RiceSelect Giveaway - extended!

Due to technical difficulties, last week's giveaway has been extended!  Submit your fave rice recipe for a chance to win a very cool goody bag from RiceSelect - see below for rules.  Deadline is this Tuesday at 10 a.m. EST; winner will be announced that afternoon.

Yummmm..  Nice pic, ☼zlady!

Here's how the RiceSelect giveaway works:

-All submitted recipes must contain rice.  ANY kind of rice.  Brown, jasmati, Texmati, etc.  Bring it on.  Recipes can be simple or complex – your choice!

-All recipe submissions must be posted in the comments of this post.

-If you haven't already, please log on to my Facebook page, “like” it , THEN tell your Facebook friends about my Facebook page. (Click HERE for my Facebook page link to include on your page.)

Have fun and good luck!  

Organically yours,

-Minde

RiceSelect Giveaway! Post a recipe for a chance to win!

Got an amazing recipe to share?  Hope so!  RiceSelect would like to send one of my lucky readers a fun goody bag!  It's quick and easy - 1) List your fave rice recipe in the comments of this blog post by this Friday and 2) tell your Facebook friends about my Facebook page.  Do this by Friday at 5 p.m. EST and your name will be entered to win!  The winner will be announced on SATURDAY.

Did you know that RiceSelect^™ was named a national partner of Susan G. Komen for the Cure^® to help in the fight against breast cancer? Cool! During the months of September, October and November 2011, you'll see RiceSelect^™ Texmati^® White rice brightening store shelves with their pink lids and labels. During this three month period RiceSelect^™is committed to donating a minimum of $50,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure^®.

Here's how the RiceSelect giveaway works:

All submitted recipes must contain rice.  ANY kind of rice.  Brown, jasmati, Texmati, etc.  Bring it on.  Recipes can be simple or complex – your choice!

All recipe submissions must be posted in the comments of this post by THIS Friday at 5 p.m. E.S.T.  (All you west coasters will have to get your recipes up by 2 p.m.)

If you haven't already, please log on to my Facebook page, “like” it , THEN tell your Facebook friends about my Facebook page. (Click HERE for my Facebook page link to include on your page.)

Easy, right?  I can’t wait to read your recipes… GO!  Good luck!

This White Rice is Right Nice - RiceSelect Jasmati

Meal planning is a big part of our family eating well and organically on a budget so Wednesday is always Rice and Veggie Night. 

That’s not as boring as it sounds. Really! Take a peek:

Say it with me:  Yummmmmmmmmmmm...

Both rice and veggies are inexpensive, versatile and healthy. We mix it up each week by creating different rice and veggies dishes, depending on our mood and what's in season. Stir-fry combos, steamed or raw seasonal veggies, different kinds of rice and quinoa (I know, NOT a rice but we allow it to sneak into rice and veggie night anyway) and savory spices, plus a protein - like grilled chicken or artisan sausage from our local market - when the budget allows. No rice and veggie meal is ever the same, which is a simple boredom buster when it come to the drudgery of meal planning.

Since we are fans of buying in bulk in order to get the best price, we usually get our rice from Costco since they offer such great deals on organics and healthy stuff we like to eat. Our fave is RiceSelect Organic Texmati Brown. (Yes, this was our first choice for rice even before I started doing food reviews for Mambo Sprouts and RiceSelect.) Truth be told, I haven’t had white rice in years; I prefer the brown kind for a wide variety of reasons. My past experience with white rice is that it’s sticky, tasteless and gloppy and feels like I just ate glue. I usually stay away from the stuff.

So, when RiceSelect sent me their Jasmati (long grain American jasmine) WHITE rice to review my heart sank. But here I was with a new product to try so I bit the (white) bullet and gave it a go. Although RiceSelect thoughtfully included some lovely recipes, we decided to go the purist route so we could really taste the rice. I cooked it simply and paired with some steamed seasonal veggies:  

I’m pleased to report that my family’s opinion is that RiceSelect is fluffy, flavorful and, according to my 5-year daughter, YUMMY.  A pleasant surprise...  Also, it was so darned EASY to cook.  2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice, let boil, turn down to simmer, done in 20 minutes. Nice! (Simple truth: Easy, uncomplicated cooking makes for a happy mama.)

My trick to add flavor to any rice or quinoa dish is to add a bit of homemade chicken or veggie stock (or low-sodium, canned broth or stock) to kick up the flavors a notch. Add to suit your taste but we’ve been known to cook entire batches with stock or liquid instead of water. This adds an extra layer of deliciousness to an already flavorful grain.


Here's another thing about RiceSelect: It not only makes your tummy feel good but chances are your spirit too. From September to November the Texmati rice jars will sport pink lids and labels to help support the Susan G. Komen For the Cure foundation. During this time, RiceSelect will donate $50,000 to support the foundation’s work to cure breast cancer. Nice, right?


And, I LOVE this, RiceSelect supports sustainable agriculture by developing high yielding rice varieties that require less pesticides, fungicides and water resources.  Plus, RiceSelect’s production facilities operate pollution free and use only minimal processes to mill and package their goods. And finally, all of RiceSelect's  PET jars are re-usable and recyclable and BPA free. BPA FREE! Why can't more food companies get on this bandwagon?

