It occurred to me this morning that sometimes I can get around to the cooking, but not to the blogging. I’ve decided to attempt doing it at the same time. If it seems to work, expect it to be a regular feature.
9:00 am: Finally drag my butt out of bed, with the realization that I have way too much to get done today, most of it in the kitchen. I want to make lunch for the week (fried rice), breakfast for the week (banana nut muffins)–both from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian–and it just occurred to me that I haven’t given any thought to what I’m going to feed the debate team.
9:05: My parents finally clear out of the kitchen (yeah, 5 minutes isn’t really “finally”). Dad made coffee for me. I should probably mention at some point that I vastly prefer tea and they should probably not bother to make any coffee for me. I pour a cup anyway.
9:06: Start making rice, following the instructions in the cookbook. Yes, I need instructions to make rice. Confession time: I’ve never made real rice before, only Minute Rice. My Man thinks this is appalling. It probably is. Today is the day I will learn to cook real rice. Either that or create a disaster.
9:10: I should eat breakfast at some point (those muffins are not getting started until after I take a scheduled phone call at 10). I have a whole batch of cranberry-chocolate granola bars that I made Wednesday night. Honestly, they’re way too sweet (maybe I should’ve left the honey out?) I feel bad throwing them out though. Maybe I can pawn them off on my parents. Or high schoolers.
9:20: The water has almost boiled. Took it long enough.
9:21: Check the recipe: “adjust the heat so the mixture boils steadily but not violently”. What is that supposed to mean? Turn down heat, read the part about “all visible moisture” disappearing and start to wonder if I’ve added too much water to begin with.
9:26: I think all “visible moisture”has disappeared. This is supposed to happen 10-15 minutes after you start. It’s more like 20. Oh well.
9:27 Stir. It seems way moist. I’ll let it sit for a few minutes, off the heat. Check email, nothing to report there. I should look at Twitter at some point
9:30: Debate whether “Live Blogging” is the right term for this post. Read one other blog post that backs me up, decide I don’t really care if its correct.
9:32 Check the rice. Looks decent. Transfer the pot into the fridge. Really check email, Facebook, Twitter.
9:44: Dad offers me a refill on coffee. I accept. What am I, crazy?
Actual fried rice creation to follow…
For me, I’ve always cooked rice as: Twice as much water as rice, boil water, add rice, cover and turn down to low. I let it cook 20 min and if it still seems too moist, I take the cover off and let stand for a few minutes.
I concur with Kevin.