Stir Fried Kale with Garlic and Jasmine Rice with 5 Grain Cereals

My vegetable gardens are doing quite well despite of the inclement weather we are having.  Hailstorm, thunderstorm, wind storm in May provided all the natural nutrients that all our plants needed.  Kale is one of the new crop in my garden.  My friend gave a few grown plants.  I took them home and pluck them right into my raised bed vege gardens.  I have never tasted Kale before, and I did not know what to expect.  Beside not knowing how it taste, I didn't know how to cook it either.  But I sure did not want any garden insects, if any, to get a head start on it.   So as soon as they were about 7 inches tall, I cropped them, washed them, stemmed them, chopped them, chopped some garlic, stir fried with clarified butter. Stir fry 30 seconds or so to finish cooking.  The grey-green leaves turned into beautiful dark green color.   The garlic really complimented its slightly bitter taste and butter mellowed it out smoothly.  That's when I said, "Cook Rice!"  This time, the mixture is Jasmine Rice with Bob's Red Mill brand, 5 Grain Cereals.  I quickly sauteed chopped onions in clarified butter, added washed jasmine rice (well strained), added 5 Grain Cereal (whole grain wheat, rye, barley, oats, triticale, and flaxseed),  some white wine, chicken stock.  Stir.  Cover and simmer to cook till the liquid is quite absorbed.  Open the lid.  Fluff and stir.  Taste for doneness.   Add, cooked Kale to mix.   Serve.

Stir Fried Jasmine Rice with Bulgar, Onions and Mushrooms

Some of the best dishes I learned are the ones that are totally opposite of what I knew how to cook.  I consider myself 'expert' rice cooker and know very well how to cook rice.  Then, came the 'doubt'.  If Rice is one of your staples in your diet, surely you know all about it.  At least we all think that way, but quite a few new varieties - Japanese rice, for example, have been introduced in the past 10 years, I doubt even the culinary best can keep up with them.  GEN-JI-MAI and HAIGA-Rice are two of the Nutri-whole Grain Brown Rice that I enjoy for the last couple of years.  It is advertised as "Gen-JI-MAI is a premium medium grain brown rice that is lightly polished.  This special procedure removes only a limited amount of the outer bran layer, allowing the water to absorb quickly, much in the same was as milled white rice.  This process leaves a product that is not only superior in taste to ordinary brown rice, but one that also cooks quicker.   Since 100% of the rice germ (HAIGA) and much of the healthy bran layer are left intact, GEN-JI-MAI is much more nutritious than ordinary milled white rice, with: 64% more Fiber, 286% more Potassium,  583% more Magnesium, 161% more Vitamin B6, 1,021% more Vitamin E, and 400% more Antioxidant capacity.  You also benefit from the convenient quick cooking time of GEN--JI-MAI."   While the cooking direction in the back of the package indicates to use the "rice cooker" manufacture's suggested rice to water ratio, I find some of the new crops require half cup less water than the older brand.  I have 30 years old rice cooker from Japan.  The ratio of rice to water has changed by 1/2 cup since the introduction of 'new crop'.  Before the appearance of rice imprinted with 'new crop' on its bag, whether I cook Thailand rice or short grain, the ratio was 1:1 with my rice cooker.  Now, with new crop, it is 1:1/2.  However, interestingly, when the rice is cooked with ZOJIRUSHI brand 'atomic' rice cooker -- I call it 'atomic' because it is pre-programmed to cook mixed rice, brown rice, sushi texture rice, hard rice, soft rice, white rice, quick cooking, etc.  the rice cooker seems to "know"--calibrated to cook all rice at 1:1.   But we noticed that the rice is too soft, as we all prefer "al dente" - the bite feeling with our cooked rice.  So, we cook the new crop rice with 1/3 C less water in the atomic rice cooker. 
All around the world, there are many different types of rice - Long grain, medium grain, short grain, sweet rice, varieties of grains.  Learning just a couple of different methods of preparation certainly has changed my diet in the last couple months and to a better health.  And this is one of them.
1 C Thailand three ladies Jasmine Rice - "new crop"- washed to remove talc - water is clear during rinsing,1/2 C Bulgar, 4 Tb Clarified butter, 1/2 C chopped onions, 1/2 C chopped mushrooms.  1/4 C dry white wine.  2 C Hot Boiling homemade chicken stock (you might not need all 2 C of stock.)  Saute onions and mushrooms in 2-1/2 Tb clarified butter and evaporate liquid from mushroom.   Add the rest of the butter.  Stir in rice and Bulgar and coat well with butter.  Add dry white wine.  Let rice mixture absorb all liquid and mix well with onions and mushrooms.  Add hot stock 1/2 cup at a time.  Stirring rice mixture, let the rice absorb.  Repeat.  Stirring.  The method is similar to making Paella and Risotto.  The finished rice should not be soupy or soggy, but fluffy.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Whole Wheat Baguette with Wheat Germs

Sometimes you really feel lucky when the bread turns out great. After a long hours of patience, including some sleepless weekend hours, awaiting it's rise and yawn, and changing of its cloth and another tucking into snugly cloth trying to keep it warm through the stormy night we were having -- when it is baked, the final tale is told of how it appreciated my pampering. . . . sounds dramatic, but naaaa.... if the bread formula is bad, irregardless of how many hours I spent waiting its rise, baby patting and powdering its rounds, then, gently covering it with nice powdered cloth to keep it warm seems like a nightmare.
Trying to be pro-health conscious this year, I made this baguette with whole 1-1/2 C wheat flour, 1 C flour, 1/4 C wheat germs. The usual home steam injection method of steam pan and mist spraying gave it the crispy crust. The crumb is chewy and quite satisfying with a warm bowl of Leek Potato Soup.

MAY Fair - Sunset Celebration Weekend

There are so many things that I want to post on food for the month, but here it is already the last few days of May.  I just have to add all my test recipes in the next few days when I am more relaxed.  In the mean time, I am looking forward to June 4th and 5th.  Sunset Magazine is hosting the Sunset Celebration Weekend.  It is going to be held at  Menlo Park -- at the Sunset Headquarters, 80 Willow Road, Menlo Park from 10 am to 5 pm.    Great!  Hope some of you can attend also.
Visit http://www.sunsetwineclub.com/cwtickets for more details.

Vanilla Beans

I ran out of 7 jars of Vanilla Paste that I have been using for my baking and especially for my Canneles de Bordeaux. While I have been hunting for the best possible price to replenish the vanilla paste, I decided to try the vanilla beans. While waiting for the arrival, I caught one of my recorded video on cooking channel.... Chef Sandra Lee, I believe was demonstrating how to make Open Apple Pie. One of the ingredients is the vanilla. She pointed out the vanilla beans that she is using has been soaked in the rum for two weeks. It gives a good flavor. So, I thought I would try. This is not a blog on how to make vanilla paste or whatever all the experienced foodies know how to. But to share the result of my rum soaked vanilla beans.