SECRET RECIPE CLUB: GREEN RICE

Posted in Rice and Grains, Secret Recipe Club, Side dishes by sallybr

THREE YEARS AS A MEMBER OF THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB!

Last Monday of the month. You probably expect me to whine about the cold, but guess what? As you read this post, I should be far, far away in Brazil, enjoying balmy temperatures, wearing shorts, t-shirts, and recharging my batteries to face the frigid months ahead. But the last Monday means fun, because it’s Reveal Day for The Secret Recipe Club! I was paired with the blog “A Day in the Life on the Farm“, hosted by Wendy. Her story is fascinating: she and her husband were police officers in a large city (which of course meant a ton of trouble in their hands…), but when they retired they moved to a tiny little town of 4,000 people, and bought a house on 12 acres of land. They raise meat chickens, turkeys, and pigs, and Wendy – to fight her empty nest syndrome – decided to host foreign students in their place. Now she works part-time for the World Heritage, placing students into homes for a year of schooling here in the US. Being in academia and therefore often exposed to the troubles that foreign students face (plus, I was one myself), I know how important this type of work can be. Please, stop by her about page and read more about their life on the farm, and how on top of everything she also takes care of her Mom, who suffers from Alzheimer’s. She actually devotes a section in her blog to talk about it, under Life with Mom. Beautiful, touching, and at times funny.

We had so much going on this past month, that I needed to jump on my assignment right away. The recipe I set my eyes on was a drool-inducing dessert, a Caramelized Almond Apple Upside Down Cake. But, I decided against it. Why? With Thanksgiving saying hello, then the holidays, a lot of heavy food will be popping everywhere. I did not want to start early with the excesses, so this cake shall wait. Sorry, folks, but better safe than sorry. Then, I almost went with her cute Pretzel Dogs. Finally it was a tough decision between Zucchini Enchiladas, or Green Rice. As you can see, I went green. Green is good for you, and this was one of the most flavorful rice dishes I’ve made.

GREEN RICE
(very slightly modified from A Day in the Life on the Farm)

2 poblano chile peppers

1 green pepper (I used half a Serrano)

1 cup long grain rice

1 large bunch of cilantro

1 small bunch of flat leaf parsley

2 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons olive oil (I used grapeseed)

1 small shallot, minced

Dry roast the peppers in a griddle pan (or on a grill), turning frequently so the skins blacken but the flesh doesn’t burn. Place in a strong plastic bag, seal and set aside for 20 minutes

Put the rice in a heat proof bowl, pour in boiling water to cover and let stand 20 minutes.

Drain the rice, rinse well under cold water and drain again. Remove the peppers from the bag and peel off the skins. Remove any stems, then slit the peppers and scrape out seeds with a sharp knife.

Put the peppers in a food processor, strip the leaves from the cilantro and parsley and add to peppers. Pour in half the chicken stock and process until smooth. Add remaining stock and puree again.

Heat oil in a saucepan, add the rice and minced shallot and fry for 5 minutes over med heat until the rice is golden and the shallot is translucent. Add the salt, stir in the green puree, lower heat, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is just tender. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Lately I’ve been quite smitten with poblano peppers. Very little heat, but so much flavor! Our stove did a great job charring them, I don’t think I was ever able to get such a beautiful blackened skin with almost no effort. Using a paper towel to remove the charred skin was also a great move, a tip I got from watching Marcela Valladolid in her show Mexican Made Easy. I never liked the idea of rinsing the peppers because there’s quite a bit of flavor loss if you do that. The paper towels removed just the skin and I could leave little bits here and there for an extra smoky flavor. Aren’t they cute?

Adding boiling water to the rice and waiting for 20 minutes was also something I had never done, and I liked the texture of the finished product. If you are a cilantro-hater, this rice is not for you, its flavor is obviously very prominent. You could substitute spinach.

This was a delicious dinner! Green rice, simple roasted carrots, and for our protein a few slices of center-cut pork chops, cooked sous-vide, and finished off on the grill. Life is good!

