I don't use the microwave unless I have to so I have no clue
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What are you cooking?
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I have a number of repurposed Feline Greenies containers that I use for dry storage of things like beans and etc. Works nicely.
I try to do the R's as much as possible...the sixth R is for "rot", which is basically composting IMO.
But, I can't can't do that here. Recycling in the US is a joke...most of it goes in landfills anyways, or shipped off to poor countries to get rid of it. Hell, we have people here who raid the cans out of the recycling bins to sell for drug money.
I can fit two 1lb bags of stuff in each one and being square, they fit well in my small cupboards. I top them off with one of the original bags so I know what's in there, cooking times, etc.
I try to do the R's as much as possible...the sixth R is for "rot", which is basically composting IMO.
But, I can't can't do that here. Recycling in the US is a joke...most of it goes in landfills anyways, or shipped off to poor countries to get rid of it. Hell, we have people here who raid the cans out of the recycling bins to sell for drug money.
I can fit two 1lb bags of stuff in each one and being square, they fit well in my small cupboards. I top them off with one of the original bags so I know what's in there, cooking times, etc.
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Small saucepan if you can find one pretty quick, or a stainless turkish. My turk has a lid, and holds about a pint. It takes heat like any other stainless pan.
Well....if you know your microwave well, reheating is easy.
Mine, I know how to program it's 1100W for say 100% power for X time and then 50% power for Y time...and I watch small things closely.
Like reheating a small slice and a half of pizza....I did 20 seconds on full power, but watchef it for when it JUST started to melt the cheese....no more.
Warming up a half plate of Milly's meat for her, I do 5 seconds and stop it before the beep.
It's just science.....
Yes, but heating up 2 tablespoons of a liquid to the point where it will wilt spinach when I pour it over the salad but without actually boiling it the dressing. I don't even know what to put it in, unless I put it in a coffee cup. Keep in mind this dressing is 90% oil also.Well....if you know your microwave well, reheating is easy.
Mine, I know how to program it's 1100W for say 100% power for X time and then 50% power for Y time...and I watch small things closely.
Like reheating a small slice and a half of pizza....I did 20 seconds on full power, but watchef it for when it JUST started to melt the cheese....no more.
View attachment 213600
Warming up a half plate of Milly's meat for her, I do 5 seconds and stop it before the beep.
It's just science.....
Hell, I warm a couple of teaspoons or so of Milly's raw refrigerated meat mixture several times a day to just warm, not cooked. Just takes practice. Do ppl really not know how to control a microwave?
Me, I'd do 5 seconds in a glass container like a small finger bowl or condiment dish...not plastic...
I use these from the dollar store for small bits of things, sauces, etc. Do not punch 1min and forget about it...
But do cover it loosely and watch it.
If you see steam , it's getting hot...
Try a test batch ..just like the sacrificial pancake...
OR...use a similar composition thing like olive oil to test.
Or, just use a small pan on the stove...ya got a 8" skillet I bet?
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gopher_byrd
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Do you have a glass shot glass??? Two tablespoons is an ounce and a shot glass is 1.5 ounces. Should work.
I would NOT try that...thick bottom and thin sides...so uneven heating.
One fault in the glass and it'll shatter...not made for heat....
Mebbe baby food jar or an old jar? IMO, any COMMERCIAL glassware should be ok...for limited time.
This is in the 'comon sense' category...IMO. Gen Z and Millennials dont have any...Older than me think they know everything...I'm GenX. We're practical....lol...we learned from the Greatest, adapted to a new paradigm.
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gopher_byrd
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5 seconds is doubtful. Not trying to boil a cup of water or heat up meat.
Condescending much?Do ppl really not know how to control a microwave?
I think it's safe to say the vast majority of people have never tried to heat up that small an amount of a liquid in the microwave, especially when trying to get it right to the edge of boiling without boiling. And I think I was clear that the smallest thing I own to heat it in is a coffee cup.
Whatever...I do it all the time.
Not my problem.
How'd you make the sauce? You have to have measuring cups, etc.
Yes, There Is a Correct Way to Microwave Food
Three tips for perfectly heated-through dishes.
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I have a number of repurposed Feline Greenies containers that I use for dry storage of things like beans and etc. Works nicely.
I try to do the R's as much as possible...the sixth R is for "rot", which is basically composting IMO.
