Spiced Red Cabbage, Low Fat Version

Mmmm I love the smell of spices & my favourite spices are ginger, cinnamon & allspice so this is almost a perfect vegetable dish for me. Problem is the onion but I am gradually adding a little into my diet & taking tablets so I can enjoy the occasional treat such as this!
A warming side dish you can add to your table & let people dig in & be surprised.
This dish takes a lot of cooking time but can be reheated so cook ahead of time.
Especially enjoy this durig the winter months but actually any time of year. Serve cold at summer garden parties.

1 Head Red cabbage, sliced
2-4 Red onions, sliced
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tbsp Ginger
1 tsp Allspice
1/2 tsp liquid sweetener
6 tbsp Red wine vinegar
spray cooking oil, frylight or other

In an oven proof casserole dish, layer the shredded cabbage with the onion, ending with a layer of cabbage. In a jug mix the spices with the liquids & pour over the cabbage. Spray the cabbage with the cooking spray & place the lid on. Cook in the middle of a preheated oven 150c for 3 hours (told you it was a lot of cooking!). Stir the mix occasionally
Enjoy

Zingy Beef Pot Roast, (Low fat) & Not A Tomato In Sight!

I love, love, love a good pot roast & have cooked beef, pork & goat (in Bulgaria) in this way for years, but it usually involves lots of red wine & rakia or brandy!
Now I am on a diet & I want to lose a lot of weight, without compromising delicious food or taste.
We don't need to eat boring foder, or have bland tasteless meals, just because we want to shift the pounds. We just need to watch how we cook, what we cook & what we add to our cooking.
There are lots of compromises out there & the biggest change, for loss of calories in food, comes from cutting off all visible fat & draining off all fat from mince, & not adding fat when cooking. It's the FAT!!!
Add taste with herbs, spices & fat free sauces like soy sauce etc.
This recipe is full of aroma & flavour. A very tasty pot roast, very easy &  very adaptable.
Serve with potato, either boiled with skin, dry roasted or mashed with no milk or fat, mash it with an egg & load up with lots of vegetables.

Beef, all visible fat removed
1 pint of beef stock, made with 2 stock cubes
4 Garlic cloves, crushed You can also add onions if you wish cut in half
Marrow, chopped in cubes. or any other root vegetable of your choice
3 Carrots, julienne style
Roasted green & red Peppers, chopped (you can use non roasted)
1 tsp Paprika
1 tbsp Worcester sauce
1tbsp Soy sauce
2 sml Bay leaves
Fresh ground Salt & blk pepper
Chili flakes to your taste
1 tsp Mixed herbs

First trim off all visible fat, if this means you end up with more than one lump so be it.
In a casserole pot add the beef, crushed garlic & sprinkle over the paprika.  Poke the  marrow, around the side of the pork & add salt, pepper, chopped roasted peppers, chili flakes, stock with Worcester &soy sauce's, bay leaves, carrots & mixed herbs.
Place in the centre of a hot oven 220c for 15mins then turn oven down to 150c & slow cook for 4 - 6 hours untill  the meat is so tender it melts. Keep an eye on the fluid level, don't let it get too low.
See, east peasy ;-D

Sad Thai Noodle Dish

Hopes were dashed, sadly, as I bit into this promising-looking Thai Peanut Noodle dish with sugar snap peas and shrimp. 
Turns out the noodles were dry, dry, dry as there was no peanut sauce in this recipe, only peanutty, soy sauce-y water that you cooked the noodles in.
Sigh.  I have to give this one a fail.
Anyone have a good peanut sauce recipe to share?

Slimming Pork Goulash

Pork in Bulgaria is probably the main meat we eat. Its cheap & very, very tasty. Pork is reared by many people in the villages. I would love to raise Pigs for food but I am unable to kill & eat something I have cared for, wimp I know!
People think if you are on a diet you can't eat pork & other meats that it has to be poultry. This is rubbish, a complete fallacy. The only thing you have to do is cut off all visible fat, as you have to remove the skin from poultry. Why would you want to make your life miserable by denying yourself good food??????
So here is a very tasty dish & you can dish this up to everyone its that good!
I have adapted this from a Slimming World recipe. 
Enjoy with rice or mashed potato & green beans. Do not add milk & fat to the potato but fork it, to break the potato, crack in an egg  & mash it well.

