Yesterday, Grant and I went grocery shopping. We got some ice cream, and Grant wanted some chocolate sauce to put on top. HOWEVER, all of that stuff has High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) as the first or second ingredient. Yuck!
Disappointed, we walked on, but then, Grant had a smart idea and took off at a surprisingly fast pace toward THE BAKING AISLE.
"Follow me!" he said, "I have an idea!"
Grant is SERIOUS about his chocolate. So I knew he had a good plan. We get to the baking aisle, and he grabbed a bag of chocolate chips! Yes, they cost more. But guess what? No HFCS! Hooray! Our journey toward eating more naturally continues!
Tell me, what little victories have you enjoyed lately?
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Monday, April 2, 2012
Monday, July 18, 2011
How to make your leftover rice and french fries edible again!
At my home, rice is an important dietary staple. It is very inexpensive and filling, and it goes with pretty much everything. However, I tend to make large batches of my rice dishes, then save the leftovers. Additionally, being a resident of the high desert, my rice sometimes comes out, shall we say, "crispy." So, one can imagine the disgusting crispitude of my rice after it has been sitting in the fridge for a day or two (or five).
Luckily for me, I have devised a simple but effective method of improving my leftover rice. All I do is put my leftovers in a pot with some leftovers. You may want to start with around 1/3 of a cup and go up from there to find the right amount for your rice and climate needs. Put the pot on the oven to simmer with the lid on for a few minutes, until the water is absorbed and your rice is puffy and soft again. This is a great opportunity to add other things to your rice, such as leftover meat, stew, or frozen vegetables. Just make sure to add more water if that stuff is a bit dry as well.
While we are on the topic of leftovers, let's talk about french fries. I always get way too many fries at a restaurant, and while I don't want them to go to waste, I think we can all admit that microwaved, leftover french fries are just about the most horrible, soggy things imaginable. The other day, I went out to eat and had some delicious fries with my Fish & Chips. I had a ton of fries left and wanted to save them, so I took to the Internet in search of a solution to this age-old problem. One idea I saw mentioned several times was to sort of flash-fry them in oil on the stove. Here is what I did, and it turned out really well. Much better than microwave fries.
I began heating up some cooking oil in a pan on the stove. Just use a pan big enough for your fries, since you will be tossing them around a bit and you don't want the fries flying around all over the place. Since my fries were pretty plain to start with, I added a little rosemary and minced garlic to the oil as it was heating up. Once the grease began to sizzle, I added my french fries, stirring them around to get a good coating over them. At that point, I lowered my heat. The point is to warm the fries up, not burn them. Then, I just stirred often until the fries were nice and hot. Then I let them cool on top of some napkins to drain the excess oil. They were fantastic. Definitely worth the time and extra work.
That is all I have for you folks today. Let me know your tips for leftover rice and fries!
Luckily for me, I have devised a simple but effective method of improving my leftover rice. All I do is put my leftovers in a pot with some leftovers. You may want to start with around 1/3 of a cup and go up from there to find the right amount for your rice and climate needs. Put the pot on the oven to simmer with the lid on for a few minutes, until the water is absorbed and your rice is puffy and soft again. This is a great opportunity to add other things to your rice, such as leftover meat, stew, or frozen vegetables. Just make sure to add more water if that stuff is a bit dry as well.
While we are on the topic of leftovers, let's talk about french fries. I always get way too many fries at a restaurant, and while I don't want them to go to waste, I think we can all admit that microwaved, leftover french fries are just about the most horrible, soggy things imaginable. The other day, I went out to eat and had some delicious fries with my Fish & Chips. I had a ton of fries left and wanted to save them, so I took to the Internet in search of a solution to this age-old problem. One idea I saw mentioned several times was to sort of flash-fry them in oil on the stove. Here is what I did, and it turned out really well. Much better than microwave fries.
I began heating up some cooking oil in a pan on the stove. Just use a pan big enough for your fries, since you will be tossing them around a bit and you don't want the fries flying around all over the place. Since my fries were pretty plain to start with, I added a little rosemary and minced garlic to the oil as it was heating up. Once the grease began to sizzle, I added my french fries, stirring them around to get a good coating over them. At that point, I lowered my heat. The point is to warm the fries up, not burn them. Then, I just stirred often until the fries were nice and hot. Then I let them cool on top of some napkins to drain the excess oil. They were fantastic. Definitely worth the time and extra work.
That is all I have for you folks today. Let me know your tips for leftover rice and fries!
Friday, March 25, 2011
To have, or not to have, a cooking blog? Or, some thoughts on the environment.