But, I can't can't do that here. Recycling in the US is a joke...most of it goes in landfills anyways, or shipped off to poor countries to get rid of it. Hell, we have people here who raid the cans out of the recycling bins to sell for drug money.
I can fit two 1lb bags of stuff in each one and being square, they fit well in my small cupboards. I top them off with one of the original bags so I know what's in there, cooking times, etc.
Okay, I am the queen of refuse. Or maybe the queen of recycling, but many products come in beautiful containers I couldn't think of throwing into recycling.
I was obsessed with these candles that came in huge urn style jars at Big Lots. The candles burned forever, and as each one finished I cleaned out the jar and re-purposed for coffee, sugar, candy, whatever. The lids are kind of hard to get on and off, they're that airtight.
I used my first giant Tassos olives jar as a vase for roses for my friend I had over for dinner a while back, for turbo pampering over her sadness from an ugly divorce (is divorce ever really pretty?). I sent it home with her so she could take her roses.
So then I got another one. These are 38.00 on Amazon. They were 16.00 at Costco but they're out of stock at my Costco now.
These bottles are from store bought flavored teas that you could peel the label off of in one sheet. They're dishwasher safe. I have about a dozen of them for making my own brews. Next to them is another beautiful little olive jar I still use to store leftover canned olives.
I only bought this chia beverage once. It was pretty vile, but the beautiful curvy bottle is still in my collection. Vinegar helps soak off a label pretty easily.
It's fun for me when someone admires a container and I can just hand it off to them, "it's yours now", because I didn't spend a bunch and I bought it for whatever foodstuffs were in it.
Mexican food takeout comes in these sturdy containers I can wash and use for taking food to potlucks, or storing leftovers in the fridge or freezer. They stack together and don't take up much cabinet space. I have stacks of them in two sizes:
I agree Caff, recycle repurpose reuse. It's more fun anyway.
Wow Jimi, I'm surprised you even own a microwave. I wouldn't have one if they were free.
Love that post.
FWIW, there are basically two kinds of glue on labels...unless they are the nice mylar/metallic type that just peel off. Water based or oil based. A few use a more cement-like glue and that won't come off without chemicals or a hairdryer/heat gun..
Assuming you can't peel them off intact, remove as much as you can mechanically...a butter knife works well...first try Dawn or similar dishsoap...undiluted...let it soak. If that doesn't remove it it's likely oil-based...
Apply any cooking oil to the label, let it soak until fully saturated then try to rub it off with a paper towel...then wash with soap to remove the oil/glue residue.
Those two methods remove like 90% of all labels....I have lots of hotsauce "woozie" bottle that I reuse for my own concoctions. ;-)
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Spinach Salad with Warm Maple Dressing
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 (5-ounce) bunch spinach, stemmed and roughly chopped (about 8 cups), or 8 cups baby spinach (5 ounces)
1/2 cup thinly sliced unpeeled Honeycrisp apple (from 1 small [6-ounce] apple)
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
1 ounce feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)
Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Heat a small skillet over medium-high. Add almonds; cook, stirring often, until toasted and golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat; transfer almonds to a plate, and set aside.
Toss together spinach, apple, blueberries, feta, and toasted almonds in a large heatproof bowl. Set aside.
Add dressing to skillet; heat over medium until it just begins to simmer, about 1 minute. Pour about 6 tablespoons warm dressing over salad, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve salad with remaining warm dressing, if desired.
Notes - the dressing (from my earlier post) is a touch too sweet in my opinion, but it was still a very good salad. I used more blueberries than it called for, and slivered almonds instead of sliced.
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 (5-ounce) bunch spinach, stemmed and roughly chopped (about 8 cups), or 8 cups baby spinach (5 ounces)
1/2 cup thinly sliced unpeeled Honeycrisp apple (from 1 small [6-ounce] apple)
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
1 ounce feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)
Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Heat a small skillet over medium-high. Add almonds; cook, stirring often, until toasted and golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat; transfer almonds to a plate, and set aside.
Toss together spinach, apple, blueberries, feta, and toasted almonds in a large heatproof bowl. Set aside.
Add dressing to skillet; heat over medium until it just begins to simmer, about 1 minute. Pour about 6 tablespoons warm dressing over salad, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve salad with remaining warm dressing, if desired.
Notes - the dressing (from my earlier post) is a touch too sweet in my opinion, but it was still a very good salad. I used more blueberries than it called for, and slivered almonds instead of sliced.
