Recipe and New Vegetable

To finish the month of January strong, I am getting two of my goals partially accomplished.  The first one is to try a new recipe every month.  I saw this on The Barefoot Contessa, went to the Food Network website and brought up the recipe.  It's Brown Rice, Tomato and Basil.  It is actually pretty good.  I did make a few revisions to the recipe.  Instead of champagne vinegar, I used aged white wine vinegar and used 1/2 cup of basil and 1/2 cup of Italian parsley.  The fresh smell of basil reminds me of summertime and goes great with the grassy taste of the parsley!  Yumm!!

Brown Rice, Tomatoes and Basil

2002, Barefoot Contessa Family Style, All Rights Reserved

Ingredients

1 cup Texmati brown rice
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/4 cup Champagne or rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon good olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ripe tomatoes, large-diced
1 cup packed basil leaves (1 large bunch), chopped

Directions

Bring 2 1/4 cups water to a boil and add the
rice and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Return to a boil, cover, and simmer
for 30 to 40 minutes, until the rice is tender and all the water is
absorbed. Transfer the rice to a bowl.

Whisk together the vinegar, sugar, olive oil, remaining teaspoon of
salt, and a pinch of pepper. Pour over the rice. Add the tomatoes and
basil. Mix well and check the seasonings. Serve at room temperature.

© Copyright 2012 Television Food Network G.P., All Rights Reserved

Brown Rice, Tomato and Basil



If you want, sprinkle some RF feta cheese crumbles for an extra point.  It's what I do and I love the zing the feta gives it.  This is a great side dish and is good at room temperature.  I think the longer you let it sit, the better it is.  The flavors all have time to hang out together and get super delicious!

Another goal I wanted to partially accomplish is to try a new vegetable.  I have never tried fennel because of the anise flavor.  Well, I heard that if you roast it with olive oil, salt and pepper, you can't even taste the anise flavor.  I decided to give it a go for tonight's dinner.  I cut off the stalks and cored the bulb.  I cut the bulb up into sections and tossed them with olive oil, garlic salt and pepper.  I roasted it in the oven at 400 degrees for one hour, turning it after 30 minutes.  Once it was roasted, I add some Parmesan cheese.  It turned out okay.  I think it would be much better with other root vegetables, as I could still taste a hint of anise.

Here's what my dinner looked like this evening...

I'm terrible when it comes to taking pictures.  I don't have patience to get the format to be perfect and such.  Oh well, this is what you get!  It's the roasted fennel, brown rice with tomatoes and basil and a baked center cut pork loin chop that has 1 tbsp of bread crumbs and parsley.  Not pictured is the two cups of spinach salad with goat cheese and olive oil dressing.  The meal was good.  The boyfriend didn't even complain.

I also got in a 1.5 mile walk, thanks to Maren.  She is such an inspiration!  BTW - I downloaded Endomondo and it's fantastic!  Super easy and pretty accurate!

So this week will be just as hectic as the last.  Tomorrow - In the office all day, niece's basketball game in the late afternoon, drive 3.5 hours away for a meeting the following day.  Tuesday - Three meetings lasting until 5 pm and a 3.5 hour drive back home.  Wednesday and Thursday - In the office all day as we close the books for our fiscal year-end.  Friday - Back at the office for more work.  I am suppose to be off on Saturday and Sunday.  It's my son's 17th birthday, so we have plans.  The weekend will most likely result in two of his friends staying over, followed by lots of video games and laser tag.

Still no word on my grandmother.  Apparently she has not eaten in three days and is not hooked up to any IVs.  She is still awake, but not coherent.  I am hoping we will not have to do a road trip this weekend, as I do not want to attend a funeral during my son's birthday.  It should be a happy day, not one with tears.

Good night and have a great week everyone!