honey & jam.: Banana Cupcakes with Cinnamon Honey Frosting

honey & jam.: Banana Cupcakes with Cinnamon Honey Frosting

How to fix up Near East's Creamy Parmesan with White Rice & Pearled Wheat

Near East makes a box mix called "Creative Grains: Creamy Parmesan with White Rice and Pearled Wheat". Normally I love it on its own, but tonight I wanted to kick it up a notch.

I took my Le Creuset 2 quart pot out of the frozen undercabinet and put it on low to warm up to room temp. Then I turned it up to high. (This is a thirty year old stove: high will be too high for your modern stove - use medium.) I drizzled extra virgin olive oil in it and let that heat up...

I took a big sweet onion (one more of the Walla Wallas) and chopped that roughly and tossed it into the oil.

I took a red pepper out of the fridge, seeded and chopped it and tossed that in.

I put a tablespoon of minced fridge-garlic in.

I put a teaspoon of minced fridge-ginger in. (Note, that was a LOT of ginger flavor. I would put a 1/2 teaspoon in next time.)

I let it sauté a bit and then raised my eyebrows a few times and reached for the toasted sesame oil. I drizzled that lightly over the sauteeing veggies.

I then squinted at the bright orange pot and scooped a couple of tablespoons of Hoisin sauce into the mix.

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble.

I pulled out a can of chicken broth and put that in, and brought it up to a simmer.

I opened the box and poured in the rice and wheat. I mixed it all together.

Then I thought to toss in a small snack-size package of mini-baby carrots. Yes, they have preemie baby carrots.

I then pulled out a crossword puzzle and waited for the mixture to boil. I then turned it down to medium and let it simmer steadily. A Strong Simmer.

And it cooked. And I filled out my puzzle. And it cooked. I stirred it a few times, despite dire warnings on ze box. And I filled out my puzzle. And it cooked.

Twenty minutes later, I stirred in the parmesan seasonings packet and a healthy helping of grated parmagiano reggiano.

OH YEAH!! Perfect for this freezing winter evening.

Really strong on the ginger, but luckily I like ginger. I'll hold back a bit next time.

Spring Pork Stew...in a snowstorm...

I was determined to deny winter its power on this blizzard of an evening. So, I decided to make an old favorite that I made quite often in Florida but never in Nayaug: a spring pork stew. Spring because of the plethora of vegetables.

I set a pot to warming on high. My mother's 28 year old electric Jenn-Air takes a while to warm up its burners. I drizzled once around the pot with extra virgin olive oil.

Chopped a big sweet onion - I believe this was a Walla Walla, can't remember - and tossed it in.

Tossed in a tablespoon of minced fridge-garlic.

Tossed in two ribs of celery, chopped.

Tossed in three medium potatoes, chopped.

Tossed in about 12 baby carrots, chopped.

Tossed in one yellow pepper, seeded and chopped.

Tossed in two zucchini (here's the especially spring part), chopped.

I had a box of organic chicken broth from Whole Foods, so I started pouring it in bit by bit to let the vegetables steam.

I pulled the leftover pork roast out of the fridge and warmed that up for two minutes in the microwave. This is an old microwave - two minutes does just enough to leave the meat cold but make it pliable.

I then trimmed it of every ounce of fat and chopped the rest into bite-size pieces. Tossed those into the pot.

Poured the rest of the chicken broth into the pot. Added a cup of water. Put the lid on. Let it simmer.

At some point I added a tablespoon of italian seasoning and a packet of Sazón. I added sea salt (Celtic gray) and a healthy dose of white pepper.

I let it simmer some more, checking the potatoes for doneness.

Then I grabbed the box o' tapioca and measured out a scant half cup. Poured that in, mixed it all up. Presto! Stew! Just the right thickness.

And, five minutes later, we were done. Ladled it into soup bowls. Had I thought of this ahead of time, I would have made bread. Such is life...