Saffron Cod
Ingredients
1 pinch saffron
1 lb. cod ¼-3/4" thick cod, or similar whitefish
salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon turmeric optional
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoon oil vegetable, canola, or other flavorless oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice or narage aka bitter orange
1 lemon cut into wedges, for serving
Instructions
Grind and bloom the saffron in 2 tablespoons of hot water and set it aside*.
Dry the fish on both sides, especially if it was previously frozen.
Season well on both sides with salt and pepper.
Mix together the turmeric and flour in a large, shallow plate. Dredge the fish in the flour mixture, and shake to remove excess flour.
Heat a cast iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat with enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
While the oil heats, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the steeped saffron and set that aside.
When hot, add the fish. It should start frying immediately. Move the fish around with your spatula to make sure it isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cook for 2 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
Flip, pour over the lemon saffron mixture, and cook the second side for 2 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
Serve immediately with lemon wedges for a fresh squeeze of lemon just before enjoying.
Notes - served over a bed of Baghali Polo, used sunflower seed oil
Ingredients
1 pinch saffron
1 lb. cod ¼-3/4" thick cod, or similar whitefish
salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon turmeric optional
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoon oil vegetable, canola, or other flavorless oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice or narage aka bitter orange
1 lemon cut into wedges, for serving
Instructions
Grind and bloom the saffron in 2 tablespoons of hot water and set it aside*.
Dry the fish on both sides, especially if it was previously frozen.
Season well on both sides with salt and pepper.
Mix together the turmeric and flour in a large, shallow plate. Dredge the fish in the flour mixture, and shake to remove excess flour.
Heat a cast iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat with enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
While the oil heats, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the steeped saffron and set that aside.
When hot, add the fish. It should start frying immediately. Move the fish around with your spatula to make sure it isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cook for 2 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
Flip, pour over the lemon saffron mixture, and cook the second side for 2 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
Serve immediately with lemon wedges for a fresh squeeze of lemon just before enjoying.
Notes - served over a bed of Baghali Polo, used sunflower seed oil
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Baghali Polo - Persian Dill Rice
Ingredients
▢1 ½ cups basmati rice
▢1 cup lima beans frozen, or fava beans or broad beans
▢½ cup dried dill
▢3 tablespoon sea salt
▢5 tablespoon flavorless oil canola, sunflower seed, vegetable, etc.
▢1 pinch saffron optional
▢water
Instructions
Bring about ⅔ a pot water of water to boil. Add 3 tablespoon salt.
In the meantime, wash rice 3 times with cold to lukewarm water until the water runs clear.
Add the rice and lima beans to the boiling water and gently stir. Bring it back to a boil, then remove the lid to keep from overflowing.
When al dente, strain. Do not overcook! If salty, rinse with cold water. Shake colander to remove as much water as possible.
Add 3 tablespoon of oil in a pot. Then gently add half of the drained rice and lima beans. Top with the dill, then add the rest of the rice and lima beans.
Using the back side of a kitchen utensil, make 6 deep holes in the rice, then put the lid back on. Cook on medium heat, watching it carefully.
When the lid gets foggy, pour a little oil over the rice - about 2 tbsp. Then put the lid back on and turn the heat to the lowest possible setting.
Cook 20-30 min from when the oil is poured on top.
If adding saffron, grind the saffron using a mortar and pestle. Then, steep it in 2 tablespoons of hot water while the rice is steaming. When the rice has finished cooking, add the steeped saffron and water to the top of the rice.
Fluff the entire rice mixture with a fork to mix in the dill and (optional) saffron.
Notes - Too much dill?
Ingredients
▢1 ½ cups basmati rice
▢1 cup lima beans frozen, or fava beans or broad beans
▢½ cup dried dill
▢3 tablespoon sea salt
▢5 tablespoon flavorless oil canola, sunflower seed, vegetable, etc.
▢1 pinch saffron optional
▢water
Instructions
Bring about ⅔ a pot water of water to boil. Add 3 tablespoon salt.
In the meantime, wash rice 3 times with cold to lukewarm water until the water runs clear.
Add the rice and lima beans to the boiling water and gently stir. Bring it back to a boil, then remove the lid to keep from overflowing.
When al dente, strain. Do not overcook! If salty, rinse with cold water. Shake colander to remove as much water as possible.
Add 3 tablespoon of oil in a pot. Then gently add half of the drained rice and lima beans. Top with the dill, then add the rest of the rice and lima beans.
