of your metabolism, hormones and endocrine system.

I predict that if you're on Atkins, you can look forward to a head full of dentures in ten years and liver failure/heart attack in the cards. I'm not wishing this on anyone by any means... but really now, let's put our healthy thinking caps on and really consider what we might be doing to our bodies when we eat high protein, high cholesterol, high fat meals at every sitting.

Leftover scallopine, anyone?

Fat Free Half and Half: What's Up With That?

Generally I don't buy diet or light foods.  I find they usually don't taste as good as the real thing or they've had some weird chemical process applied to them.  I believe in moderation and the American obsession with dieting makes me nervous.  So I use half and half in my coffee, real butter on my toast, and eat regular high-test chocolate ice cream. 

But I just had to see what fat-free half and half was about when I saw it in the grocery store.  It seemed like an oxymoron to me.  Half and Half is half milk, half cream, isn't it?  Its purpose in life is to make your coffee creamy and smooth.  So isn't the Simply Smart Half and Half kind of like buying skim milk?  Skim milk in my coffee?  Bleccccccch! 

I confess:  I bought the Simply Smart Half and Half.  While the color and consistency is like real Half and Half, it doesn't give my coffee the same creamy flavor.  I guess it's more like putting 2% milk in your coffee.  So what's the point?  Why not just buy 2% milk? 

I just don't get fat-free Half and Half. 

Ann Zuccardy, Vermont Shortbread Company, made with REAL butter!

My Sunflowers Bloomed!

I'd like to take some liberties if I may. Yes, this is a garden-themed post. But sunflower seeds ARE edible... so that makes this somewhat food-related. Right?

Let me introduce you to one of my pretty girls who bloomed today. Her name is Celia. Okay, no it's not. I don't name my plants. But I'm pretty surprised about this, as I raised her and her brother, Smedley, from seeds. Err... I just made that name up now as well. What the...? I'm sensing a fictional children's book coming on. It must be summer, indeed.

Old Black Thumb has come a long way!

With love from your copywriting flower child,

Dina at Wordfeeder.com