Wendy, I hope you had a great time this month with your assignment! It was wonderful to browse through your site, I read all your posts about your Mom, and am still in awe of your ability to do so much Everyday in your Life on the Farm…

For my readers: if you want to see what my fellow Secret Friends cooked up this month, give a little click on the blue frog at the end of this post. Normally Groups C and D would take a break in the month of December, but apparently me and Dorothy from Shockingly Delicious whined so much about withdrawal syndrome, that The Secret Recipe Club will have a little surprise reserved for both groups. It will be awesome, so stay tuned!

ONE YEAR AGO: Potato-Crusted Italian Mini-Quiches

TWO YEARS AGO: Beetroot Sourdough for the Holidays

THREE YEARS AGO: Cod Filet with Mustard Tarragon Crust

FOUR YEARS AGO: Soba Noodles: Light and Healthy

FIVE YEARS AGO: Potato-Rosemary Bread

30Oct2014

MILLET COUSCOUS WITH ROASTED CARROTS

Posted in Rice and Grains, Side dishes, Vegetarian-friendly by sallybr

Saw this recipe in Bon Appetit. Made it that same evening for dinner. Lightning speed. Not that usual for me, but I had all the ingredients and was also anxious to cook millet for the first time. One of our grocery stores carries a very nice assortment of grains, seeds & flours in bulk. It is quite convenient when I feel like baking a special bread but do not want to carry home 1kg of oat flour or some other exotic being. Millet was one of the goodies I brought home from a recent visit. This recipe, a perfect way to welcome it in our kitchen.

MILLET COUSCOUS WITH ROASTED CARROTS
(from Bon Appetit)

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided (I used a bit less)
1 cup millet
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
2 + ¼ cups chicken broth
6 medium carrots, peeled, cut into 1” pieces
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
¼ cup roasted almonds, chopped
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems (I omitted, did not have any around)

Heat oven to 400°. Toss carrots with 2 Tbsp. oil on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add millet and cumin seeds and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until millet is tender, 25–35 minutes (it took me closer to 35 minutes).

Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil (I used about 1 teaspoon instead) in a small skillet over low heat; cook almonds and cayenne, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Serve millet topped with carrots, cilantro, and almond mixture.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

When I told Phil we were not having “real couscous”, he was a bit surprised. It looks almost exactly the same as semolina couscous. It takes longer to cook, though, and has a firmer texture. The flavor is slightly more “nutty”, but still quite mild. I imagine most people will love it, there’s really nothing not to like about it. Plus, like your regular couscous, it will absorb the flavors of everything else you cook with it. Use a flavorful chicken or veggie stock if you have it around. The roasted carrots and sautéed almonds turn it into almost a complete meal. Of course, we enjoyed it with a nice roast chicken, just because… Full disclosure: the roast chicken was prepared at the grocery store. And I am not even slightly ashamed to admit it.

On a slight tangent, a couple of years ago I read a pretty good article written by one of the popular celebrity chefs, I don’t remember who it was, it was not Thomas Keller, but some other star almost as bright. Anyway, he went on and on about never buying a roast chicken from a rotisserie. That he could have a much better dinner by buying the chicken (organic, of course), sticking it in the oven with just a sprinkle of salt, pepper, a lemon or two quickly placed inside the bird. I am all for cooking from scratch, but I must say a chicken ready for me on my way home from work is very handy. It makes life so much easier! I don’t have to deal with the raw chicken, I don’t have to wait for my oven to warm up to temperature (it does take a while with our potent Supernova), and I can concentrate on making a quick and easy side dish such as couscous, or from now on, millet… So, yes, 8 times out of 10, I reach for a rotisserie chicken. And 6 times out of 10, I resort to cheese pre-shredded, from a bag.

Confession: good for the food blogger 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Mozarella-Stuffed Turkey Burger

TWO YEARS AGO: Happy Halloween!