The net/net is that I may start eating white rice again. We were pleasantly surprised and will consider buying RiceSelect’s Jasmati Rice in the future. 

Organically yours,

Minde

Taking a Break with Equal Exchange Coffee

    (thanks for the photo OiMax)

It’s widely known that I’m an addict.  

A COFFEE addict.  

I often pack a coffee maker when we go on trips, go many miles out of the way to go to a cherished coffee purveyor, and ship beans across the country all in an effort to obtain a perfect cup of  java.  I’m serious about the stuff.  So when Mambo Sprouts asked me to review organic Equal Exchange coffee I was definitely up for the task.  I already knew that Equal Exchange works with small farmers and co-ops, which really appeals to my Mama Earth side (let’s keep those small farms in business, folks), and that it’s beans are 100% organic.  (Rubber-stamped by the USDA.) I was eager to see if it tasted as good as it made me feel to know that I was drinking coffee made from responsibly grown beans grown on small farms.

I tested two roasts: French Roast (dark roast) and the fabulously named Love Buzz (medium dark roast), which is a blend of Equal Exchange’s Full City and French Roast.

The French Roast was wonderful.  There’s no false advertising on the label, which says “intensely dark and full bodied.”  While it was steeping (we use a French press) my husband noted that the aroma reminded him of a French Quarter coffee roaster that he frequented a while back.  Indeed, a hearty, roasty, somewhat smoky loveliness filled the kitchen and we could barely wait before tucking in to a steaming cup of it.  It was very smooth with a very slight almost-chocolately aftertaste – yummy all-around.  I added a blip of whole milk, which took a bit of the edge off but the flavor still came through.

Love Buzz was a slightly lighter roast and also very good.  It calls itself “dark and velvety smooth” but I found the French Roast to be a tad smoother and all together a little more satisfying.  (Full disclaimer:  I’m a dark coffee gal, often amping up the coffee:water ratio to get a darker cup. ) I really enjoyed the Love Buzz, it was a good afternoon treat when I wasn’t looking for a super intense cup of coffee.

So, would I buy it?  Yes.  At a little under $10. for a 12 oz. bag it’s not cheap but definitely not on the expensive side, especially for a fairly traded, organic product.  I’ve paid more for good, palate-pleasing coffee (a necessity in my house, for sure) and think this coffee ranks pretty high on the flavor scale. 

Week 6: Consider Store-Brand Organics - 10 Easy Ways to Living Affordably Organic

Consider Store-Brands when Buying Organic

Most chain grocery stores, even your local mega mart and warehouse stores, are finally getting with the organic program and creating private label organic products. This is great news for your wallet. Here’s a run-down:

Stores that offer their own brand of organic foods

Kroger

Publix

Whole Foods

Trader Joe’s

Safeway

Albertsons

Costco

(and many more regional stores are getting into the act too...)

More reasons to consider store-brand organics:

Small ingredient list

Most store-brand organics generally have small ingredient lists. Case in point: Publix salsa has five ingredients.(And no additives that are unpronounceable! Yay!) Their ketchup has only 6 ingredients. (And no high-fructose corn syrup, which is added to just about everything these days.) Trader Joe's organic non-sweetened apple sauce has ONE ingredient. (Apples! Surprise!)

Large variety of products

Check out the bread section of your local mart and chances are good that they have store-brand organic bread available. (Kroger has a yummy organic flax seed organic bread.) Cruise the canned food section and find organic black beans, garbanzo beans, corn and more. Also look for pasta sauces, condiments and spreads. (Organic store-brand pastas are available too but I haven't found any that are wheat or whole grain.) Costco has a really nice organic brown rice that's inexpensive and tasty. Store-brand organic dairy is in abundance too, as well as eggs, butter and sometimes cheese. Even the baking aisle has some organic private label surprises like spices, oils, flours and sweeteners.

More value for your dollar

Most store-brand items are much less expensive than brand-name items. Choose a store-brand over a name-brand and 9 times out of 10 you’ll pay less.  Eggs?  Only $4./dozen for store-brand but pay nearly $7./dozen for name-brand.  How about milk?  Pay $6.50/gallon for name-brand and only $4.99/store-brand. The savings really add up. Of course, it’s tough to find coupons for store-brands while name-brand coupons are readily available in your Sunday paper but in the long run buying store-brands will save you big bucks.

Next up: My fave store-brand items, including recipes.

Organically yours,

Minde

What are YOUR favorite store-brand organics?