2 Leeks, trimmed & outer layer removed
4 Cloves of garlic, crushed
2 Cloves of garlic chopped
1 - 2 lb Pork (2lb will make enough for friends or to freeze)
2 Red peppers, chopped
Fry light (if you cannot get this, wipe a small amount of oil over a non stick frypan) If you are in Bulgaria get family to send it over it will be a massive help.
2 bay leaves
2 tsp Paprika
1/2 pint of beef stock
Jar/tin Tomatoes in sauce
Seasoning
Chop the pork into bite size pieces, remove all visible fat.
In a pan, lightly brown to seal the pork, add leeks & stirring occasionally cook for 3 mins. Add bay & garlic & cook a couple of mins. Add the peppers & sprinkle over the paprika stirin & cook for 5- 7 mins.
Pour in tomatoes & the beef stock combine, grind in black pepper & sea or rock salt.
Bring to the boil, cover pan & cook for 60 - 90 mins or till pork is nice & tender.
Enjoy, gorgeous & filling

Five-Minute Orange Marmalade

Oh how I heart five-minute recipes.
Even if they actually take ten.
Close enough, in my book.

This orange marmalade recipe, made in minutes in the microwave with just one orange and some sugar, is about as simple as they come.  And we can just keep that our little secret, 'kay?

MICROWAVE ORANGE MARMALADE
Cut one orange into segments, peel and all.  Place segments in food processor and whirl away until peel is nice and chopped up.  If any peel escapes the blades' notice, you can fish it out with a spoon and dice it up on the cutting board.

Measure orange pulp/peel.  Pour it into a medium-size glass bowl; add the same amount of sugar as pulp mixture and stir.  Cover with glass top or paper towel.  Microwave at 50 percent power for 6 or 7 minutes, stopping every minute or two to stir.  You should notice mixture gradually thickening up a bit.  (It will never be completely thick until you refrigerate it, so don't keep microwaving past 7 minutes.)  Pour into jar, cool, then refrigerate until ready to use.

If you happen to have any of this around

slather on liberally.

Makes one small jar.

Big Beefy Burgers

Mmmmmm I love juicy fat, full of meat burgers. We don't just have to have them as a treat though.
Here in Bulgaria its not like shopping in the UK, we can't buy extra lean mince beef, but what we can do is mince our own. Back to basics here in lots of things, well it keeps us busy ;-)
I enjoy making these burgers, they are so easy & I look forward to them all day when they are on the menu.
I can even have these on my diet with egg & bacon in a bun or with pasta n sauce, potato etc, which is always good!

1 red onion, chopped small (can use white)
4 or more cloves of Garlic, crushed & chopped small.
250g Minced beef (lean or very lean for a healthier burger)
2 tsp Worcester or Soy sauce
1 tsp Parsley
Salt & pepper
Oil or Fry Light (for frying)
Add onion & garlic to the mince meat & mix in. Add parsley, Worcester sauce & season, mix it all together.
Divide into 4 portions, shape into balls & then flatten into burger patties.

Cook gently in a fry pan for 10 - 15 mins depending on your taste & thickness of burgers.
Enjoy.......

Bulgarian Keftedes or Kufteh (Bulgarian Burgers)

These will be on every Bulgarian village table & in every Bulgarian restaurant these will be on the menu. Most will have Cumin added but for me I prefer them without.
So, its a battle between Burgers & Keftedes. I prefer Burgers but love to be able to cook the Bulgarian version for my friends, they appreciate the effort I go to, to learn traditional village cooking. I do really like the moistness of these too. These are good Keftedes,  pleasing both us & our Bulgarian family.
I have made large keftedes in this photo but they can be halved or even halved again. So 1 Keftede can actually make 2 -4 depending on your appetite & taste.
Keftedes are found in many countries, here is my recipe.......

500g Minced Mutton

1 Slice of Bread

1 Egg

1 Onion, chopped sml

Milk

1 Clove of Garlic, crushed & chopped

1/2 tsp paprika

Salt & Pepper

Fry light  or Vegetable oil

Soften the bread in some milk, then squeeze it out.

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, use your hands. Form into balls then flatten.

Spray with fry light or brush with oil & on a very hot griddle cook for 5 mins or so on each side

The Bulgarians serve these with baked rice, but I serve them with Pasta with a tomato, basil & chilli sauce.

Enjoy........ 

