Coconut Lime Brown Rice and Things

 For a while a few weeks ago, I was inexplicably craving brown rice - inexplicable because I’ve never really been a fan of rice, except when it is lovingly embracing or being embraced by pieces of raw fish, which I recognize me makes me a diagnosable weirdo, but also is a vote for sushi, so we're calling it a draw.  This lead to an impulse purchase of a big box of rice, which then led me to be like: “Riiiight.  Now I have a giant box of rice...what now.”  It was also hot, which leads me to want things like fruit and fresh veggies and cold salads.  I had also been attempting to get rid of a bag of dried unsweeted coconut for what felt like the entire gestation period of an elephant, and didn’t want to walk to the grocery store to get other stuff.  What resulted was a grab bag of “what’s in the house that I can use?”  Hence, I messed around, and came up with this delicious mess.  It’s a great quick meal and should keep for about 3 days in the fridge!  You could probably easily also eat it hot...but it’s summer.  Make this, put some super super dry rose in the freezer until it gets a little slush-y, and voila: summer dinner.

Coconut Lime Brown Rice & Things

Makes roughly 3-4 servings

Coconut Lime Brown Rice and Things

Roomies, by Tara Altebrando and Sarah Zarr: Minifridge vs. Microwave - let the negotiations begin!

Roomies
by Tara Altebrando and Sarah Zarr
Little Brown: New York, 2013
ISBN: 9780316217491
ARC reviewed provided by publisher

The summer before you go to college is a big one – you’ve got to pack your room up, say goodbye to your oldest friends, leave your childhood behind, and you’ve got to figure out which roommate is going to bring the mini-fridge.  Elizabeth and Lauren are about to start their freshman year at UC Berkley and have received the news that they will be roommates.  Elizabeth reaches out to Lauren, and the girls strike up a conversation that spans the course of a summer that is filled with personal growth, the challenges of change in family ties and childhood friendships, the increasing complexities of adult decisions (and not just about that minifridge), and romance.  Though they’ve never met, they rely on each other to get through it all – nervous as they are about their own burgeoning friendship not working out.  This is a strong recommendation for adult female readers for the nostalgic reasons (remember when?) and for high schoolers looking to make their own leap into the vast world of college roomie-dom (or college kids in it!)!

This is such a fun book you guys.  I really enjoyed reading it!  There’ s a lot to love as a book pusher for teens (the frank way old bonds get tested by new challenges, how its okay to realize you may not be bff’s forever, interracial dating, dating, sex, complex family decisions, parenting your parent, etc. etc.), but there’s also a lot of just sheer enjoyment of walking down memory lane.  I mean, many of us went to college/university, and many of us can recall the nervous feeling you had when you found out who your roommie was going to be – let alone if they’d be a friend!  It’s a fun exploration of a really pivotal time of life.   

Two thumbs up – and a great gift idea for that high school senior in your life if you are last minute holiday shopping…

Recipe 38: Roasted Eggplant Soup

It became abundantly clear to me in, uh...March, that it was unlikely that I'd be able to complete the Le Creuset 52 Challenge this year, especially considering I was going away for the entire summer.  I definitely couldn't bring it to Chile with me; seeing as part of my apartment intruder-attack plan includes flinging Blue at said apartment-intruders head, I'm pretty sure it counts as a weapon of mass destruction (especially if you are a vegetable inside it, badoom ching! It's a good thing I make myself snicker...)  As per, I'm off on a tangent, so let us return to our regularly scheduled programming:  my new plan is to eventually get to the 52 recipes mark, as originally planned.  It may just take two calendar years though.  But we'll get there!  

BB: Before Blending

In other news, I've been sharing a farm share with the biggest little soccer fans this side of the Charles, the chef and publicity guy behind the fabulous Asphalt Kitchen.  Except since I wasn't here, they have been eating drowning in my half of the share for most of the summer.  Bean stopped by my first day back in town with a rather large shopping bag quite literally bursting with veggies.  It's a little overwhelming.  Luckily, the bountiful crop of veggies this time of year have forced me to crack open the cookbooks and start making the recipes I've been earmarking.  This week I invited the Asphalt Kitchen over to make Smitten Kitchen's Roasted Eggplant Soup.  We more or less followed the recipe, although I added some cayenne, cumin, and corriander to it (as suggested), and did have to substitute rosemary for thyme because I thought I had some and didn't.  Oops. 

AB: After blending

Everyone loved this soup.  Everyone but me.  Don't get me wrong, I really, really, really liked it.  I just found it incredibly bright, as though it needs something to bring it a little more down to earth.  Next time I make it (and I will, it is incredibly easy and uses up sooooo many of my farmshare veggies), I plan on trying some of the suggestions in the comments by either adding tahini or paprika.  Did anyone who has tried this recipe or some variant find the same? How do you do it differently?  Suggestions on how to make it more earthy, por favor!

Roasted Eggplant Soup
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, where it was adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves 4

Three kinds of cheese, two kinds of tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, green onions, and onions, all from Farmer Dave's farm, are visible in this one picture !