What's Cooking (Take Three!)

Piling on... must par-cook wild rice separately. It can take 2x (or even 3x) the cooking time of regular rice.

I'd agree with you all - the wild rice certainly should have had a longer cooking time. The recipe as presented didn't really take that into consideration at all. Some adjustment will follow.

There's an Australian 'wild rice' - like the American wild rice, it's not "proper" rice but a grass seed. It grows in the wetlands in far northern Australia, and isn't currently harvested on a commercial scale. A web site I looked at said, "Currently, it is wild-harvested in minute quantities from watery, croc-infested environs via airboat," which doesn't sound particularly practical.

Yeah, those airboats are dangerous.

I googled around to read up on the wild rice. Very interesting. I don't see any way to get some but there is a lot of interest, worldwide, in promoting a new grain.

[Jenise]

A favorite lunch salad here at Chez J is cooked wild rice combined with boiled baby white or red potatoes and raw kale which has been prepped (stirred a lot, almost beaten, to make it receptive to the dressing) with lime or lemon juice and condiment-level EVOO. It's a great combination. Meat cravers can add torn leftover chicken, but I prefer it as a meatless meal opportunity.

Made a pizza last night! (Meaning, it was cool enough to consider turning on the oven.) Spicy Italian sausage, lots of onion, plus oregano and Havarti and Parmesan cheeses (cuz that's what I had) on a base of Muir Glen diced tomatoes with garlic straight out of the can (I highly recommend this product for this purpose). Divine.

I'm a big fan of Muir Glen Tomatoes.

Nothing better for pizza - a scant amount of drained, raw diced tomato with garlic and olive oil and a light dusting of grated cheese usually a sharp pecorino as the only topping.

[Jenise]

That would be nothing short of excellent, Christina. I do something like that on puff pastry but when I'm thinking "pizza" my mind goes to the canned tomatoes which I like a lot (or pesto as an alternative) and other toppings. Dessicated grated zucchini and maitake mushrooms more often than meats. Though I do love sausage. I should be less conventional.

[Jenise]

Played in the kitchen today, now that the heat's let up. Cooked some corn on the cob, then decided not to eat the corn but pull it off the cobs, then cook said cobs to make a flavored water (cuz I'd already tossed the cooking water), and combine all with milk and sauteed shallots to make a silky corn soup that might be served cold in the days ahead with a marinated mushroom garnish. Thank god for my Vitamix, with any other blender I wouldn't have been able to get the silky texture the Vitamix gets (takes 4 or 5 minutes, but it does get there).

Dinner's going to be Buccatini tossed in a broccoli rabe, walnut and parmesan pesto.

Cold corn soup sounds great.

All those pizze sound great, too. I bought a 'disco Romano' today but I think I'm just going to treat it like foccacia. I have some spiced sardines and slices of porchetta and violino (lamb prosciutto). Ooh, and robiola. Maybe this is becoming pizza?

Ratatouille tonight.

-Paul W.

I have started a cherry mostarda.

[Jenise]

Last night: Argentinian barbecue--whole lamb roasted over a pit (at someone else's house).

Tonight: cold dinner. Went to the Farmers Market today and scored some really beautiful produce as well as a loaf of Volksbrot made by a local baker, fantastic stuff. Couldn't want for more.

The mostarda is now aging. I kinda wish it would thicken up some more but not sure I want it enough to drain the jar and re-simmer the syrup.

Tonight was a grill night. As always, first done is a vegetable mix in the perforated pan, then some dinners in advance (Berkshire pork chops, filet mignon, a chunk of lamb), and then tonight's dinner, in honor of the national birthday: hot dogs. Served with beer and wine.

[Jenise]

Monday is usually meatless for us but we've had a lot of meatless days in the past week. I'm kind of craving something meaty but I don't know what.

[Jenise]

Tonight: barbecued lamb shoulder chops that have been marinated overnight in a combo of dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, vermouth, maple syrup and tarragon. Those will be served with lemon-butter-black pepper bulgur wheat pilaf and pole beans tossed with oil, vinegar and garlic. Starter will be grilled artichokes.

Yesterday was hot and muggy, so I decided on grilled chicken thighs. I used Chris Schlesinger's West Indies spice rub from his book The Thrill of the Grill. The spice rub takes the concept of the dry rub used in Southern barbecue but uses a West Indian array of spices such as one finds in jerk pastes. It came out very tasty and cooks in about half the time of jerk chicken.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I was craving Mexican, so went with a Red Chile/Beef Enchilada pie.

One of my all-time faves tonight: pasta carbonara, made with 3 eggs, sizzled lamb prosciutto, lotsa parm, lotsa black pepper, and fettucine. I don't even plate it, I just eat from the mixing bowl.

[Jenise]

Jeff, you're not sharing?

Jeff, you're not sharing?

The Royal Squash has serious Zooms on Thursday so I am stag.

[Jenise]

Stag meals can be fun. Just indulge yourself; no need to worry about portion size, menu variety or any of the other considerations. I'm pretty happy with a big bowl of creamed peas (with lots of lemon juice and white pepper).

Stag meals can be fun. Just indulge yourself; no need to worry about portion size, menu variety or any of the other considerations. I'm pretty happy with a big bowl of creamed peas (with lots of lemon juice and white pepper).

Yes. When it's just me, I can make a half a pound of asparagus, or a gigantic surimi cocktail, or carbonara, or crudites, or roast peppers over the hob, or way too many mini-ravioli.... Ah.

[Jenise]

Having one of those routine procedures today that requires fasting, so I've had nothing to eat since Saturday. When I'm finally able to eat later today, I have no idea what I'll want. You'd think I'd be starving, but I'm not. I'm instead looking ahead to tomorrow, where I just might do that chicken tikka recipe I posted.

Black beans for dinner last night. I basically used Chris Schlesinger's recipe, which has onions, cumin, chili powder (the spice blend, not ground chiles), garlic, and vinegar as the seasonings. I threw in diced green bell pepper and celery to complete a Cajun trinity.

-Paul W.