Friday, October 9, 2009

Friday in the rain...

It's a been a monsoon out there. Easing up for now, but not sure for how long. 48 degrees and rain makes for a messy stay-at-home-in-the-house kind of day. A perfect day for baking bread. And catching up, as my internet connection has been very spotty, at best, for several days.

And so, my house smells like the corner bakery and I am in flannels and sweats and big socks...enjoying the quiet solitude. Thinking how good a nice stew would be for supper, with thick slices of warm buttered bread alongside. I could make a Jamaican pork stew with sweet potatoes and onions and garlic and celery in it. Not too spicy, but certainly with a little jerk seasoning in it. I have some tomatoes and okra too I could throw in there. That sounds like a good idea. I have some packages of boneless pork country ribs in the freezer that would make a nice base, if I cube them and simmer in the electric skillet for a few hours they will be melt-in-your-mouth tender. Are you hungry yet? lol.. I even have some brown rice from the sweet and sour chicken I made a few nights ago when my sister was here. Sometimes I like these stews over rice..makes a nutrious and satisfying meal.

A woman named Rashanna (who I have lost and cannot find again) taught me years ago how to cook brown rice that (when you're poor) is almost a meal in itself. You brown the raw rice in oil with chopped onion and fresh garlic and celery. You add basil and black pepper and simmer it until the rice is cooked. Browning the rice really brings out the lovely nutty taste. You can add bits of whatever you want to it...leftover cooked chicken or tofu or anything. That's how I cook it most of the time. So, thanks! Rashanna Smith...maybe someday she'll google her name and find me. We lived in Clearlake, CA at the same time back in the 70's. She had moved there from Calistoga, back when it was a little nothing town, surrounded by wineries.

The bread is about 15 minutes away from being done. And so you know that my lunch will be a cup of tea and a slice of warm buttered bread...lol

I was supposed to go hear Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea) speak today at 2. My neighbor and I were going. I started feeling a little punky yesterday and hated to tell her I couldn't go--she was so excited about seeing him. Then I thought, I'll just suck it up anyway...go to the amphitheater in the pouring rain and deal with it. Then she called me early this morning with news that her mother had fallen and broke her hand and was getting 27 stitches in her head and she wouldnn't be able to go with me. So...once again...God does for me what I cannot/will not do for myself. I am fighting off whatever crud has been going around and I don't need to sit out in the rain. The older I get, the more careful I have to be about not getting pneumonia.

Just finished a delightful book by a woman named Martha Cooley. It's called Thirty Three Swoons. About the perfume business and Russian theater history and love and family. Absolutely wonderful...and I read the whole thing yesterday.


I have had a busy busy week, and needed to stay home and recuperate the past couple of days. Glad I can do that today...and not be jumping out of my skin, like it used to be. Soft sounds of jazz on the stereo, a little lunch, and kitties laying in my lap...

It doesn't get any better than this....


Namaste.

8 comments:

Hope said...

I eat a lot of brown rice so the way you cook it intrigues me. Do you just stir it and not add any water until it's done? How long does it take?

I've read Three Cups of Tea and quite enjoyed it.

Akannie said...

HI Hope...

After browning the rice, I put the regular amount of water in it (2c. rice+ 4 c. water) and then cook it on low til it's done. I always like to have leftover rice in the fridge....for last second meals. lol It takes about 40 minutes start to finish...

I enjoyed it too (Three cups of Tea)...an amazing human being...I love it!!

One Prayer Girl said...

I'm putting this brown rice recipe in my computer recipe file. Sounds wonderful. The fresh baked bread sounds terrific too. I'll be over in a jiffy! :) Don't I wish!!!

Stay well.

PG

steveroni said...

Annie, you sound so "down-home" today (and almost every time you write here!) and it is just DELICIOUS! And so is the food, I'm sure --grin!

PEACE!

Andrew said...

We just had our first winter blizzard. Really looking forward to 2 weeks at Steve's in December. Just booked flights today.

Love you.

Mary LA said...

That is very much how I cook my rice, sometimes with beans. Vegetarian, thrifty and yummy.

Do take care of your health Annie.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely love posts with food references. This one was filled with gratitude AND gave me ideas for dinner ;)

LOVE IT!

Carol said...

1)How great that you found your Artist's Way. It is changing my life, I hope that you tell me how you're doing with it. My email is stiverrn@comcast.net

2) I was just wondering what I was going to have for lunches this week, guess it will be brown rice and tofu. I will be adding water :>)

3) I think that I will follow more art/photo blogs. Julia C. mentions that cooking is creative.