TASTE THE RAINBOW

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya! Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s day, and while we’re not the green beer type, we’ll take some luck ‘o’ the Irish just the same! This week Anthony is meal prepping with Rainbow Grain Bowls… maybe there’ll be a pot of gold at the end?? And Elizabeth has a kitchen essential that is very much worth the real estate on your kitchen counter.

RAINBOW GRAIN BOWLS ARE A MEAL PREP SECRET WEAPON

AU: Meal prep is not new, and therefore, do you need a recipe for it? Not really. But maybe you just need a little roadmap to make eating healthy tastier and more enjoyable? I can help with that.

If you’ve never entertained the concept of “meal prep,” you should try it! I don’t do it often, but when I do, I always have that moment of “WHY don’t I do this every week?!” Meal prepping simply means cooking a bunch at once to relieve your future self from cooking… in the future (“Allow myself to introduce… myself.”). It’s especially helpful during a busy work week, or when I’m really trying to eat healthy. BALANCE.

EK: You are so right! The weeks that I do “meal prep” are so much easier and I don’t stand in front of the fridge with a huge “?” over my head. I also eat healthier because when everything is on hand, it’s 1-2-3 snap! to a make a balanced meal.

AU: It begs the question: Why DON’T we always meal prep?!? We’ve talked about this before, but the key to any good meal is a balance of flavors and textures in a “salt, fat, acid, heat” kind of way.

The building blocks of my favorite kind of “meal prep meals” are…

• Grains with good texture that are seasoned throughout to act as a base layer. Think farro, wild rice blends, quinoa (technically a seed), etc. I like farro especially because it is chewy and doesn’t dry out in the fridge as much as rice.

• Lean proteins that are simply grilled/cooked, so they can go with any combination of supporting cast members. Chicken, salmon, marinated tofu, pork tenderloin are all good moves. If cooking in the oven, you won’t get as much browning (as grilling/cooking in a pan), so make sure you use your favorite seasoning blend or rub.

• Plenty of colorful, fiber-rich vegetables. Experts say “eating the rainbow” is a sure fire way to get a range of nutrients into your body, so get colorful. Plus, we eat with our eyes first, and if something LOOKS delicious, your brain will think it’s delicious. Another bonus is the combination of fiber and protein will keep you feeling fuller longer.

• A zippy sauce that makes everything more delicious. The sauce should add some bright acidity to “wake up” the meal that’s been sitting in your fridge for a few days. Bonus points if it introduces new textures like creaminess, so it keeps things interesting, and also keeps the grains from drying out over time.

AU: In the warmer months, I like to grill the protein (fewer dishes to wash!), but since LA has now morphed into Seattle and all we get is rain, I am cooking errrrrythang together in the oven.

Steps are as basic as can be: cut everything into even sizes so they cook at the same rate. Season with oil, salt and pepper. Toss on sheet pan. Roast ‘em fast and hot—about 20-25 mins at 425ºF.

Obviously, you’re going to have to boil your grains on the stovetop (or use a rice cooker!). Go by the package directions, but start checking for doneness about 5-10 minutes before the suggested cook time is up. Nobody wants mushy grains 5 days in a row…

WHAT IS FARRO?
The term “Farro” actually refers to three different types of ancient grains: einkorn, emmer, and spelt. The most common version found in the U.S. is Farro Medio (aka emmer in Israel). But then there are three different preparations you may encounter at the supermarket:

Whole farro has the entire bran intact, and therefore retains the most nutrients. The downside is that it takes the longest to cook and certain recipes require some overnight soaking. (30-40 mins cooktime)

Semi-pearled farro is processed to remove some of the bran, so it’s the best of both worlds. You get some of the nutrients/protein, but it cooks in 20-30 mins.

Pearled farro has all the bran removed and cooks quickly (15-20 mins), but contains the least amount of nutritional value. This is the most common version sold in the U.S.

So which should you buy?? Often the package will just say “Farro,” and you’ll have to look at the ingredient list to see which kind of farro you’re buying. Look for the semi-pearled version for the sweet spot of nutritional value and easy cooking. But most grocery stores in the U.S. carry the pearled version, which is what both mine and EK’s were.

For the farro in this particular bowl, I’m taking a page from the legendary Farro Salad at Charlie Bird in NYC. They not only season the cooking liquid with salt, but with plenty of vinegar, too. The result is a toothsome grain that is seasoned all the way through.

AU: The sauce I use in this bowl is inspired by a compound butter from Carla Lalli Music’s cookbook. She slathers this tahini butter all over steamed sweet potatoes.

