What was the point again?

Like I mentioned, I've been cooking more than ever, especially pastas and risottos. Pasta is one of my favorite "go to" foods, because it's a pantry staple and you can pair it with any vegetable under the sun. Pasta, veg, olive oil, parmesean (or percorino, goat cheese, feta, etc., or not), you don't even need a protein, but I always have cooked chicken, beef, bacon, canned tuna, anchovies....whatever. However, I only cook 1/2 pound (1/2 pkg.) at a time, because calorie-wise pasta can get out of hand. I'll use lefover pasta to add into my lunch soups....even tossed in a veg salad....delicious with asian dressings!


I've been crazy for brussel sprouts, making brussel spaghetti carbonara, brussel sprout soup, warm, or raw shredded brussel, red onion, and apple salad with, smokey bleu cheese (sauteed in bacon fat, of course, lol), sometimes adding spinach, and a squeeze of lemon. I've been tossing shredded brussels into my weekly cabbage salad mix too. Last year I was crazy for roasting brussels, but I've barley roasted any veggies this year.....I can only explain the change on discovering how to make stocks so quickly and easily in my pressure cooker and eating alot more soups and pressure cooked meals this year.


Speaking of my pressure cooker......good Lord! If you own a pressure cooker and haven't made risotto in it, then you are missing out big time! AND being able to make your own stocks to make risotto with is a bonus! I don't have any pictures of the risottos I've made lately, but I make it at leat once a week, so soon I may have to force a recipe on you, lol. Risotto, pressure cooked or not, is always another "go to" meal because the ingredients are alway on hand in my house. I mean, who doesn't have butter, an onion, arborio rice, wine and/or stock, and parmesan reggiano cheese in their house? (this my inner food snob talking, lol!) Yellow beet, w/beet green risotto, mushroom risotto, winter squash risotto.....and yes, risotto w/thinly sliced brussel sprouts!

But the real prize risotto was the rice pudding risotto.....

Coconut Rice Pudding

1 1/2 c. arborio rice
1-1 1/2 c. sugar
1 can coconut cream (14 oz, not coconut milk, but coconut cream!)
4 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt

Bring to high pressure, cook for 8 min., let pressure come down naturally, remove lid and give it a good stir, and voila!

Add anything else and it's a bonus! Cinnamon, raisins, or other dried fruit, nuts, whatever. Stir in 1 oz. dark chocolate, broken into small bits, into a single serving of hot rice pudding....yum!


One meal I made just a couple of days ago (thursday) was a lamb stew with pappardelle noodles, I'll have to force myself to make it again and share the method and recipe.....this time I may add chick peas....my 19 year old quickly ate all of the leftovers!


Anyway, I guess the point of this blogpost is since I brought up the subject of "infinite food choices" previously, I've decided to expand my food experiences. Although I eat basically the same foods daily, salads and soups, and I believe it's the best, easiest, and most delicious way of supporting the health and lifestyle I want to have, I've made it a point to start enjoying more my talent and love of cooking and start to make things I haven't made in years, if ever. I mean I just made my first batch of butterscotch pudding this afternoon, and the sprouted wheat bread in the fridge is crying out to be made into french toast with maple syrup and bacon....I've been on this bacon kick too, lol! But it'll wait for another time.......