Some Other Weird (New) Stuff (Food)

On Monday night I'd started meat and sauce for spaghetti, then looked in the cupboard to find we had no noodles.  But we did have this forgotten little bag of pasta and seed mix I'd discovered several weeks ago when we visited Central Market to pick up bulk bags of wheat and oats.                                                                                                                                                     

I can't remember what they called the combination, and I only wrote the instructions on the twist-tie, not the name. (1 cup of the mix into 1 3/4 cups boiling water, return to boil, then simmer/cook for 18 minutes.  --For us, I used 5 cups of the mix and 8 3/4 cups water.)  


After a look on Google images, I think it may be pearl couscous --with additions that look much like assorted bird seed.  :-)

The texture is a little weird, and it didn't quite come off as regular pasta in the spaghetti sauce.  The pasta balls are a little mushy compared to the seeds, some of which are a little starchy when bitten into... Actually, I think maybe that starchy texture is due to some lentils or split peas in the mix.  I decided to spread it all into a couple of 10 x 15 pans, and topped it with mozzarella and parmesan cheese, then popped it into a 400 degree oven in an attempt to achieve what I hoped would be a "Who-Could-Resist-Anything-with-this-Golden-Yummy-Cheese-On-Top" dish.

It was somewhat successful.  Everyone ate it... 2 days in a row, in fact.  Tuesday Princess Eager, Prince CuddleBunny, and I spent the afternoon visiting my mom, and as soon as we got home, I was off to Bible study, so that 2nd pan of Monday's dinner came in quite handy.  

No one complained, and actually said they thought it tasted good, but still weren't certain enough to say they liked it.  I think I wrecked it, and served it with the wrong sauce.  I'm pretty sure this pasta-seed-legume combo would've shown itself better with something like olive oil, cherry tomatoes, other tender-crisp veggies, marinated chicken breast pieces, some great spices, and a splash of the right vinegar...  But unlike the black rice, I don't think anyone will care if I never buy this again.

Black and Blue

Am I among the last to have heard of Black Rice?  It caught my eye at Costco, and Princess Artiste said it had been mentioned in her nutrition class and was supposed to be very good.


It's very black when dry and turns a purply blue when cooked.  It still looks almost black, and so actually, pretty gross looking.  I heard reactions like 'completely burned,' 'blackberry jam,' and other descriptive terms.  It has as many antioxidants as blueberries, but without more complex carbs instead of fruit sugar.  Each serving has 2 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein.


I cooked ours in chicken broth... a 1 to 2 ratio (2 cups rice and 4 cups broth), like for white rice.  It cooked for 35 minutes, so between white and brown for cooking time.'


Meanwhile, I stir fried chicken breast pieces, celery, green onion, and carrots, and mixed a sauce of water, soy sauce, garlic powder, dried ginger, a bit of cayenne pepper, plus splashes of rice vinegar, blue agave nectar, and sesame oil.

Not the most attractive meal!

The family was leery of the appearance.  It was like eating blind, because the chicken and veggies were mostly masked in the blackness, and we never knew what might be hiding in each bite.  As it was all good, it was a little fun.  We all had bluish teeth for the rest of the evening, but there wasn't a morsel left over.