Now, I know what you're thinking. Michele, you just started this blog, and you have only made one post so far. How can you think about creating a new one?! However, I was talking with a coworker and we mutually decided that I was the Queen of Leftovers. Not a terribly glamorous title, but it fits me quite nicely. We talked about how I could wear my tiara and film little videos of me fixing up awesome meals using my leftovers.
You see, what happened was, a few days ago, Michelle (note the double l) gave me her leftover Chinese takeout, which consisted of some fried rice, shrimp, and veggies. She always gives me her leftovers because, while she won't ever eat them, she knows I will. So, I ate the fried shrimp and vegetables, and later, I took some raw cauliflower and sauteed it with a little minced garlic, then steamed it until it was cooked. I then added the pork fried rice with more water, added some hot sauce, covered my pan back up, and let the steam rejuvenate the rice. It worked beautifully. I scarfed that stuff down like it was my last meal. In retrospect, I overdid the hot sauce, but I am pleased with the results. My meal was much better than just popping the rice in the microwave.
Now, this may make me a conceited person, but I think some people could really benefit from some advice on stretching their leftovers inexpensively. Not only is it better for the food budget, food waste has a remarkable effect on the environment. Allow me to briefly explain...
For the most part, food is shipped long distances as it makes its way from the farm to your plate. For example, let's think about the aforementioned pork fried rice. Before Michelle picked it up at the Chinese restaurant, the vegetables, rice, pork, eggs, soy sauce, etc, all had to be delivered to the restaurant, either from the factory or, even worse, some sort of warehouse where the item is stored between factory and restaurant. The factory also took shipment of these goods, as well as their packaging (bottles, bags, etc) from their source. In the case of the pork, food also had to be shipped in for the pigs to eat. Not counting the energy consumption of the factories themselves, that is a lot of driving around in a truck or boat, possibly tens of thousands of miles. If we all wasted less food, less of these trips could be made, conserving energy and protecting the environment from CO emissions and landfill usage.
And did I mention that it is good for your pocketbook? According to a 2007 study sponsored by the UN, Americans throw away nearly 26 million tons of food each year. How much do you suppose that much food is costing us? The cost just to dispose of that extra waste is estimated by the same study to cost about 1 billion dollars each year. Our nation could do a whole lot of stimulating of the economy with a billion extra dollars.
Hopefully, my leftover crusade will inspire some interest in cutting down on food waste. I will be sure and post a link when my new blog is up and running.
You see, what happened was, a few days ago, Michelle (note the double l) gave me her leftover Chinese takeout, which consisted of some fried rice, shrimp, and veggies. She always gives me her leftovers because, while she won't ever eat them, she knows I will. So, I ate the fried shrimp and vegetables, and later, I took some raw cauliflower and sauteed it with a little minced garlic, then steamed it until it was cooked. I then added the pork fried rice with more water, added some hot sauce, covered my pan back up, and let the steam rejuvenate the rice. It worked beautifully. I scarfed that stuff down like it was my last meal. In retrospect, I overdid the hot sauce, but I am pleased with the results. My meal was much better than just popping the rice in the microwave.
Now, this may make me a conceited person, but I think some people could really benefit from some advice on stretching their leftovers inexpensively. Not only is it better for the food budget, food waste has a remarkable effect on the environment. Allow me to briefly explain...
For the most part, food is shipped long distances as it makes its way from the farm to your plate. For example, let's think about the aforementioned pork fried rice. Before Michelle picked it up at the Chinese restaurant, the vegetables, rice, pork, eggs, soy sauce, etc, all had to be delivered to the restaurant, either from the factory or, even worse, some sort of warehouse where the item is stored between factory and restaurant. The factory also took shipment of these goods, as well as their packaging (bottles, bags, etc) from their source. In the case of the pork, food also had to be shipped in for the pigs to eat. Not counting the energy consumption of the factories themselves, that is a lot of driving around in a truck or boat, possibly tens of thousands of miles. If we all wasted less food, less of these trips could be made, conserving energy and protecting the environment from CO emissions and landfill usage.
And did I mention that it is good for your pocketbook? According to a 2007 study sponsored by the UN, Americans throw away nearly 26 million tons of food each year. How much do you suppose that much food is costing us? The cost just to dispose of that extra waste is estimated by the same study to cost about 1 billion dollars each year. Our nation could do a whole lot of stimulating of the economy with a billion extra dollars.
Hopefully, my leftover crusade will inspire some interest in cutting down on food waste. I will be sure and post a link when my new blog is up and running.
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