Using the back side of a kitchen utensil, make 6 deep holes in the rice, then put the lid back on. Cook on medium heat, watching it carefully.
When the lid gets foggy, pour a little oil over the rice - about 2 tbsp. Then put the lid back on and turn the heat to the lowest possible setting.
Cook 20-30 min from when the oil is poured on top.
If adding saffron, grind the saffron using a mortar and pestle. Then, steep it in 2 tablespoons of hot water while the rice is steaming. When the rice has finished cooking, add the steeped saffron and water to the top of the rice.
Fluff the entire rice mixture with a fork to mix in the dill and (optional) saffron.
Notes - Too much dill?
Milly food (which is more of a chunky puree then a solid) from the fridge, mebbe 20ml worth, on a 7" Dollar Tree glass plate and nuked to just finger-warm. In the microwave...since Tiki...
If I can heat that raw diet food of raw chicken, pork, liver, and Alnutrin supplement to a proper room temp from 40F, and not cook it....everyday for years....I can reheat anything. So can anyone else.
Yes, it's allowed...the godmother of raw feline diet does it.
catinfo.org
If I can heat that raw diet food of raw chicken, pork, liver, and Alnutrin supplement to a proper room temp from 40F, and not cook it....everyday for years....I can reheat anything. So can anyone else.
Yes, it's allowed...the godmother of raw feline diet does it.
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition – Common Sense. Healthy Cats.
A veterinarian explains the basics on properly feed cats which are strict carnivores, and the link between a poor quality diet and common diseases.
catinfo.org
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One time at my aunt's house I tried toasting pecans in her microwave, on a stoneware plate that was oven and dishwasher safe. It doesn't take long to toast nuts. After just 2-3 minutes I stopped it. Maybe because of the oil in pecans, the plate was broken up. Had to throw it away, nuts and all.
I've got a pot of spaghetti simmering on the stove, and I'm planning to toss it with some homemade marinara sauce and top it off with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.
OMG organic ones. Some faves I was denying myself because I couldn't find organic ones, or, even if organic they still had ingredients I didn't want.
None of these have canola or any other bad seed oils. Some people put sunflower oil in the list of bad seed oils, but I don't. Don't we eat sunflower seeds and sunflower seed butter? I just can't count good food among bad seeds.
So, first crispy onions, that staple ingredient of green bean casseroles, but I like them sprinkled on a bowl of spicy rice and beans, salsa and sour cream:
Stock photo and I pasted on the ingredients list.
Next, aaah:
Stock photo with ingredients list pasted from the back of the box to the front.
Finally, I guess it's always best to make your own fries from organic potatoes and your organic oil, but I hate frying on the stove and splattering everywhere. Oven fries are easy enough, but not when you've worked until 8pm and you're hangry. All of the organic frozen fries contain canola oil, so they haven't been in my freezer for a long time. Steak fries are the best because even crisped up in the oven, they stay tender underneath the crispy. Just discovered these, and they're on my shopping list:
Stock photo with ingredients pasted on the front.
None of these have canola or any other bad seed oils. Some people put sunflower oil in the list of bad seed oils, but I don't. Don't we eat sunflower seeds and sunflower seed butter? I just can't count good food among bad seeds.
So, first crispy onions, that staple ingredient of green bean casseroles, but I like them sprinkled on a bowl of spicy rice and beans, salsa and sour cream:
Stock photo and I pasted on the ingredients list.
Next, aaah:
Stock photo with ingredients list pasted from the back of the box to the front.
Finally, I guess it's always best to make your own fries from organic potatoes and your organic oil, but I hate frying on the stove and splattering everywhere. Oven fries are easy enough, but not when you've worked until 8pm and you're hangry. All of the organic frozen fries contain canola oil, so they haven't been in my freezer for a long time. Steak fries are the best because even crisped up in the oven, they stay tender underneath the crispy. Just discovered these, and they're on my shopping list:
Stock photo with ingredients pasted on the front.
I agree but I also have a wife
Never saw this post previously.And from that recipe I was led to this article about kimchi. It's an interesting read (to me anyway) though of course it's really a "tip of the iceberg" type of article.
Kimchi 101: It Ain't Just Cabbage
Kimchi is more than just cabbage. A guide to the Korean fermented staple.www.seriouseats.com
Really interesting article.
Wow, look what's an escape from inflation at my HEB, 5.00 for two pounds premium organic brown rice, which is 2.50 per pound. Cooked with water, a pound of rice makes two pounds to eat.