Yorky Pud's

These were baked in a muffin tin, came out huge

Who doesn't love a Yorkshire pud? But yet again this easy roast dinner accompaniment has been taken over by the frozen food section in the local supermarket. Easy to open a packet & shove them in the oven for a dinky pud to add to your plate. Very convenient, yes but as good as homemade, no way!
So here we are in Bulgaria with no convenient frozen packs & thank God for that :-)
I can't help but love these little puddings, with roast dinners, I also serve them up with sausages, pork chops, pot roast & filled with mince. Just on their own with gravy is lovely too, in fact anything you serve with veg & gravy :-D
I used to make them years ago then running my own business not getting home till 7.30pm 6 days a week I turned to convenient foods. Its easy to get used to second best when you are busy.
Being in Bulgaria living a country lifestyle means more time & enjoyment in the kitchen. Now this recipe is not for all you wonderful cooks out there its for us normals who need reminding of real food that doesn't come ready made from the freezer :-)

3 Eggs, whisked.
115g Plain flour.
Couple of grinds of, sea or rock Salt.
285g Milk, semi skimmed.
Oil for each mould (1 tbsp each)
Pinch Mustard powder
Whisk everything together & stand for 30 mins.
Pre heat the oven to 220c. Heat the oil in the tins for 5 mins till very hot & spitting.
Spoon the mixture very quickly into the oil, as you want the oil to be really very hot for all of them. Place quickly in the oven & cook for 15 mins.
I use a processor to mix mine now as my hands are not good enough & I can't get a big enough rise, but you can use a balloon whisk by hand or if you have good wrists a fork ;-D If you do mix by hand...... Mix the eggs into the flour then add the milk, salt & mustard & beat until smooth with no lumps.
Enjoy

 

Pickled Eggs Various

Am I being typically English or just preserving something else? I hope this is still being typically Bulgarian, even though it's not something they do. I have given Bulgarian friends a jar & they were bemused but enjoyed them nonetheless. I think the reason Bulgarians don't pickle eggs is that they don't need to preserve them, whereas we like the taste!
Yes I love pickled eggs & they are a great food when I'm watching my weight but it never occurred to me, befor now, to pickle them.
I had a eureka moment when I was pickling cabbage & onions, as we have lots of eggs & we are given some beauties by friends who keep chickens. So along with the normal pickles & preserves I am adding eggs.
Here are a few recipes & I have to say one I am not keen on but each to their own taste!

Good old plain.........

Measure how many eggs per jar before cooking. I always measure half a jar of vinegar, this should be enough.

Per Jar

Hard boiled eggs, peeled.

Vinegar

6 Peppercorns

1 tsp Sugar

1 tsp Salt 

Chilli flakes (optional)

1 Onion sliced

Bring vinegar, peppercorns, sugar, salt & chilli to boil. Slice the onions into large thin slices, layer with eggs in the jar. Strain vinegar mix & pour over the eggs.

Seal in a sterilised jar & store in a cold place or fridge. Once opened store in the fridge

. 

My favourite Egg is pickled in beetroot juice! After eating the beetroots don't throw away the juice. Literally all you do is put the eggs in the juice & store in the fridge. See my pickled beetroot recipe, after 2 weeks they are ready to munch.

These are my least favourite, too vinagery for my liking, but they are interesting & if you like the stronger pickle taste then these will be your kind of egg......

Eggs, hard boiled & peeled.

2 pints Vinegar

10 blk peppercorns

1 Chilli pepper chopped ot dried chilli flakes

2 tsp Allspice

10 Cloves

3 Cinnamon sticks

Place eggs in sterilised jars

Heat vinegar & spices until liquid begins to boil, then turn down & simmer for 10mins or so. Remove from heat & cool liquid, strain &. pour over the eggs making sure they are covered completely.

Seal the jar & store in a cool dry place. Leave for 2 weeks, minimum.

