spontaneous food review from a non-foodie

[saffronhare]

Today, I'm trying one of the Amy's Bowls -- brown rice with black-eyed peas and veggies -- for lunch. Whole grains and veggies! And none of the preservatives that I might get with a mainstream frozen lunch-type product! WIN, I thought.

Except I don't like it much. Don't get me wrong: It's perfectly decent food, and perhaps even more food than I need to feel full. But WOW. I'm probably putting an unreasonable amount of salt on it...and it's all I can do not to drizzle some beef gravy on it for savory/flavory enhancement. Not that I have beef gravy. But you get the idea.

Counter.Productivity.R.Us.
(sigh)

ETA: Just as a general comment...you guys are awesome. I really appreciate the humor and perspective you're offering -- what an unexpected harvest! Thank you. :)

Comments

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Have you tried cooking brown rice with a cube or two of Maggi Vegetable Bouillon? Double plus good if you use the soak water from some dried shiitake mushrooms, too!

[diermuid.livejournal.com]

+1! Boullion, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts... all sorts of add-ons that add flavor without adding pure sodium. Granted, it makes it a bit less of a take'n nuke... but makes it easier to resist the drive to Carl's Jr. ;-)

A trick from Colorado was to use the water from boiling ribs (for smoking) and use that plus assorted vegetables and ramen (minus the sauce pack) as lunch for the next week. The same thing could be said for shiitake juice.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Yep. And if you take an hour or so on Sunday, you can prep a whole weeks-worth of lunches for taking to the office.

I like the Maggi vegetarian bouillon better than standard stuff, which is mostly sodium. But yeah, nothing beats using animal bones for stock.

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

(sigh) This is the way of the future, I think. I've made good headway over the last year in terms of grocery planning such that I eat from the pantry/fridge/freezer for workday lunches. Next step will be to cook ahead with, you know, ingredients and stuff.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Good luck! It's a commitment, I know. But so worth it. I used to do all my grocery shopping and cooking early on Sunday morning before anyone else was awake. I called it my church time.

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

I made deviled eggs for last night's potluck, so right now home smells like EGGZ.

[zylch.livejournal.com]

I missed deviled eggs?!

::dies::

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

I know. We practically had to gorge ourselves with them so they wouldn't go bad. It was awful.

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

I am very pleased to be mastering this recipe. It's not like deviled eggs are particularly difficult to make, and I'm sure mine are not remarkable, but they're a simple potluck thing to make...usually only requiring ingredients easy to keep on hand, and not taking very long at all.

Later in the evening, diermuid confessed to loving me (at least in part) for my eggs. Hard to turn down a compliment like that, dontcha think?

[zylch.livejournal.com]

I saw that this dedication to the cause did not extend to the shrimp dip, which was still on the table at 9.45 when I got home. Surely the eggs would have lasted as long? ::makes starving puppy dog eyes::

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize it was that important to you. I'll plan to leave extras next time, okay? :)

[archway.livejournal.com]

YES..................

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

Something like that, yeah. When I make rice (in my rice cooker, of all things, because I tend to FAIL at rice), I use half broth and half water for flavor. Turns out yummeh.

Maybe I can make fresh at home the basics that would have gone into this Amy's Bowl, but flavor it up a bit? AMBITIOUS.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Get yourself to Penzey's (in Brookside) and buy something called Mural Of Flavor.

You'll wonder how you ever lived without it. SRSLY. I would not lie to you.

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

Actually, there's a Penzey's store just a few doors down from where I'll be doing yoga after work. SCORE.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Bonus for you!!! I didn't realize there was more than one in KC. I love me those stores.

[fairgoldberry.livejournal.com]

Even with various types of bouillon, there's still a significant flavor emptiness there. I've used mushroom soak water (not shiitake, though), various kinds of broth and bouillon, all manner of herbs and butter and added veggies, and the rice itself still ends up tasting like a flavor place-holder, as if to say, "Here is the space where food would be." It's like a little vacant carbohydrate space accompanied by food-flavor. I eat it because it's nourishing and I don't hate it, but when I think, "What will be tasty for dinner tonight?" I almost never think, "Mmmmm, boy, RICE!"

Y'know?

Much love,
Rowan

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

HA! I like the taste and texture of rice, so we differ there.

If I don't like a food, I don't eat it. Ever. No point in forcing down calories I hate. Luckily, I enjoy eating several types of vegetables and other nutritious things. I'd be hurtin' if all I liked to eat were pastries and hamburgers.

[fairgoldberry.livejournal.com]

I don't eat food I hate, either. But I don't *hate* rice, I'm just supremely apathetic about it.

On forcing down calories, sometimes I have to. I go through depressive phases where I get to midnight and think, "Oh, drat, I forgot to eat again today," and I need something I can cook relatively quickly to get at least a few hundred calories in me. A piece of fruit, a handful of cheese slices, and a bowl of rice are quick, require no defrosting and no attention, and get me a few hundred calories in without actual effort. And unlike potatoes, rice can live for a couple-six months in the pantry waiting for me to have an emergency.

Much love,
Rowan

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

I hear you both. I've come to appreciate brown rice as a building material for a "complete meal." It holds its own pretty well with some kind of lean meat, sops up sauces very well, and gets me a serving of whole grains. Hardly ever bother with white rice anymore, really.