Rice Cooker Pasta

So I discovered something pretty cool this evening, and although in my excitement I inevitably forgot to take a picture, I felt that I should share a post about my newest favorite kitchen appliance: the rice cooker. I myself have never been much of a rice eater or cooker as I always found the stove top cooking process to produce a starchy, gooey mess at the bottom of the pot. Thus, I would usually divert the rice cooking task to my mother -particularly whenever she would make her Veal Blanquette - and succumbed to the belief that rice and I would never really get along in the kitchen. It was a co-worker who mentioned a deep affection for her rice cooker, and it was then and there that I decided that such an appliance would be the ultimate solution to my rice dilemma.
Since my procurement about four weeks ago I have cooked rice exactly twice. Tonight however, as I debated what starch to eat with my organic chicken sausage and eggplant saute I was forced to note that my one and only pot and one and only pan were both in use. Thus, I pulled out the lonely rice cooker that was sitting next to the less-lonely toaster, but low and behold I had no desire for rice as an accompaniment for the simmering sauce in front of me. Pasta was definitely my preferred option, but would it work to cook it in a rice cooker, and moreover would it be ready quicker than by the standard method of boiling 4 times as much water than pasta. I proceed to measure out a cupful of mini pasta shells, adding it to the cooker with a pinch of salt and two cupfuls of water. I hit the button for cook, and would you believe that approximated 7 minutes later I had almost perfectly cooked pasta - if anything is was almost too cooked as I tend to prefer a little bit of bite to my pasta. An extra bonus was that there was just a slight amount of cooking water left in the cooker, so that when I added it to my sauce, it thickened it to the perfect consistency
Incidentally this discovery had me so excited that I proceeded to cook another quick round of pasta for my roommate's (M's) lunch tomorrow. And yes it has probably classified me as a rather eccentric culinary enthusiast;)

An Inspiring Week in Review

Well, there certainly was quite a lot to be inspired by this week, beginning with the above salad I composed for my Saturday night dinner. It was a true testament to leftovers going a long way - not to mention fresh, local produce. I was feeling a little under the weather on this particular evening and had little reason to leave the comfortable condo where I now reside. Thus, I popped the leftover chicken schnitzel from my Barnard Inn dinner into the oven to reheat alongside some quickly made garlic bread, and proceeded to chop up a massive Asian-inspired salad to replenish my store of vitamins and minerals.

The next day, Sunday, after I had slept like a champ through the night, I felt ready and happy to prepare a dinner for my parents and friend "C" at my parents' place. My mom had some wild cod that she was ready to remove from the freezer, so despite my slight distaste for large white fish, I accepted the proposal that it be the main course for the evening.I had soaked a large quantity of Canellini beans over night in anticipation of needing a back up protein source for the week, and was planning to cook them that day. Since I also had some leftover ratatouille - the recipe for which I will share later on - I decided that the cod would bake up quite comfortably on a bed of the beans and ratatouille mixed together. Then to give it even more of a Mediterranean flair I chopped up some lemon zest, parsley, and garlic as a gremolata garnish. The bean and ratatouille base topped with the piece of cod fillet went into a 350-degree oven. Unfortunately because our little fish friend was still slightly frozen, the baking took a good 25 to 30 minutes, when ordinarily I would have counted on 15 to maybe 20 depending on the thickness of the fillet. No matter, we were quite happy to chat and catch up with friend "C" and sip our cocktails. We therefore also had time to admire "C's" creation - note that she always brings us some new and extraordinary pastry creation each time she joins us for dinner. This one, pictured and the one we thoroughly indulged in on Sunday was composed of an Amandine pastry base, which was layered with a pistachio sponge and beautifully garnished with fresh fruit and glazed. The white and dark chocolate embellishments were just things she "whipped together" au dernier minute - in other words this lady is a chocolate/pastry master.

So, now on to Thursday evening, when I again ventured over to Barnard to experience for myself the incredible-ness that is Fable Farm. As their blog will show, this is indeed where food, culture, and community come together in such a way that I for one could not help but become enraptured by the whole experience. Their Thursday evening dinners are just one of the ways whereby the farmers reach out to their community. The events start at 5:00, so by the time I arrived at 6:30 the farm was well populated with locals as well as some "outsiders" - for lack of a better word. People were milling about the garden, sitting with friends and family, and of course eating and drinking the stone-fired handmade pizzas and farm-made mead. I was kindly given a tour of the garden, and then put my order in for a pizza and got a mug of mead. There was a slight delay on the pizzas as they had lost one in the oven, and had to wait for its remnants to burn away. In the meantime I was quite satisfied with my drink, company, and scenery and so did not mind the wait at all. The pizza I had chosen, out of the four they had on offer, was the "beetnik", which I will be sure to attempt to replicate some day. The toppings consisted of homemade pesto, goat's cheese, thinly sliced rounds of beet, and arugula. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of it, as I was too tempted to dig in straight away - and let's be honest, the mead had probably started going to my head a little. Needless to say, I was impressed, and despite a little bit of char adhering to the bottom of the crust, the pizza was certainly better than any pizza-shop creation far and wide. I will definitely be going back to enjoy more pizza, and I hear there are community pot lucks too!

And that brings us to today's trip to the Norwich Farmer's market, which always satisfies my ceaseless need for fresh and local produce however I can get it. Truly the market is a small haven where I can almost feel like I'm frequenting a Marche en France. Straight away, knowing I had a Killdeer Farm, stashed away in the produce drawer at home, I selected the rest of the ingredients to make what is probably my favorite summertime dish, the aforementioned ratatouille. Thus from Luna Bleu I picked up a mouthwatering-looking eggplant/aubergine, and a nice plump and juicy tomato. I then headed to the Hurricane Flats stand, where among a host of other fresh veggies, I picked up a crisp green pepper and made out like a bandit! After a couple more stops, I headed home, and after picking up our new dining room table and finishing off some chores, I set to work on my ratatouille. It made a wonderful lunch with a poached egg on top along with a crusty piece of bread.

Ratatouille
1 onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
1 green or red bell pepper
1 large tomato, or several smaller ones
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence - it is better to use fresh rosemary and thyme here, but I have yet to have access to such herbs at home, so I relied on my stash of dried herbs I brought back from France - shhh don't tell border patrol!
salt and pepper, to taste

1) Thinly slice the onion and cook with the olive oil until translucent.
2) Meanwhile dice all the vegetables and tomato into roughly an even size. Add the eggplant, zucchini, and pepper to the pan, and allow to cook with the onion for 5 minutes. Then add the finely chopped garlic, parsley, other herbs, and seasoning. Stir everything together, reduce the temperature to low, cover the pan, and allow the ratatouille to cook slowly for 45 minutes. The vegetables will be tender, but still have some form.

 

 This is also a great dish to have with grilled meats:)

 

P.S. This may provoke laughs from my French family, as I feel that the dish is something any French person is born knowing how to make.