THREE YEARS AGO: Clay Pot Roast Pork

FOUR YEARS AGO: Panmarino

FIVE YEARS AGO: A Classic Roast Chicken

22Jun2014

SECRET RECIPE CLUB: QUINOA FRIED RICE

Posted in Rice and Grains, Secret Recipe Club, Side dishes by sallybr

Did you miss my Bewitching party? Click here to enter the giveaway…

The month of June brought with it a ton of activities. School is out, so a lot more work in the lab, my blog turned 5 years old, and the World Cup of Indescribable Ordeal is on. I used to root for one country only, but now two teams make me shout expletives at referees and goal keepers, as well as scream instructions to the players, fuming like a mad woman because they simply do not listen. But, let’s leave soccer behind and concentrate on things that don’t have the potential to induce a fatal coronary. Like Reveal Day of The Secret Recipe Club, always a pleasure, always something I look forward to. This month I got one of the most entertaining food blogs ever! Starting with its name, 84th and 3rd. Here’s what JJ, an American living in Sydney has to say about it:

84th & 3rd is an ordinary corner, not particularly remarkable, in the most remarkable city in the world. But it was only meters from that corner that a seed was planted, a dream of doing something that she loves and being able to share it with others. 84thand3rd.com is that something.

She divulges just enough to perk my curiosity, and make me want to be there right now. In fact, Australia is one place I long to visit, and hope that one day our adventures will take us there. When I got my assignment, I thought about taking a quick look at the site, but instead I literally had to drag myself away from the computer, because I could not stop reading. Just to give you a small taste of her writing style, here’s a paragraph from one of her posts, in which she talks about her partner…

.… When I met RJ he used to eat at least 4 slices of white bread a day. Not necessarily as part of a meal mind you, but just because. Toast for breakfast, toast before dinner [no matter what or when dinner was], bread with dinner. Sliced, white, from a plastic bag, every time. It appalled me just a bit – as did putting ketchup/tomato sauce on beef stew but we’ll save that one for later… *waves at RJ* hi mate, yes, I’m talking about you again –

Isn’t she a hoot? She also describes herself as someone who “Practices yoga to stay calm[ish], runs to stay sane[ish], and does both to eat cake”… I must say I detect some similarities here, although I would substitute bread for cake. 😉 So, after spending a lot of time amusing myself with her stories and recipes, I assembled a list of possibilities for this month’s assignment. Here they are: Mushroom-quinoa meatballs with Rustic Pasta Sauce, Strawberry Cucumber Coconut-water Slushy, Rocket Parsley Pepita Pesto, Spiced Pear & Red Wine Chocolate Cake, Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde, and this chocolate tarte that I swear I am making before the month of July is over. Yeah, public commitment, you guys and girls better be ready for it… But now it’s time to reveal the recipe that crossed the finish line of this month’s culinary marathon…

QUINOA FRIED RICE
(slightly modified from 84th & 3rd)

2 cups quinoa, cooked and cooled (I used red quinoa)
a little olive oil
4 slices ginger, sliced into thin strips
1 small Serrano chili, finely diced
1 bunch of cilantro leaves, minced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
large handful green beans, cut into small lengths
2 medium zucchini, diced
3 scallions ,white and light green part only, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil

Add a small splash of olive oil to the hot pan. Fry ginger and garlic for 30 sec stirring constantly, add chili and cilantro and fry for a further 30 sec.

Add bell pepper and beans, toss or stir for a couple of minutes. Add zucchini and green onions and toss for a couple of minutes more.

Push veggies to edges to make a hole in the center. Drizzle in 2 tsp sesame oil, wait for it to heat up and dump in quinoa. Stir in center of pan for 30 seconds then toss with veggies to mix everything together.

Drizzle in tamari and toss to combine. Serve with extra scallions, and cilantro.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This was absolutely delicious! As you can read on her original post, this is the type of recipe you can use to clean up your fridge of all those veggies that wave at you when you open it, begging for attention. It is also a perfect use for leftover quinoa, although I cooked some earlier in the day just to have this side dish as our dinner. Asparagus would work great, but really any veggie could work, even chunks of roasted butternut squash, or eggplant. Just keep the soy, the sesame oil at the end, and don’t leave out the fresh ginger.

I close this post with another excerpt from JJ, which expresses exactly how I feel about blogging.