Marrow, Plum & Apple Chutney (no onion)

If you are a regular to this blog you know I am intolerant to onions & have to improvise without losing flavour. Chutney is a favourite preserve, I love making it out of all sorts of mixtures & this is one of my preferred recipes.
This chutney lasts forever & is fabulous in sandwiches, with salad, burgers you name it ;-)
2 Heads of garlic, crushed & chopped
1 lg Marrow, peeled & chopped (scoop out seeds, wash, dry & store for planting)
500g-1kg Plums
2lb Apples, peeled cored & chopped
1lt  Vinegar
1tbsp Ginger
2tsp Cinnamon
2tsp Allspice
1tsp Nutmeg
1kg Sugar
2tsp Salt
Put the plums in a large pan with a little water & heat till the plums soften. Turn of the heat & skim out the stones.
Add all the ingredients, except the sugar, stirring after each add.
Bring to the boil, then simmer till all is soft. Keep an eye on it & stir frequently.
Add the sugar & stir till it is dissolved. Cook till it is thickened, the apple has cooked down & you can run a spoon through leaving a channel behind.
Spoon into sterilised jars, wipe rim & seal the lid & leave to cool down.

You should hear the lids popping. When the chutney is cold check the jars are sealed properly by pressing the centre of the lid, it should NOT move.
Store for 3 months before eating, for all the flavours to develop.

Pickled Red Cabbage

Mmm Pickled cabbage, it sounds nice to me but I have only ever had sauerkraut,so when my friend said he liked pickled Red I thought I would make some.
At the moment I am a pickling addict, so I have looked at lots of recipes on the internet & made up my own. Try using your imagination too don't cheat & buy ready mixed pickling spices, its easy to experiment & you can make one jar at a time using different combinations, just remember to write them on a label, so you know what works & what doesn't!
Pickling in Bulgaria is a little different as the vinegar (otset) here is not as strong. Basically its salad vinegar (cheap) or wine vinegar (more expensive). It can still be done & is just as good but it will have a slightly different taste.
Don't listen to anyone who says you don't need to let it mature a week or two, you do or the vinegar will be over powering & the flavour will not be steeped enough.

1 Head of Red Cabbage shredded. remove hard core (outer layers removed)
Salt
Layer the cabbage in a bowl, layer cabbage then salt till finishing with a layer of salt. Cover with a plate. After 24 hours wash off salt & drain well.
Pack into sterilised jars, push down well.


Meanwhile.....

Spiced vinegar
Small muslin square & string
1 pint Red wine vinegar
1 Cinnamon stick
2oz Sugar
4 Cloves
1/4 tsp Allspice
6 Black pepper corns
Med piece root Ginger, peeled & chopped
Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar. In the muslin place all the spices, ginger & break the cinnamon stick adding to the spices, tie the muslin into a bag.

Add the bag to the vinegar, bring to the boil then simmer for 15 mins.
Remove from heat. Pour over cabbage while hot & seal, or you can wait till it is cold. Try both & see which you prefer.
Wait at least a week before eating to allow flavours to develop.
Great for the up coming BBQ & garden party season.

This cabbage needs to be in the jar for a week minimum,  two will be better.

No Onion Chicken Chasseur

A very warming meal in winter, a meal light enough for summer & a great help yourself  pot for a garden party.
Chicken Chasseur is another easily prepared meal, it's not high on my special dinner party list but its very tasty & can be a great alternative sauce for pasta

Chicken, skinned, boned & cut into bite size pieces

Mushrooms sliced

1/2 pint chicken stock

Head of garlic crushed & chopped

Jar of Tomatoes

4 floz White wine

Olive oil or fry light

Salt & fresh ground blk pepper

2 tsp Tarragon

Cook the chicken in oil or fry light, turning & browning on both sides. Remove from pan.

Add to pan wine, stock, garlic, mushrooms & tomatoes. Stir together then add chicken  back to pan & bring to simmer. Cover pan & cook for 1hour.

Serve with pasta rice or mashed potatoes

Japanese Chicken Teriyaki

I love the taste of this dish. I used to have this on my numerous trips to Bali. It was what I would have after a hard days bargaining for stock. It has its own taste & goes just as well with pork. I serve this with noodles but it goes nicely with rice too.
I love the fact it is easy to make, tastes great & is quick to cook. Most ingredients are in our cupboards, so give it a go.
Oh & to make it a good meal when watching your weight, use liquid sweetener but if your not watching your weight use sugar.

Chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips
1 Red pepper cut into thin strips
2 cloves of garlic crushed & a few spring onions chopped. OR  A head of garlic crushed & chopped, but no onion.
2 floz Soy sauce
2 floz Worcester sauce
2 tbsp Red wine vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar or 1 tsp liquid sweetener
A little olive or sunflower oil for frying or use Fry light
Fry the strips of chicken in the oil or fry light, till meat is cooked through. Remove from pan & keep warm.
In the pan heat together soy, Worcester sauce, vinegar & sugar or sweetener. Add garlic & cook a couple of mins. Stir chicken back in with pepper & onion, if using. Cook for around 5 mins, stir frying till the sauce has thickened to your liking.
You can have the sauce thick & sticky or a little runny, your preference

Serve on a bed of noodles & enjoy!!!!!