But I don't buy rice raw because it won't get cooked, won't get eaten and will be wasted. I buy cooked rice, all different varieties:
And you can get it with extra stuff. Love the quinoa mixed into this one:
But once again I've learned you always have to check labels, even on products you've bought for a long time. The Tasty Bite organic rice used to list sunflower oil as the only oil (less than 2 percent). Now it says "sunflower or canola oil"
The Seeds of Change brand still just says sunflower oil.
Yeah I know, 2.99 to 3.49 for half a pound cooked, but it gets heated in sauce just like that, or stirred into a soup just like that, made into a cold salad just like that, or buttered and served as a side, just like that, so it gets eaten. I don't even have to worry about rotating it by expiry date.
For this dish I felt white rice would be the choice for a pretty presentation. This was a trial run for my own consumption. I looked at tons of recipes online. Many of the Persian recipes include dried barberries. I didn't add any dried fruit to my first experiment, but being somewhat familiar with middle eastern food, I would think raisins or dried cherries would be fine to substitute for the barberries. Some almonds or pistachios would add protein, but the fruit and nut additions are for another time.
To begin, I ground some saffron between my fingers and stirred it into a quarter cup plain yogurt. How much saffron is up to you. Some people taste it strongly. For me it takes a lot to taste it, so I used a full tablespoon (1 T. measured before grinding it between my fingers). Also stirred in a bunch of ground cardamom because I have it, didn't see how it could hurt anything, thought it could definitely add something.
I stirred up two packets of rice in water on the stove. Not too much water. You just want to moisten the rice, which is a bit dehydrated in the packet. Most of the packaged cooked rice comes without salt, so I salted generously. Let it cool. Then mixed half the cooled rice with the yogurt-saffron-cardamom mixture.
Then melted half a stick of butter (4 tablespoons) in a skillet. Added the yogurt rice mixture and pressed it gently to flatten. Then mounded the remaining plain salted rice on top of the flat layer, spreading gently. You want a low flat hill, not a mountain, and you're not flattening the second layer all the way to the edges because you want to be able to see the cooking progress of the lower layer. I used the handle end of a wooden spoon to make holes in the mixture for steam to escape.
Then you can either cook it on the stove, if you want to stand there turning the pan a quarter turn every few minutes, or you can put it into a 390 degree oven. Check it at 10-15 minutes. I was afraid I would forget it in the oven, so I did it on the stove. When the edges of the bottom layer are browned and crispy all the way around, turn it off, let it cool. If you're coordinated enough to do it without the whole thing winding up on the floor, you can flip it onto a plate for an attractive "creme brulee" kind of appearance to your dish, or it can be served out of the skillet.
That's a pic of someone else's success. Mine was a fail. I should have done it in the oven. I let it go too long on the stove, and the bottom burned. I wish I could make this look pretty:
But it was still delish, would you believe. I removed the burnt bits and the rest of it was buttery, with good flavor and beautiful color.
Something like this is made in Spain too, and hopefully @FranknChill (formerly Villalobos Ramirez) will sound in on the subject. The saffron crocus is grown commercially in Spain. Saffron is often used in Spanish paella, and the crispy bottom is called the "raspa". Here in US and Mexico, sometimes achiote is used in a rice dish not called paella, but some believe the achiote gained popularity as an inexpensive substitute for saffron. Achiote gives the same orangey coloring, and the "raspa" is still the most desired bit of the dish.
Well onward to the next try, maybe. I dunno. Maybe I'll just mix the rice, the yogurt, the butter, saffron and cardamom, cook it a little while, and give up on the monitoring of the bottom and the flipping. Some things aren't that important IMO.
But I don't buy rice raw because it won't get cooked, won't get eaten and will be wasted. I buy cooked rice, all different varieties:
And you can get it with extra stuff. Love the quinoa mixed into this one:
But once again I've learned you always have to check labels, even on products you've bought for a long time. The Tasty Bite organic rice used to list sunflower oil as the only oil (less than 2 percent). Now it says "sunflower or canola oil"
The Seeds of Change brand still just says sunflower oil.Yeah I know, 2.99 to 3.49 for half a pound cooked, but it gets heated in sauce just like that, or stirred into a soup just like that, made into a cold salad just like that, or buttered and served as a side, just like that, so it gets eaten. I don't even have to worry about rotating it by expiry date.