“Blogging is an interesting beast. It is a person sitting in front of a computer expressing things in pictures and words, terribly solitary from the outside peering in… or so you’d think. But when you look a bit closer you realise that many of those people sitting at their computers have formed little communities. Sometimes online, sometimes in person, generally with people they never would have met otherwise, and it really doesn’t matter how the community works or where it came from but simply that it is there.”
(JJ, from 84th & 3rd)

That’s it, folks. Could not have said it better! JJ, it was great to receive your blog as my assignment this month, I will be following you from now on, looking forward to your adventures! As usual, if you want to check what my fellow secret bloggers cooked up this month, poke the frog below. She is cute and loves attention…

ONE YEAR AGO: Carrot Flan with Greens and Lemon Vinaigrette
TWO YEARS AGO: The Secret Recipe Club: Granola Bars
THREE YEARS AGO: Awesome Broccolini
FOUR YEARS AGO: A Twist on Pesto
FIVE YEARS AGO: Ciabatta: Judging a bread by its holes

3Apr2014

ALMONDS, A COOKBOOK REVIEW

Posted in Cookbook Reviews, Rice and Grains by sallybr

New Year Resolutions are so much fun to break! I was doing reasonably well on the “no more cookbooks” scenario, but then I read a post on Taste Food that changed all that. Lynda announced that her recipes would be featured in a soon-to-be-released cookbook, a collaborative effort with Barbara Bryant & Betsy Fentress. I did not even blink: pre-ordered it right away at amazon.com. A full cookbook devoted to almonds, with recipes from one of my favorite food bloggers! That should not (and will not) count as breaking a decision. I had no choice. It was meant to be.

The book is called “Almonds: Recipes, History, Culture“, and you can get it with a simple click here. Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with amazon.com, will receive no compensation whatsoever if you get the book. I just happen to think it is a wonderful publication that my readers will certainly enjoy as much as I did.

Almonds are a favorite ingredient of mine. Interestingly enough, Lynda opened my horizons to almond butter a year or so ago, when she published a post on cookies using it. I made those cookies, and have been a huge fond of almond butter ever since. Clearly, you will all agree that her cookbook had to be in my kitchen. It was meant to be. Have I said that already? Hummmm….. Without further delay, I share with you the first recipe I made from Lynda’s book.

FARRO RISOTTO WITH ALMONDS, SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS AND BALSAMIC-GLAZED RADICCHIO
(from Almonds, reprinted with permission)

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 cups (45g) minced shallots
8 ounces (225g) shiitake mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 + 1/2 cups (300g) farro
1/2 cup (125 mL) dry white wine
1 + 1/2 cups (375 mL) chicken stock
1 small radicchio, cored and sliced
1/4 cup (60 mL) balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup (60g) raw almonds, roasted, and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (60g) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
freshly ground black pepper to taste
minced fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat Add the shallot and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Saute until the mushrooms begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme. Continue to cook, stirring, until the mushrooms begin to release their juices, about 2 minutes more. Add the farro and stir to coat. Add the wine and cook until the liquid is nearly evaporated. Add the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until the farro is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes.

While the farro is cooking, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the radicchio and saute for 1 minute. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook, stirring, until vinegar has thickened and coats the radicchio, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.

When the farro is tender, stir in the radicchio, half of the almonds, half of the cheese, and season with freshly ground pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Place the farro in a serving bowl, sprinkle with the remaining almonds and the remaining cheese. Garnish with parsley, and serve immediately.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: It took me quite some time to decide which recipe to feature, but I am glad I chose this one, even though I knew it would be tricky to get a good picture. It’s the karma of brown food, so unkind to the camera. The flavors in this whole-grain risotto are simply spectacular, each component playing an important role, like musical instruments in an orchestra. The grains of farro will have just a little bite left, so the almonds, added in chunks, give this risotto a delightful crunch. But, in my opinion, the addition of radicchio glazed with balsamic is the touch of genius! I used a syrupy white balsamic, but I am sure any regular balsamic vinegar will be great too. Radicchio can be bitter, in this preparation it mellows down and plays nicely with the almonds and the farro. Simply put: a perfect dish, hearty enough to stand by itself as a main dish, but by now you are probably not going to be surprised that we added a little bit of animal protein to our plates. Sorry, Lynda, I hope you won’t mind…

Let’s take a virtual tour of this beautiful cookbook, shall we?