Low Fat Chicken Jalfrezi (adapted from SW)

Living in Bulgaria means no lovely Indian take-away's I had never cooked a curry in my life till moving here as I still maintain you can't beat a really good curry house, unless you are Indian by birthright.
Also I have a dilemma sometimes , as being on a diet does not go well with eating Curry, so this is a low fat Jalfrezi, addapted from a Slimming world recipe.
If you follow slimming world then it is free on original. Count the rice as healthy extras. If your not watching your weight it is a very healthy alternative.
This is very tasty, & extremely easy to make, serve with boiled rice & make sure you remove all visible, fat & skin.
1 Onion chopped
1 Red Pepper Sliced
1 inch Fresh root Ginger peeled & grated
1 Clove Garlic crushed & chopped
Chicken, skin & fat removed Chopped in bite size pieces
Fry light
3 tbsp med Curry powder
4 Tomatoes core removed & chopped into 8's
1 jar or carton Passander or sml can tomato purée
1 tsp Paprika
Fresh ground Rock or Sea Salt & Pepper
1 tsp Coriander
1 tsp Mint
3 floz water

Spray a large fry pan with frylight. If you don't have this then dry fry in a good non stick pan, or use a little water to stop it sticking. fat really is not necessary. Add onion, pepper, garlic & ginger & stir fryfor5 mins.
Add the chicken & curry powder, stir well to coat everything, & cook a further 4 mins.
Add tomatoes, passander or purée & water. Bring to the boil & simmer for 20 mins. Season & stir in herbs. Serve with boiled rice. 

Glazed Lemon Cookies

There have been fewer home-baked cookies here at the castle lately. 
Sadly, the waistband of my jeans has been complaining.  I believe it was saying --  weakly and a bit melodramatically, if you ask me -- "More spandex, please."  But I am listening to the waistband of my favorite jeans, with the result of fewer treats around here lately.
But these?  These lovely little lemon gems?  I could not pass these up.
And they're small.
So small.
They hardly even count, unless you nibble your way through six or eight of them.
You hear that, jeans waistband?  THEY HARDLY COUNT.
There.  I do feel better.

Glazed lemon cookies, recipe from a back issue of Real Simple magazine.  I made them exactly as instructed; next time I will bake them just a tad less (rather than the 16 - 20 minutes recommended, I will try about 14 minutes).  Delicious.
And small.  Did I mention small?

The Cutest Cup in the World

This is the cutest idea I've come across in ages.

Start with your basic orange.  Score the rind around the center -- just the rind, not the fruit.

Drop the orange into a pot of boiling water.  Boil for five minutes, then remove orange from hot water and let cool a minute or two.  The rind should have separated a bit from the fruit.  Once it's cool enough to handle, carefully pull one end of the rind down (to form the bottom of your cup) and the other half up, to make the drinking part of your cup.

See?  How simple is that?  Would this not be darling for a little girl's tea party?  Or for a picnic lunch with your sweetie?  It doesn't get any "greener" than your own fruit providing the drinking vessel.

By the way, in case you're wondering . . .

. . . flaming cognac, even with  a pinch of sugar, a clove, a cinnamon stick, and served in the most darling cup in the world . . .

. . . is disgusting.  Absolutely disgusting.
Ugh.
If you have any cognac, just pour that stuff right down the drain.
My little handy hint for the day.
But the orange cup?  Priceless.  Next time I'm trying it with warm apple cider.

NOTE:  Idea from The Pyromaniac's Cookbook by John J. Poister.  A very fun book, even if I spit out  the cognac.

Homemade Scotch Eggs

Love the scotch egg & to have a recipe for making our own, well I think that's brilliant. I cannot take credit for this recipe its my friend Sue Edwards that has passed it on to us, thanks Sue! I for one cannot wait to make them for summer parties in the garden, I think it will be a show off factor, with full credit going to Sue as being her recipe I just hope I can make them as well as this photo! Have a go & enjoy.
 6 Hard boiled egg
600g sausage meat
1 Egg beaten
Breadcrumbs
Worcester sauce
Black pepper to taste

Shell the 6 hard boiled eggs. Mix together all the sausage meat with the pepper and Worcester sauce.  Take an egg and wrap it in the sausage meat. Dip it in the beaten egg & coat it in breadcrumbs. Deep fry each egg for 5-7 mins drain on kitchen paper.

