Dinner

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

I haven't been taking pictures of what I'm cooking in a long while because most of my cooking seems to take place after sunset. And so my pictures come out looking a little crappy, since I have a little point and shoot and photos look terrible when taken in unnatural lighting. I like to see the texture and the food come to life on screen. While I never reached the goal I had set for myself (silently), I was never as displeased with my photo taking skills as I have been lately.

Nevertheless, I felt that I had to document my endeavors tonight because of the very special gift I received recently. Mr. and Mrs. Yam who live all the way out in Minneapolis, MN sent me and Mr. Beany a little present in the mail. I generally hate all presents unless they're edible, and this present was most certainly edible. It was:

Genuine Minnesota Wild Rice!

Mr. Yam wanted to know what I'd do with it. And for the longest time I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with it. This present was so special, I didn't want to ruin it by...say...cooking it!

But I did. Tonight. I was feeling very Mexican-y. So, first we needed some starter courses. I made tacos. With corn tortillas (store bought) filled with crimson clover sprouts, cooked black beans (seasoned with TVP and "chicken" broth), home made salsa (made with heirloom tomatoes, cilantro, onions, salt), and a mixture of shredded hard goat cheese + blue cheese. Divine, is the only way I can describe the taco.

A very crowded taco.

Then I spent about an hour looking up wild rice recipes...and nothing really appealed to me. So I decided to make up a stir fry dish.

First I cooked the wild rice.

Cooked Minnesota Wild Rice

Then I made the stir fry: onions, lotso garlic, vegan chorizo (from a local latino grocery store), two red Antohi peppers, half a head of purple cabbage all stirred around in some olive oil. Toward the end, I added fresh lemon juice and a palm full of cilantro.

The picture doesn't look like much, but the veggies on top of the wild rice was absolutely delectable.

All veggies are from my Suzie's Farm CSA share: the best CSA in the universe.

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Yam for such a wonderful present. I will have a California surprise for you soon.

reposted to The Middle Way.