For this dish I felt white rice would be the choice for a pretty presentation. This was a trial run for my own consumption. I looked at tons of recipes online. Many of the Persian recipes include dried barberries. I didn't add any dried fruit to my first experiment, but being somewhat familiar with middle eastern food, I would think raisins or dried cherries would be fine to substitute for the barberries. Some almonds or pistachios would add protein, but the fruit and nut additions are for another time.
To begin, I ground some saffron between my fingers and stirred it into a quarter cup plain yogurt. How much saffron is up to you. Some people taste it strongly. For me it takes a lot to taste it, so I used a full tablespoon (1 T. measured before grinding it between my fingers). Also stirred in a bunch of ground cardamom because I have it, didn't see how it could hurt anything, thought it could definitely add something.
I stirred up two packets of rice in water on the stove. Not too much water. You just want to moisten the rice, which is a bit dehydrated in the packet. Most of the packaged cooked rice comes without salt, so I salted generously. Let it cool. Then mixed half the cooled rice with the yogurt-saffron-cardamom mixture.
Then melted half a stick of butter (4 tablespoons) in a skillet. Added the yogurt rice mixture and pressed it gently to flatten. Then mounded the remaining plain salted rice on top of the flat layer, spreading gently. You want a low flat hill, not a mountain, and you're not flattening the second layer all the way to the edges because you want to be able to see the cooking progress of the lower layer. I used the handle end of a wooden spoon to make holes in the mixture for steam to escape.
Then you can either cook it on the stove, if you want to stand there turning the pan a quarter turn every few minutes, or you can put it into a 390 degree oven. Check it at 10-15 minutes. I was afraid I would forget it in the oven, so I did it on the stove. When the edges of the bottom layer are browned and crispy all the way around, turn it off, let it cool. If you're coordinated enough to do it without the whole thing winding up on the floor, you can flip it onto a plate for an attractive "creme brulee" kind of appearance to your dish, or it can be served out of the skillet.
That's a pic of someone else's success. Mine was a fail. I should have done it in the oven. I let it go too long on the stove, and the bottom burned. I wish I could make this look pretty:
But it was still delish, would you believe. I removed the burnt bits and the rest of it was buttery, with good flavor and beautiful color.
Something like this is made in Spain too, and hopefully @FranknChill (formerly Villalobos Ramirez) will sound in on the subject. The saffron crocus is grown commercially in Spain. Saffron is often used in Spanish paella, and the crispy bottom is called the "raspa". Here in US and Mexico, sometimes achiote is used in a rice dish not called paella, but some believe the achiote gained popularity as an inexpensive substitute for saffron. Achiote gives the same orangey coloring, and the "raspa" is still the most desired bit of the dish.
Well onward to the next try, maybe. I dunno. Maybe I'll just mix the rice, the yogurt, the butter, saffron and cardamom, cook it a little while, and give up on the monitoring of the bottom and the flipping. Some things aren't that important IMO.
I believe the Persian term for this crispy crusted rice preparation is tahdig. Good way to celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which was March 19th, and is usually celebrated for several days, though the length varies by ethnic group. In Iran it is typically a 13 day festival.
Honestly sunflower oil isn't very good for you, it's the HIGH heat of the processing that makes changes in the final product, makes the oil carry inflammatory properties that inflame the system
Gosh thanks. I failed to even notice the synchronicity. Nowruz is a beautiful holiday, with elements in common with Easter and Passover, which reminds me as always, human culture is global, in spite of various religious significances superimposed. Nowruz celebrates springtime, renewal of the earth, the delightful earliest wild and cultivated gifts for the table. Nowruz has something like Easter eggs.
Yes, many of the recipes I looked at were called tahdig. Sometimes it was just called "Persian rice" or "Saffron rice". Many of the recipes included eggs, not all of them, and I hoped to perfect something that would make a beautiful side dish, so no need for more heavy protein.
Happy Nowruz Kad.
Jimi, I have every respect for your vast knowledge of health and nutrition, but we have disagreed about this once before. I will never agree with anybody who tries to tell me organic sunflower oil is bad.
Most if not all organic sunflower oil is cold pressed or naturally expeller pressed. You'd have a hard time finding a bottle of organic sunflower oil that doesn't say "cold pressed" on the label. The use of chemical solvents to draw the oil out of the seeds under high heat will prevent it being labeled organic. A bonus is that there is no genetically modified sunflower currently.