The tahini-based sauce for our rainbow bowls is nutty with sesame flavor, but zippy with the citrus juice (lime makes it extra sharp—in a good way), and the tamari/soy sauce add a bit of umami and salt. You’ll need some water on hand to thin the sauce enough to drizzle it. Tahini seizes up when you add liquid to it, so you have to add a lot more than you think. Since all tahinis are different, start with two tablespoons of water, and keep adding until you’re happy with the consistency. I usually end up using 4-5 tablespoons of water, total.

Lastly, add a fresh element, if you can… herbs like parsley or cilantro go a long way, as would mixing in baby spinach or some arugula. Or top the bowls with fermented or pickled items—they’ll add a welcome tang and pair well with the roasted veg. Adding a cooked version of a vegetable and a raw/pickled version of the same vegetable is V V CHEFFY! And there’s always avocado.

AU: After you’ve cooked everything—it’s time to divvy up the ingredients into a week’s worth of meals. And you only had to turn the oven on once.

Rainbow Grain Bowls

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KITCHEN ESSENTIALS: RICE COOKER

EK: One of the best parts of food friendship is trading tips, and secrets and advice on kitchen gadgets and equipment.Word of mouth recommendations from someone you trust in the kitchen are everything!

And, until a few months ago, I was the person who said they would never buy a rice cooker. I didn’t want another appliance that I only used a few times, but I finally had to come to grips with the fact that—on the stovetop—I make the world’s worst rice, and I needed some help.

AU: I was in the exact same boat, EK! WHY would I buy something that I can “easily” do on the stovetop?! But the truth is… I suck at making rice… until I caved!

EK: Anthony had already told me that he loved his rice cooker and so I called him when I realized that I might need to buy one. He suggested Zojirushi and went on Amazon with me to show me the one he has.

AU: I bought the 5.5-cup Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and haven’t looked back since. It was not cheap, but has it paid off IN SPADES!

EK: After looking at all the different models, I purchased the 3-cup, Micom Rice Cooker and Warmer with both a GABA brown and steel-cut oatmeal setting. I love the 3-cup compact size (which refers to the dry-rice capacity), and I never need more than 6 cups of cooked rice/grain/oatmeal so it fits my kitchen and my lifestyle.

Best of all, the rice cooker also has technology that they call fuzzy logic technology, which allows the rice cooker to cook all kinds of different grains, and ensure a consistent finished product even if you put too little or too much water in the machine.

I discovered that if you buy the right rice cooker, you can also use it to cook oatmeal and grits among other grains—including Farro. You can also set the cooker on a timer and have hot oatmeal waiting for you in the morning.

EK: It is lightweight and has a retractable cord which makes it very easy to store. It’s kind of funny, but it is so satisfying to snap the retractable cord back into place after using it and before storing the rice cooker.

AU: I think about that every time, too! It’s really genius—every detail. The biggest advantage to a rice cooker, though, is how HANDS OFF it is. You literally just set it, and… well, you know the rest.

EK: Since I’ve received it, I’ve made all kinds of rice, grits, farro and Scottish pinhead oatmeal with ease and perfect results for myself, and rice for my dog when her stomach was upset. It is now one of my favorite appliances, and I am a very enthusiastic rice cooker convert—how did I ever live without it?! Suggested retail is $158.99.

Now, let’s talk Farro: This is not a grain that Zojirushi has tested in it’s rice cooker, so I had to do a little digging and some trial and error to figure it out. The good news is that I figured it out! The bad news is I had a farro fail at first!

All you need is farro and water + the rice cooker.

I made farro on the fly using the Quick cycle when I first got my rice cooker and it turned out very well. But I wanted to make sure that there wasn’t another way so I did what we all do when we need information, I Googled it!

And, post after post; people recommended cooking 1 cup measure of Farro with 3 cups of water for 45 minutes. That didn’t seem right to me, but it was repeated so often that I decided to try it. Let me tell you, 3 cups of water IS WAY TOO MUCH WATER and my rice cooker cooked and steamed it out for 2 hours and what was inside was a soggy, bloated mess! Serves me right for ignoring my own intuition.

Farro Success:

EK: I went back to my intuition and measured the farro in the cup that comes with the rice cooker. The cup that comes with the rice cooker is less than an American cup measure and this is very important. Do not lose that little cup! I filled the cup, rinsed the farro about 5 times in my rice washing bowl and added the amount of water that is recommended for 1 “rice cooker” cup of brown rice.

I pressed the Quick cycle (like I had done before,) and the machine did all the work! In about 40-45 minutes, my farro was perfectly cooked, a little chewy and al dente—not over-cooked and sticky. I stored it in the fridge in a tight fitting food-storage container and used it as I needed to by reheating it in a bowl topped with a damp paper towel in the microwave (I used the “reheat” setting for about 30 seconds). As soon as it came out of the microwave, I dressed it with a little olive oil or vinaigrette and built my grain bowl. Perfect every time!