The book opens up with an introduction about almonds, in which you will learn a lot about this exotic, versatile fruit, which is in fact not a true fruit, but a drupe. From its origins in the Middle East, to the way it is farmed today, and its absolute requirement of bees for pollination. Did you know that to make sure the almond trees will bear fruit, farmers in California often have to order special shipments of bees, that travel by trucks sometimes all the way from Texas? I had no idea. I often skip introductory chapters in cookbooks because I find them for the most part quite boring. For instance, cookbooks that start with “equipment needed”, “ingredients”, or “useful gadgets” just make me roll my eyes to the ceiling and skip those pages without feeling guilty. Not the case in this book. I savored each paragraph and could not put the book down. The photos in the introduction are spectacular, and that quality is maintained throughout the whole book, almost every single recipe has a photo that goes along with it. Very few exceptions.

And now, onto the recipes. The book is divided in courses, and I will list the recipes that tempted me the most in which chapter.

Starters & Snacks : Salted and Spiced Green Almonds: this one made me dream, because I probably will never be able to get green almonds. They are available only for a very short time, and I am sure Californians won’t allow them to move too far from their trees… Burnt Sugar Almonds… Green Olive and Almond Tapenade: quite a change from the regular black olive concoction… White Gaspacho with Green Grapes and Almonds, described as light and refreshing, perfect for Summer days. The photo alone made me swoon… Almond Chai with Dates and Honey... In this page, a reproduction of one of my favorite paintings of Van Gogh, Almond Brunches in Bloom. A touch of class. In fact, the book is full of reproductions of artwork relevant to the subject. Humans have been in love with almonds for a very long time, a love absolutely justified. 😉

Salads & Vegetables : I wanted to make every single recipe of this chapter, but just to list a few, here we go: Asian Citrus and Almond Slaw… Provencal Tuna Salad with Almonds, Olives and Capers in Lettuce Cups… Winter Kale and Quinoa Salad with Carrots and Raisins (amazing colors!)… Zucchini Carpaccio with Toasted Almonds.

Pasta & Grains : Soba Noodles with Spicy Almond Butter Sauce, depicted in the photo above… I have a very soft spot for soba noodles, so this was a heavy contender for featured recipe in this post. But there is also Toasted Pearl Couscous with Almonds and Harrissa (I know this one will be a total winner!), Almond and Saffron Rice Pilaf (a classic), Bulgur Salad with Chickpeas, Pomegranate Seeds, and Almonds… Buccatini with Pesto Trepanese...

Land & Sea : One of my favorite sections of the book. Just to list a few recipes, she starts with Almond-Crusted Pork Chops with Sweet-and Sour Apricot Glaze (need I say more?), follows with Pulled Pork with Red Mole (I almost made this one for this review)… Wine-Braised Chicken with Saffron and Almonds… Mughlai Chicken Biryani… Lamb Tagine with Apricots, Almonds and Honey… Roasted Sea Bass with Orange, Olive, and Almond Gremolata… Almond and Lemon Crusted Salmon…

Baked Goods & Desserts : Almond Flour Bread opens this chapter. I love using almond flour, so you can bet I’ll be making this bread in the near future, the photo shows a soft crumb, with a dark crust, perfect toasting bread. I can imagine the taste… Almond and Cinnamon Kringle... Salted Almond Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chunks… Almond Florentines (I’ve always wanted to try to make these… Pear and Almond Frangipane Tarte (the tarte in the photo is a culinary masterpiece!)… Lemon Semolina and Almond Cake with Olive Oil and Honey... Almond-Fig Tea Cakes… Almond Granita with Raspberries…

If you are a regular visitor of Lynda’s blog, Taste Food, you’ll know what to expect from this cookbook. If you are not, I hope you add her blog to your list of tasty places to visit in the blogosphere. I’ve made several recipes (and blogged on a few) from her site, and have many on my list to prepare at some point in the future. Her site is elegant, straightforward, a real pleasure to visit.