Some current opinion is that cold pressed sunflower oil is better for you than olive oil, and I agree, since the long shipping and storage of olive oil make it taste rancid by the time you get it home from the grocery store.
Cold pressed sunflower oil is a whole natural food IMO. We'll just have to agree to disagree, and others can draw their own conclusions.
Interesting conversation...
I'm a disabled gimp these days, but was a chef for 30 years and a certified dietary manager the last 20 years of my career. I utilize(d) a variety of oils...
I'm not a fan of olive oil due to the strong taste that most olive oils have, but it has its place in Mediterranean cooking.
I like sunflower oil for it's low trans fat content, but generally only used it when there was a dietary restriction on calories.. often used for low-fat dressings/cooking. There is a "type" of sunflower oil available.. high oleic sunflower oil is high in mono unsaturated fat content which gives it a higher smoke point than "regular" sunflower oil and is a "healthier" alternative for frying, but imo, if you are frying, then you aren't 100% concerned about fat/calories.... But does provide for a lower fat option to those who aren't as strict.
Avocado oil has become my favorite oil in recent years due to its neutral taste, high monounsaturated fat content and very high smoke point. I use it for sauntering and pan frying, but will sometimes mix it 50/50 with peanut oil for pan frying.
Peanut oil is my choice for deep frying due to its flavor profile. It's not the healthiest option, but if you're going to deep fry, then you aren't exactly "counting calories". I guess you could go all out and just use animal shortening, lol... Side of lard with your French fries?! Duck fat comes to mind here, but talk about expensive oil..whew!!
Avocado oil has been exploited recently - there are numerous manufacturers using various oils, dying them green, and calling it avocado oil.... Because it's more expensive. And there are articles/reviews out there saying it's strong in flavor, but if you buy the right brand it's both assuredly avocado oil and neutral in taste. Chosen Foods is the only Avocado oil I will buy. When did con-artistry become an every day part of life?! Scams don't always come in the form of an email/phone call!
Not sure where you are located that you are getting rancid olive oil.. you can get California olive oil that would most certainly be fresher, and buying from the right place would help the European olive oils maintain a longer shelf life in your pantry. I've had some that went bad in 9 months, but that's because I bought a half gallon and didn't use it up as fast as normal due to switching over to avocado oil as my primary. Prior to that, it was a very rare occurrence to have olive oil go rancid on me because I used a lot of it and purchased from stores that move high volumes of products. In the restaurant industry, I often bought cases of olive oil.. 3-6 half-gallon cans. The cans are far better than clear plastic bottles because sunlight is a key factor that turns oil rancid. Some kitchens also have a dry storage that's kept cooler than the average home temperature, as heat contributes to the breakdown of not only oil, but many other ingredients too.
If you are having issues with your olive oil going rancid, I would suggest buying from a different store, and even storing it in the fridge. It will get thick, almost solid, in the fridge, but quickly melts back to a liquid at room temp.
Thank you.
It might be easier if I'd not traveled widely and tasted fresh olive oil directly from growers on their farms, but I bought high end olive oil from dozens of different stores over many years before giving up on it. I once ate a free sample from Central Market where they were giving it out spread on fresh bread. It was delicious so I bought a bottle. Got it home, and it had that same stale, lifeless taste you always get. When I do have OO, I do keep it in the fridge in a wide mouth clamp jar, so I can dip it out without having to let it sit out to melt the small amount I need for one dish.
One time I bought a bottle that was stupendous. It was from Lebanon. Went back to get more, sold out, and have never again seen it in any store.
I've found the California ones to be equally disappointing, and I was very disappointed to find the Texas Olive Ranch brand no better than anything else.
Maybe "rancid" was the wrong word choice. Stale and lifeless, like motor oil, is maybe a better description.
The discussion started above when I described packaged organic rice I like to use. As a chef I'm sure you believe packaged is never optimal, and I agree, but I also have to keep an eye on what will get used and what will be wasted as I'm here cooking mostly just for myself. A packaged organic rice I used to like switched from "sunflower oil" to "sunflower or canola oil", so it's permanently off my shopping list. It's only a tiny amount in the packaged rice, less than 2 percent, but I practice zero tolerance toward canola.
Like you, my favorite for cooking is avocado oil, and after that sunflower or peanut oil, any of those organic only, depending on what's in the stores and what prices are like.
I found some sweet potato chips cooked in avocado oil. I'm all over those.