Scrummy Cheese Scones

Cheese scones have to be one of the great comfort snacks on a wintry day. I baked these when it was snowing & blowing a gale so as you looked out of the window all you could see was a blizzard & inside smelled like heaven.

Eaten warm straight from the oven spread liberally with butter & you can taste the comfort from the melty cheese.  

500ml flour

15ml baking powder
large pinch salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or dry English mustard powder.
250g strong hard cheese
15 ml sunflower oil
150 ml milk you may need to add more
1 egg
Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper or mustard into a bowl. Add the cheese and mix through the flour mixture. Beat egg and milk together in another bowl and add the oil. By using oil you save calories.
Pour the milk,egg & oil mix into the flour mix and using a metal fork, mix the dough until it clumps together, but is not too dry. This is where you may need to use a bit more milk, just add a little at a time.
Press the dough out on a flat clean floured surface until it is about 5mm thick, then fold it over ontop of itself giving the scones the natural break, flatten it again, using your hand.
Cut out your scones out by using a round cutteror a glass. Place them on a baking tray & bake  at 180c (160c fan) for twenty minutes.

Serve, still warm, with butter.

 

Kitchen Wrap-Up

Well it's been a quiet week here in Lake Wobegon, my hometown.
Wait a minute, that's somebody else's opening line.
It's actually been a delightful week here at the castle.
While seeking out homemaking inspiration, I discovered some lovely new blogs , including Jeannine's Grace and Peace, where she writes about her family's Epiphany celebration (a holiday I now have a hankering to celebrate).   She is also a fan of Queen of the Castle, which of course makes her my new best friend. :)
(What?  You haven't read Queen of the Castle?  Click here to see what you're missing.)

With the zeal for decluttering that seems to hit me this time of year, I spent a bit of time cleaning out and organizing one of my kitchen drawers, discovering some napkins, napkin rings, and other assorted treasures I'd completely forgotten about.  I even put down new shelf paper, seeing as the old stuff had been in there since my two manly sons were in diapers . . . Yeah.  That was quite some time ago.

I made some interesting pumpkin-studded bread.
Let's just leave it at "interesting," shall we?

And I discovered this wonderful book, The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn, which I think would make a perfect housewarming gift for young people moving into their first apartments, or newlyweds, or anyone, really, who is even a little bit interested in food and who never got the chance to go to cooking school.  I've been playing in my kitchen for decades now, and I still have soooo much to learn.  In this book, I'm learning about different methods for cooking meat, and different ideas for vegetable cookery. Whether you're a novice or somewhat experienced in the kitchen, there's something in this entertaining book for you.

So I leave you today not with a recipe, but with these inspiring words from author Kathleen Flinn:

"So who says you can't cook?  Not every meal has to be from scratch, nor does everything you consume have to be organic, locally sourced, and pasture raised.  Try to find a comfortable place somewhere between Tuna Helper and Top Chef.  If you burn, scorch, drop, overcook, undercook, underseason, or otherwise put a meal together that's less than a success, in the end it doesn't matter.  It's just one meal.  You'll make another one tomorrow."

So bon appetit.  Enjoy your warm, homey kitchens, wherever they may be. 

Apple Almond Rice Mix

We are only a few days into 2012, and it is shaping up to be a mighty fine food year already.
Mighty fine.

From the authentic Mexican restaurant seafood dish of shrimp and octopus cocktail topped with avocado, an oyster, cilantro, drenched in oyster juice (yum)

to the homemade mocha frappuccino which, turns out, can be blended most adequately at the bathroom sink of your basic Motel 6 room (do I love my happy frappies?  Indeed I do)

to the apple almond rice mix, which can be stirred up ahead of time and bagged for your pantry, ready to be simmered later with water, apple juice, and a touch of butter for a slightly fruity, crunchy, very flavorful side dish.

2012.  Oh yeah.  Bring it on.

NOTE:  I omitted the parsley flakes in this recipe because I didn't have any.  The recipe makes four bags of mix, but you can divide it your first time to see if you like it.  Recipe kindly provided by the USA Rice Federation.