Week 5: Preserving your Food - 10 Easy Ways to Living Affordably Organic

Preserving your Food - Buy and Cook in Bulk

So, now that you've bought or cooked all that food in bulk how do you preserve it?  I’ve found that a few tools are essential to success when keeping goodies fresh for future use. Here’s a quick overview of what works for me:

Tools of the Bulk Trade

Vacuum seal – My FoodSaver is one of the most valuable tools in my preservation arsenal but I must come clean and tell you that I have a love/hate relationship with it.  I LOVE that it allows me to vacuum seal just about anything, enabling me to freeze foods for months and months at a time.  I vacuum seal meats, cheese and all our sauces (like tomato), spreads (like hummus and pesto), condiments (salsa) and broths. After sealing I lay flat and stack, like a bunch of books. However, the FoodSaver takes some practice and I’m the kind of gal that doesn’t have much patience for stuff that has to be aligned “just right” in order to work.   All in all, it's a great tool and Foodsaver seems to be improving it all the time.  (Please note that my Foodsaver is nearly 10 years old.  Also, I'm not necessarily endorsing the FoodSaver brand, I'm sure there are many other sealing systems available...)

Freeze – About 6 years ago (just about the time I found out I was pregnant with twins) we found an inexpensive freezer at a “scratch and dent” sale.  Since then it has saved us thousands of dollars because I can buy in bulk and freeze, freeze, freeze.  I freeze just about everything, especially stuff I find on sale like milk, cheese and butter.

Can – Canning is easy, fun and a very effective way of keeping your food preserved.  (Eating garden fresh tomatoes in the middle of December is such a treat.  Homemade jam rocks the house.) It seems a lot of folks think that they need to have all sorts of equipment to can properly but all you really need is with a large pot. (You can pick one up for cheap at your local thrift store.) There are many great canning resources on the web and a huge variety of classes available. Check your local community garden or recreation center for more details. 

Pickle – I am new to this and excited to pickle an enormous load of cucumbers this year.   Seriously.  I went a little nutso with the planting this year so I suspect will be SWIMMING in cucumbers around August... I’d better get this pickling stuff down right quick.

Ferment – I am inspired by my neighbor to ferment my veggies this year.   Preservation by fermentation has been going on for eons and is a nutritious way to preserve veggies and more. Some say that fermentation actually improves the nutrition of foods.  I can eager to try this soon. 

Next up:  Week 6 - Store-brand organics...  A good, inexpensive option to brand-name items.

Organically yours, 

Minde

Who has great resources on fermentation?  Would love to hear about it...

Cook in Bulk - Week 5 of 10 Easy Ways to Living Affordably Organic

Cooking in bulk helps us save money AND is a tremendous time saver.  Most folks might assume the opposite but we’ve found that if we set aside a little time each week to cook in bulk (about 2-3 hours at the most) then we save a lot of time in the long run.  Plus, when I'm pressed for time (which is a standard mode of me) it’s a major de-stresser to simply pull a fave dish out of the freezer (thaw and heat!) or to have ready-to-go food to nosh on all week without "making to order."  Cooking in bulk also aids my meal planning.  Often I can determine my budget for the week based on what I may already have in the ready to go from the freezer. As you can imagine, I find myself cooking in bulk more often when I have a surplus of food (see my "buy in bulk" post) and and less in leaner times.  It all balances out.

Here's a shot of my freezer from last October:

PESTO!!  I typically make at least a quart at a time and freeze for future use...

Here’s how cooking in bulk works for us:

Designate a “bulk” cooking time

For us, this usually happens Sunday afternoon. The labor varies: One week my husband (affectionately called “Danger Dad”) might start prepping and chopping veggies and I’ll assemble the dish.  Or maybe I’ll start the process and he’ll be in charge of making sure it gets cooked, like pasta sauce.  We usually choose about 2 recipes; typically those include a side dish, a sauce and/or a main dish.

Create versatile dishes for the week

Our bulk cooking includes creating something that can be eaten all week long, in a wide variety of ways.  Good examples include:

-Beans – Excellent in scrambles, tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, with rice or as a side dish

-Quinoa – Make a “plain” batch and then reheat and toss with dried fruit or shredded parmesan or sun-dried tomatoes when a meal is needed.

-Macaroni and Cheese – A popular side or main dish at lunch or dinner. Seriously, mac and cheese rocks and my recipe won't make you feel guilty about eating it...

-Meatloaf – A hearty main dish, but also good sliced in sandwiches or crumbled into scrambled with eggs at breakfast.

-Roasted veggies  - We toss with a little olive oil and kosher salt then roast on the grill, using a grill pan…  Great for a side dish, wrapped in tortillas, tossed in pasta, layered in lasagna, scattered over rice and more…

-Chicken – Either baked, roasted or in a crockpot , a chicken is always a fave make-ahead meal since it can be used in about a thousand ways all during the week…  Shred over fresh, organic greens; create a spicy chicken salad with chipotle mayo; tuck into enchiladas and on and on.

Create freezer meals

We love keeping our freezer stocked with meals and side dishes.  Items that freeze beautifully are:

-beans (black, red, you name it...)

-lentils

-hummus

-lasagna

-tomato sauce

-enchiladas

-pesto

-pizza dough

-waffles

-pancakes

-mac and cheese

-banana bread

We’ll make a big batch of any of the above, save some for eating that week, and freeze the rest. 

Next up: The tools of my "bulk" trade...  I'll share my fave products and methods for storing food.

Organically yours,

Minde

What are your fave dishes to COOK in bulk?  Share your recipes here...  :)