Fall Into Summer

So...that happened. You know, the part when I apparently took over two weeks off from this blog. I'm not quite sure what happened exactly. One huge part of it was that we didn't have potluck for two.whole.weeks.

My heart and belly hurt over that one.

But summer happens. Lazy days and busy weeks...trips, vacations, visitors. And so, sometimes, potluck doesn't happen. We make up for it by seeing the familiar faces during the week. At playdates, farmers markets and in town. And we make up for it by having delicious potlucks in the middle of August when the weather threatens Fall and you're just not ready for it.

Yesterday was grey and rainy and just plain gloomy. Potluck was a much needed event. We hosted and decided to make baked rice - my go to dish in soggy, chilly weather. This time we worked with what we had on hand.

I started by sauteing up some onion and carrots from the farmers market in a little bit of olive oil.

After they cooked for a bit, I added 1.5 cups of a brown/wild rice mix, a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (liquid and all), 2 cups of chicken stock, and a little salt and pepper. Once that came to a boil, I covered it and transferred it to the oven to bake for 40 minutes at 350*.

While it was baking, I prepped a few more ingredients.

I chopped up some dino kale from the garden and a few Italian seasoned veggie sausages. Normally I would use chicken sausage, but this is what we had on hand, and despite my reservations, they actually ended up being quite tasty and held up pretty well in the dish.

After 40 minutes, I added them to the dish, stirred it and let it bake for another 15 minutes.

Perfection.

Yeah. Potluck was rocking it out last night. In addition to the baked rice (in the lemongrass colored Le Crueset on the left) we enjoyed some homemade tomato soup, fresh bread, and a fabulous pine nut & parsley infused couscous salad. Dessert came in two forms...some Dean & Deluca cookies sent to me by a friend and a crazy.amazing.delicious macaroon/raspberry/pistachio tart. The meal was bittersweet as it reminded me of how amazing potluck can be, which makes me all the more sad to be missing it next week when we go camping in Cape Cod. But...Cape Cod. I think we'll be okay!

Also, stay tuned because I've been hard at work this month testing out all sorts of delicious new popsicle recipes featured in Anni Daulter's book, Ice Pop Joy. I'll be reviewing both the book and a few of the recipes. And perhaps there may even be a give-a-way...

Color Wheel Cooking

There is a lot of discussion over "Colorful Cooking" lately. In my mind, I'm wondering why all of a sudden it seems revolutionary to eat a colorful variety of food. While new diets are emerging, prompting people to 'eat the colors of the rainbow,' I feel like this concept is really as old as time, and biologically ingrained in us.

Just like we like to look at things that please us aesthetically, it only makes sense that we'd like to eat in a similar fashion. So much fuss is made over beautiful presentation in fancy restaurants, that sometimes we forget the most basic and simplest form of beauty...color.

Last night's potluck helped remind me of that, as our plates were truly bursting with a variety of color and that transfered into the enjoyment of the meal. Of course, I neglected to bring my camera, so there are no pictures. Instead, you'll have to use your imagination to visualize the bright, orange pureed butternut squash (sweetened with home tapped/boiled maple syrup!), strikingly beautiful and tasty roasted red beets, salad greens peppered with orange carrots, slivers of translucent green celery and clumps of feta cheese. We also had marinated baked tofu and brown rice dotted with dark, leafy greens.

Topped off with some leftover almond spice cookies, the meal was a vivid reminder that eating can be fun, beautiful and tasty.

While I don't have pictures from the actual potluck, I do have some pictures of what *I* made - cheesy greens & rice. Super easy and super delicious.

Start by sauteing up one small onion and a clove or two of garlic in some olive oil. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add 1.5 cups of brown rice, 2.5 cups of water/broth (I used leftover, strained chicken soup) some salt & pepper. Bring to a boil and then place in a 375* oven.

Cook for about 40 minutes then add a bunch of shredded greens (we went with kale) and a handful or two of shredded cheese (we used cheddar). If the rice is looking dry, add a bit more water or broth. Stir it up and bake for another 10 minutes.

Coconut Rice

Plain Brown Rice. No coconut...yet.

Rice is something that pops up in many of the meals we make here at home, either as part of a main dish or as a side. There are so many wonderful rice recipes out there, but what I've learned over the last few days is that rice - in its basic form - can also be wonderful.

After my stomach finally settled down enough to allow me to eat something solid, I turned to the familiar comfort of the B.R.A.T diet. After finishing up all the bananas and applesauce that we had in the house, I wasn't quite feeling up to toast yet, so I settled on the rice part.

I just wasn't sure if bland brown rice was going to be good. I wanted to at least enjoy what limited food I was eating if possible. However, there wasn't much I could think of doing with the brown rice that wouldn't have had my stomach stressing out.

Normally, if I am making a side of brown rice, my favorite way to do so is to bake it. It's quick, easy and for some reason tastes ten times better than simply cooking it on the stovetop. However, I also usually use a bunch of oil and chicken/vegetable broth with this method - so that was out.

Padding around my pantry, I looked to see what I could use, and stumbled across something that isn't normally there: coconut water.

Somebody had suggested that I drink some coconut water while ill, to replenish my lost vitamins, so I had my brother go out to the store and pick me up some. He came back with this:

Goya? Oh, Boya!

I wasn't quite sure that this is what my friend had in mind. I'm not completely clueless and have heard tell of fancy coconut water that people drink when they workout and such. I've just never actually had it. A quick google search proved me right, and my husband promised that he would bring back some of the "fancy" coconut water later that evening.

Perhaps the grown up juice box appeal makes it fancy? Still unsure.

In the end, I actually tried both, and the Goya is just as tasty as the fancy, $2.50/boxy bottle ones, so...(I'm sure somebody will point out the difference to me soon enough).

Either way, I still had a six pack of Goya in the pantry and needed to do something with it. For some reason, it made perfect sense for me to incorporate it into my rice (the fever had broken at this point, I swear!).

I went with the standard method of 1 cup of brown rice to 2 cups of liquid - only in this case I used 2 cups of coconut water. I passed on the usual pinch of salt and dash of either butter or oil I normally add, just in case my stomach wasn't quite there yet. I heated it up until it boiled, and then allowed it to simmer for almost an hour.

The end result was incredibly tasty. The rice was sweet, creamy and delicious, without being overly powerful. It was actually enjoyable to eat, rather than simple bland nutrition. Plus, it was kind of fun to find a little nibble of coconut flesh in every other bite.

As I ate, I started thinking of how I could use this newfound knowledge of coconut rice. I could add pineapple, cashews, chicken and a dash of curry powder. I could add raisins, cinnamon and milk for a little pudding action. It was at this point that I knew I was truly on the mend. 

Since I still have a couple cans of coconut water still lurking around, I'm sure I will test out some of these ideas and see what I come up with. Hopefully these ideas will end up working just as well!