Breakfast Bonanza, day 6. “it started with rice.”

In the back of the fridge—along with the peanut butter, ketchup, and jug of soy—there is usually a big ol’ batch of brown rice.

I consider rice to be one of my favorite “go-to” foods.  I like mixing it with salsa and beans, and calling it lunch.  I like mixing my rice with peas and serving it alongside baked cod for dinner.

And, apparently, I like rice for breakfast too.

I like to follow the habit of using up most leftovers within 3 days, so I decided that brown rice was a good candidate for this morning’s meal.

Layer 1: About 1 c. of brown rice

Layer 2: An apple, diced

Layer 3: 1/2 of a smashed banana (I needed the other half for lunch’s almond butter sandwich!)

Layer 4: 2 T. soymilk + cinnamon and nutmeg + ground flax

Stir, stir, stir.  And into the fridge the batch of sweet rice went. 

With busy, early mornings, the overnight soaking method almost always sounds like a good one.  Besides, rice is not a naturally sweet tasting grain, and I’ve found that it tastes best when allowed to chill out with some of the other flavors. 

The following morning, I pulled out the rice concoction, added some extra soymilk to loosen it all up, and gave it a few minutes in the microwave.  As a side note, this would probably make a great chilled breakfast for the summer too.  But that was not  meant for this morning.  No.  This morning, I kind of liked the thought of enjoying a warm, melty breakfast bowl.  You know, that point where the apples begin to soak up the cinnamon, forming a melty layer of ooey gooey sweetness.

 

And then I topped it all off with walnuts and coconut.  Delicious.

Spiced Apple Breakfast Bowl

Usually I’m a stickler when it comes to cooking brown rice.  Nothing ruins rice like cooking it too slow or too quickly (starchy, starchy, starchy!)  But in this case, the starchier rice actually tastes better!  Think of it as being a little like a risotto.  For breakfast.  And not too fancy, making it perfectly suitable for any old morning.

Tart apples and sweet bananas bring balance to the entire dish.  But have fun and create some of your own new tasty combos! 

• 1 c. cooked brown rice
• 1 apple, diced
• 1/2 banana, mashed
• cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
• 1 T. crushed flax
• 4 T. soymilk, separated
• toppings: walnuts and coconut

1. Mix rice, apple, banana, spices, flax and 2 T. soymilk together.  Place in fridge overnight.
2. Next morning: Add 2-3 T. soymilk  and stir together.  Heat in microwave for 2-3 minutes or until hot.
3. Top with walnuts and coconut.  ENJOY! 😀

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My food service rotation for my dietetic internship has been going really well. 

Today, my preceptor (aka, the school’s food service manager) was holding a beverage sampling for the kids to try. 

And she gave me permission to take whatever I wanted from the kitchen and serve it up to the kids for a taste testing.  I was so excited until I realized that I had about an hour or so to come up with a new recipe that would feed at least 600 kids.

After much searching, I found cans of kidney beans.  Cans of garbanzos.  All natural salsas, fresh bell peppers, peaches, shredded carrots, red onions, corn.  Crushed red pepper.

And lots of garlic to liven things up.

Lo and behold, a spicy bean salsa was born.

I felt a little nerveracked to be feeding the kids something that I made up on a whim, based on what the kitchen had on supply for the moment.  But I made it look as pretty as possible with some catering dishes, served some corn chips on the side for dunking, and called it a day.

The verdict?

The kids loved it.  One girl commented that she hated vegetables but she loved the salsa.  A teacher said the flavors were “lovely and beautiful together.”  One boy made a face that he didn’t like “health food” but went back for seconds after trying it.

Suddenly, I realized how good Jamie Oliver must have felt when people enjoyed his food. 😉  It was such a fun experience, and I found myself sighing with relief by the end.

I have tomorrow off!!  Whatever will I do with myself? 😉  Actually, I have a lot of homework to catch up on, as well as putting together a powerpoint presentation for next week.  AND, I need to find a killer cupcake recipe for my sister’s housewarming party.  Any ideas?

Question: Do you enjoy cooking for other people?  Do you find that friends and family have similair tastes to your own?

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