By Stephanie Wade, Assistant Kitchen Manager, from the November 2003 Newsletter
Do you feel anxious when boiling water? Do you panic at the thought of entering a kitchen? Does your daily diet consist of boxed food or microwave items? If so, we can help. The staff of the Co-op Deli is joining forces to solve your kitchen woes with quick-fix ideas, recipes, and basic food support for the uninformed chef. Please feel free to e-mail us with questions and food-related dilemmas, and our team of experts will come up with solutions that will get your taste buds moving. Here are a few common questions and their answers to get us started.
Every time I try to cook rice I either burn it or it comes out extremely
sticky. Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening?
Although rice seems simple enough to prepare it does require specific conditions
for yielding proper results. The general ratio of rice to water is 1 to 2.
That is, one cup rice to two cups water. Put the rice and water in a saucepan
over high heat and bring to a boil for five minutes; cover the rice and reduce
heat to low. After this, leave the rice alone for twenty minutes—do not
lift the lid and, especially, do not stir for that is what causes sticky rice.
(Although if you’re making sushi, sticky rice is desirable so stir away.)
After the rice has simmered for twenty minutes, remove the lid and note the
tiny holes that cover the surface of the rice—if all the water has evaporated
from these pockets the rice is done. What if you get distracted and the rice
burns? Don’t throw it away. Simply place a piece of bread in the rice
pan, cover and let sit another ten minutes and this should absorb most of the
burnt taste.
I’m having a guest over for dinner that I sort of have a crush on and
I don’t want the menu to be too suggestive. What should I make?
Keep it casual and make something that doesn’t appear to take much effort,
such as a nice stir-fry. I would suggest a Masaman Curry Stir Fry with roasted
vegetables over brown rice. Use one to two of each of the following: red potatoes,
carrots, red and yellow bell peppers, and garlic. Chop veggies fairly large;
mince garlic, place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Place in
the oven at 350 and roast until veggies are tender (about a half an hour).
In the meantime, pour one can of coconut milk into a large, deep skillet and
heat on low. Stir in two to three tablespoons of red curry paste (or more depending
on taste). Curry is very hot so add a bit at a time and taste before adding
more. I like using “Thai Kitchen” red curry paste for this. After
veggies are done, add them to curry sauce and let simmer on low. Begin cooking
rice about a half an hour before your guest arrives. Serve curry over rice
and eat with chopsticks for fun. For variation you can add grilled tofu or
chicken with the veggies. Top this off with a nice mango sorbet for dessert
and you’ve got a date!
Why does my bread from the bakery sometimes have a hole down the middle of
it?
There are several reasons for these holes in your loaf and they can occur at
several stages in the bread-making process. When the bread is punched down,
carbon dioxide can become trapped in the dough, which causes gas bubbles to
form. Also these bubbles can form during kneading and shaping of the loaf and
the baker may not realize there is a hole in the bread until it is cut. If
you should get a loaf like this at the Co-op simply return it for another loaf,
as we have a 100 % customer satisfaction policy.
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