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Uhh... Yeah, I know what you are talking about. I've never been to Europe, so I wouldn't know what fresh is. But I have to think that getting it from a food purveyor who sells pallets a day is the best, non-direct, way to evaluate "fresh"... short of a trip to an olive oil farm in Europe. But even then, there's no way to know how long it was stored before it was loaded on the boat, the heat in the shipping containers on its journey here, or how many truckloads they bought. For all I know, it spent 6 months in the warehouse before it got to me.
Then there's always the ambiance of standing beside the tree it came from while consuming. Just like eating strawberries in the field while picking. And I wonder if, with the mass amount produced, if they might keep the grade A for themselves. Just like the only way to experience a tree ripened pineapple or peach is to pluck it from the tree and eat it. I don't know the entire process, but there might even be a preservative, or preservation process, that's added for items going overseas ..to extend shelf life.
I always found the metal cans of EVOO to be far superior to plastic bottles and regular OO.
If you have a fav high end restaurant you frequent, you could ask to buy from them. I sold to my customers all the time, but didn't really make anything on it. Was more of a favor to my regulars. Some places might not be so kind.
Interesting idea, to ask the restaurant if you can buy a bottle of their OO. Sometimes it does taste good in those little dipping bowls with bread.
Yah, never buy anything in plastic bottles if I can avoid it.
There was that one bottle of excellent Lebanese olive oil I bought that one time and could never find again, to prove that good grocery store olive oil is possible, but I don't know all the mysteries of it either.
Others have said to me what you have said, that the oil in metal cans is better. Maybe because no light can touch it. It makes me consider trying this one, as other La Tourangelle products I've tried have been excellent:
Persian rice, take 2, a trial run for our supper club, which I am hosting next week. This time I baked it in the oven for a more assured outcome, since last time I was very careful but burned it anyway.
As before I used two packets cooked white rice, which have to be rehydrated in a little water, and the clumps gently broken up to avoid damaging the pretty grains. I salted generously, as the rice comes without salt. I added two tablespoons butter to each packet. I prepared the two packets separately. A special occasion dish will sometimes require extra deliberations.
I ground a generous pinch of saffron threads between my fingers, about a full teaspoon, into a quarter cup whole yogurt. Added a heaping teaspoon ground cardamom to that mixture, stirred it up and added it to one of the batches of rice.
I added the saffron rice to an oven dish. I felt I'd used enough butter not to have to grease the dish.
Then added a layer of shelled pistachios on top of the saffron rice layer. Then topped it with the white rice layer. Poked multiple holes in the mixture with the handle end of a wooden spoon, and ran it into the 375 degree oven. Baked it for 50 minutes. I wasn't sure it was done, but the edges were browned all the way around, and I didn't want to burn another one, so I took it out, let it cool, and flipped it. It flipped easily, but then I could see it should have baked a full hour to get better browning all over, and a crispier top. That's okay, it's why we do recipe testing, and next week I'll feel confident to bake it one hour.
It was delicious anyway, and very pretty on the plate:
When I make it for my guests next week I will add dried cherries along with the pistachios in the middle layer, to make it even more beautiful and tasty.
As before I used two packets cooked white rice, which have to be rehydrated in a little water, and the clumps gently broken up to avoid damaging the pretty grains. I salted generously, as the rice comes without salt. I added two tablespoons butter to each packet. I prepared the two packets separately. A special occasion dish will sometimes require extra deliberations.
I ground a generous pinch of saffron threads between my fingers, about a full teaspoon, into a quarter cup whole yogurt. Added a heaping teaspoon ground cardamom to that mixture, stirred it up and added it to one of the batches of rice.
I added the saffron rice to an oven dish. I felt I'd used enough butter not to have to grease the dish.
Then added a layer of shelled pistachios on top of the saffron rice layer. Then topped it with the white rice layer. Poked multiple holes in the mixture with the handle end of a wooden spoon, and ran it into the 375 degree oven. Baked it for 50 minutes. I wasn't sure it was done, but the edges were browned all the way around, and I didn't want to burn another one, so I took it out, let it cool, and flipped it. It flipped easily, but then I could see it should have baked a full hour to get better browning all over, and a crispier top. That's okay, it's why we do recipe testing, and next week I'll feel confident to bake it one hour.
It was delicious anyway, and very pretty on the plate:
When I make it for my guests next week I will add dried cherries along with the pistachios in the middle layer, to make it even more beautiful and tasty.