Rice A Wrongi

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Along the lines of what we were discussing in the previous post, I received a message from a reader when this cartoon first appeared 10 years ago, a message to the effect, Arlo is not the kind of man who would use instant rice. That reader might have had a point, but again I plead “artistic license.” Besides, I can’t say Arlo has never used instant rice. There was a time he occasionally might’ve used it for its sole benefit: expediency. However, he wouldn’t use it today, for he is pretty serious about getting away from processed food. I know, I know: white rice is processed food, but he’s not a fanatic, either. He enjoys cooking a lot of dishes that call for rice, and he’s willing to take that chance. Wait a minute—we are talking about a cartoon character here, aren’t we?

45 thoughts on “Rice A Wrongi”

  3. Finally, a viable alternative to The Weather Channel…Jimmy does a cartoon about the temperature, and everyone on The Dark Side chimes in with their local weather conditions/forecast. Thanks, Dark Side!

    Meanwhile, TWC this morning was reporting something about Justin Beiber. Way to go, Weather Channel! Love your new edgy, bad-boy vibe! Oh, and good luck with increasing the numbers for your female age 10-14 demographic.

  6. Sharon: “There is nothing more tasty . . ..” Dangerous assertion, even aside from “de gustibus non disputatum est” [sp?]

    Taddy Porter? Kemp’s Moose Tracks frozen yogurt? Wife’s Senegalese soup [for which I’ve lost the recipe]? My West African style chicken and fruit curry? A well made Rachel without the thousand island? My daughter’s ex mother-in-law’s paela [sp?]? Crawfish etouffe’? Biscuits and gravy topped with a fresh egg over easy? Coffee and a scone at “Brewed Awakenings” coffee house in Grand Rapids, MN?

    None of these would be even desirable day in and day out for a month. But having such goodies often as part of a varied diet is what table grace is for.

  7. While “the Dark Side” talks about the weather, we purists in the Village know that the proper topic of conversation is what he had for dinner. The blasphemy of the others is obvious! We must subjugate them to our superior ways!

  9. emb: Would the “Senegalese soup” you mentioned be the same as “West African Peanut Soup”, the recipe for which was posted on this blog a while back? I added it to my recipe collection and will happily post it back to you if that this the one you are seeking.

  12. To this Texas girl, nothing without beef is “Most tasty,” especially my boss; husband’s pot roast with potatoes, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and onions. Though I will admit his Gumbo Ya-ya with chicken and andouille comes close.

  14. Lilyblack, the way I see it is that Arlo lightly shakes the box before he pours it into the pot making a sound like the kibble box being shaken.

  15. Nodak, I think you got it in one. Same as animals used to come running when they heard a can opener and now do so for pop-top cans of all kinds. Nothing more disappointed than a hungry cat who finds you pouring soda. And why wouldn’t Arlo invest in an automatic rice cooker? They work great and leave you free to work on other things. Umm, jasmine rice and any meat!

  16. GR6:

    I’m pretty sure it had peanuts in it. Please post it. Then Sharon can try it and compare it with her chicken, rice, and veggies dish. This morning I had sardines on toast for breakfast, and M. Trouve’ got to lick out the can.

    Time for me to go work out.

  20. You can get instant brown rice. I prefer the slow variety since it’s much cheaper and I’m in no hurry. Either way, I’m skeptical that at least some of the bran/germ isn’t stripped and diverted for bran oil during processing.

  23. I found this on the Net, It sounds better:

    prep:
    5 min
    total:
    25 min
    servings
    total:
    4 servings

    what you need
    1 Tbsp. oil
    1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
    3 cups cut-up mixed fresh vegetables (broccoli, carrots and red peppers)
    1 can (14-1/2 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
    2 cups instant white rice, uncooked
    1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
    make it

    HEAT oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; cook and stir until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

    ADD vegetables; cook and stir 3 to 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Stir in broth. Bring to boil.

    STIR in rice and dressing; cover. Reduce heat to low. Cook 5 min. or until liquid is absorbed and chicken is cooked through

  24. Here you go, emb. I’ve not tried this yet but still intend to do so. I did make a Moroccan-Style Stewed Chicken (in slow cooker) for one of my lady friends who had actually lived in Morocco at one time, and she approved of it.

    West African Peanut Soup

    Ingredients

    1 tablespoon olive oil
    1 yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
    1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped (about 3/4 cup)
    1 to 2 teaspoons minced, peeled fresh ginger
    Dash of cayenne pepper
    1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)
    2 1/2 cups water, divided
    1/2 cup tomato juice
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon black pepper
    1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
    5 green onions, chopped

    Instructions

    1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Stir in yellow onions and carrots and
    cook, stirring often, until onions are soft, about 3 minutes. Add ginger and
    cayenne; cook 1 minute.

    2. Add sweet potato, 2 cups water, tomato juice, salt and pepper. Bring to a
    boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, until potatoes are soft, about 15
    minutes. Let cool slightly.

    3. Ladle soup into the bowl of a food processor. Add peanut butter. Cover and
    process until smooth. Pour into a clean pan.

    4. Heat soup over low heat. Add remaining 1/2 cup water to thin if desired.
    Ladle into soup bowls and top each serving with green onions. Serves 3.

  25. Jack: I’m there often enough to be familiar with places to eat. Judy Garland, however, was before my time. Besides, as a child, I was sorely disappointed with what the movie did to L. Frank Baum’s book. These days, I reserve that kind of ire for violence done to G&S productions [e.g., the Broadway production of ‘The Pirates of Penzance’].

    Today’s TIP http://www.gocomics.com/that-is-priceless/ may be a rerun, but I’d not looked it up until just now. It’s ‘The Hostage’. The lone woman in the foreground is obviously the subject. She seems darker than at least some of the women farther back, and they are obviously familiar with one another. Presumably she is in their charge to protect her from the attentions of the men who took her hostage, or their companions. War is grim.