Lynda, thank you for giving me permission to publish this delicious farro recipe, I wish you, Barbara and Betsy a ton of success with this cookbook!

ONE YEAR AGO: Pomegranate-Molasses Glazed Carrots

TWO YEARS AGO: Codruta’s Rolled Oat Sourdough Bread

THREE YEARS AGO: Roasted Corn and Tomato Risotto

FOUR YEARS AGO: Light Rye Bread

23Feb2014

SECRET RECIPE CLUB: BARLEY RISOTTO WITH PEAS

Posted in Rice and Grains, Secret Recipe Club by sallybr

Dear readers, when I got the Secret Recipe Club assignment for this month I went into full-happy-dance mode! It turns out that I’ve been paying attention to Chocolate and Chillies for a looong time, and hoping I would be paired with it, to stalk it real good. And that is exactly what I did. Asiya, the hostess of Chocolate and Chillies, has a ton of recipes that entice me. She was born and raised in Toronto, where she now lives with her husband and two kids, but her family is originally from India. Her blog features recipes with a heavy Indian influence, and to make it even better, many are her own family recipes. I love it! I bookmarked many options, but five were the strongest contenders. Here they are: Butter Chicken (lower in fat than regular versions), Mummy’s Tomato Spiced Rice, Whole Wheat Banana Muffins, and… Afghani Kebob with Tomato Gravy. The fifth? It’s the one I ended up making: Barley Risotto with Peas and Asparagus. Oh, my…. what an amazing dish this was! I made a slight adaptation because the asparagus looked very sad at the grocery store that day, so I went with carrots.

BARLEY RISOTTO WITH PEAS AND CARROTS
(slightly modified from Chocolate and Chillies)

4-6 cups of vegetable stock

2 tbsp olive oil

1 shallot, minced

1 leek, chopped

1 cup pearled barley

2 carrots, diced

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup light cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Boil the vegetable stock. Reduce heat to medium-low to keep it warm.Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the minced shallot and leek. Saute 5-7 minutes until tender. Add barley and stir for a minute so that everything is well coated. Add 1 cup broth and stir until most of it has been absorbed. Continue to add 1/2 cup hot vegetable broth at a time, stirring until it has been absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup.

While the barley is being cooked, microwave the pieces of carrots with a little water until almost tender, and reserve. Or you can cook them on top of the stove in a little salted water, and drain them well.

After 15 minutes of cooking the barley, add carrots and peas. Stir in salt and pepper. Continue to add water until barley is cooked through.

Remove from heat. Add lemon juice, cream cheese and Parmesan cheese. Stir until cheese is melted.
.
ENJOY!
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to print the recipe, click here
.

Comments: This was such a creamy, comforting dish, I love the traditional risotto made with Arborio rice, but this version with barley won my heart! I definitely want to make it with asparagus to celebrate the arrival of Spring and with it that infusion of life and joy and all things sunny and beautiful and gorgeous and warm into my personal equation. Can you detect my excitement as February says goodbye? I bet you can.

The barley risotto was served with grilled pork tenderloin, but for the next couple of days the risotto all by itself was my lunch. It tends to dry out a little bit in the fridge, but a little squirt of lemon juice brings it back nicely. I am not sure this could work for a risotto fritter like a regular rice risotto would, it seems to me that the grains of barley would be hard to keep together, but if anyone tries it and succeeds, let me know.

Asiya, I had a blast stalking your blog and picking a recipe to cook from!

For those interested in following the cooking adventures of the other Secret Recipe members in my group, poke the cute blue frog at the end of the post, and have fun!

ONE YEAR AGO: Oatmeal Fudge Bars

TWO YEARS AGO: Cauliflower Steaks

THREE YEARS AGO: Soft Spot for Chevre

FOUR YEARS AGO: Quick sun-dried Tomato Crostini