    Today’s TIP Blogspot [cannot do two urls in one post] is ‘Girl reading a letter with an old man reading over her shoulder’. Cannot quite make out what is over his head. Also, am puzzled by their light source. It probably should be a candle, and the pattern of lit and shadowed areas almost requires that it be in view. Clever ‘NSA’ squib, though.

  26. GR6: Thanks. Our posts crossed in cyberspace. When I cc’d. yours and went to file it, I found the recipe wife based her soup on. A Senegalese soup. This is lightly spiced with curry and cayenne but balanced by the sweetness of apple and the creaminess of nonfat yogurt. Less cayenne will yield a milder soup. Additional garnishes might include chopped apple, raisins, or peanuts. Wife probably modified it from an original source.

    Stuff:
    1 tbs canola oil
    1 yellow onion, chopped
    2 bok choy stalks, chopped [celery = acceptable sub.]
    2 tsp curry powder
    2 tart apples, peeled, cored, chopped
    2 cups vegie broth or other stock
    1 cup apple juice
    1/2 cup non-fat yogurt
    1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
    1/2 tsp salt
    2 tbs minced parsley
    Directions: Heat oil in a large saucepan over med. heat. Add the onion and bok choy, cover, and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 5 min. Stir in the curry and apple and cook 2 min. Add the broth and apple juice and simmer for 10 min. Remove from the heat to cool slightly. Transfer the mixture into a blender or food processor. Add the yogurt, pepper, and salt, and process until smooth. Pour the soup into a large bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours or until cold. Serve chilled, garnished with the minced parsley. Serves 4.

    I’d forgotten we ate it cold, and expect we sometimes ate it warm. That would be better now, for instance. Today’s April showers are light snow.

  27. For rice growing up we always used Uncle Ben’s converted(never cared for the sticky stuff) it was Symply done and I do it the same way to this day except I do not have the schmaltz(rendered chicken fat)in the back of the fridge the way Mamar and Mom did…We fry chopped onions up in fat(I use butter and olive oil) add some minced mushrooms(I prefer shitake) and minced garlic then add the rice to the fried concoction stir until rice is coated then add water and bring to boil….I always make enough for Fargone four so I can freeze half for next time I need rice.

  29. Speaking of cold soups, I can’t wait until fresh tomatoes are available, so I can make gazpacho.
    Both jambalaya and paella have been mentioned here recently. I just read an article about the origins of jambalaya. According to Kelly Hamilton, the founder of New Orleans Culinary History Tours, not long after the Spaniards arrived on the scene in Louisiana, jambalaya made its first appearance as an attempt to recreate Spain’s saffron-scented paella using New World ingredients.

    “The earliest [jambalaya] called for a type of sausage called chaurice, and that is a take on the Spanish chorizo,” Hamilton said. (Chorizo is often present in paella.) Like chorizo, chaurice is a coarsely ground, spiced pork sausage.

    Early recipes also called for ham, Hamilton noted, for which the Spanish word is “jamón.” Hamilton suggests that an echo of that word survives in the first letter of “jambalaya.” Furthermore, “if you look at the word ’paella,’ the sound at the end, the ‘ya,’ it’s similar to the ‘ya’ in ‘jambalaya,’” she said.

    Whatever. They are both delicious.

  35. Mark: I meant to add, our Fire Marshall would be unhappy about that arrangement. Reminds me of the supposed origin of Chinese roast pork. Charles Lamb?

  37. Lilyblack, your comment reminds me of one I heard from an expatriate Englishman. He said the British don’t believe their weather is bad, you just have inadequate clothing. He was running a butterfly farm in St. Martin.

  39. Heh, I believe your friend. I was in Yorkshire in August and I just about froze my tokus off. But I got to see Hadrian’s Wall, and I can report that beer in England is not warm, or anything else, either, Kidding! :p

  42. Goood Morning Villagers……..

    …..and a food morning too……then there is rice pudding, which I love.

    and I dedicate this to the Dark Side: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQ-6IAS1cc

    Busy day, Ian has broke his glasses, needs a tooth pulled, and we have appointments to get both pulled and glasses orders..$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

    Ya’ll have a blessed day….

    GR 😉

  43. I don’t think my mom knew anything other than Minute Rice existed. I use regular, rinse-and-cook rice, and I have a handy rice cooker Husband ordered when he saw one on the original Iron Chef program. I do have a box of Minute Rice in the cabinet for emergencies though. I also have brown rice and Jasmine rice, not to mention two types of couscous.

    Ghost, that picture might have been made at Dragon*Con some ten years or so ago, and no, I am not one of the Leias. 😉 I do have friends who cosplayed her, though.

    And speaking of cats and can openers, long ago I had a cat who not only came running when he heard the can opener, but stuck his head in the dish in anticipation. He frequently ended up with cat food on his head.

  44. Not a big fan of cooking with soup. About the only thing I make with it is chicken turnovers.

    Chicken and Rice
    2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
    1/2 stick butter or margarine
    3/4 cup chopped onion
    1 clove garlic, minced
    1/2 cup chopped celery
    1/2 cup chopped green pepper
    2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
    1/2 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
    1/4 tsp. hot red pepper flakes
    1 small can mushrooms with liquid
    1 can chicken broth
    1 cup white rice
    Salt and pepper to taste
    Melt the butter in a Dutch oven. Add onions, green pepper, and celery. Cook over medium heat until the onions start to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the seasonings. Add the chicken meat, rice, mushrooms, garlic and can of chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer (I have an electric range and set the burner on 3) for 30 minutes. Lift lid halfway through to stir. Serve with crusty French bread and salad.

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