Let’s Talk about Rice Baby!

Rice seems to be one of the main things people categorize as being “hard to cook”. Most women I talk to ask me about cooking rice above all other foods. Here is what I have learned over the years about rice:

Rice seems to sometimes have a mind of its own. When you think you are cooking it right, all of a sudden the rice proves you wrong by turning to mush. AHHHHH I hate this. Truth be told, in a way, rice does have a mind of its own. It is one of those foods which do not require much maintenance. Rice is very independent. What I mean by all of these statements which greatly involve my own personification of rice is, just leave it alone and let the rice cook itself.

All you have to do is…

1. BOIL the correct measured amount of water (instructions can be found on the bag)

2. Add the correct measured amount of rice to the BOILING water (instructions can be found on the bag)

3. Pour the rice while stirring it into the BOILING water.

4. Quickly Stir in salt and Butter (step 3 and 4 should only take about 20 seconds)

5. Turn the boiling water DOWN to the lowest burner possible before turning the burner off

6. Put the lid on the pot

7. Let the rice simmer/steam cook itself, in other words leave it alone :)

• No you do not have to keep taking the lid off the pot to check the rice.
This lets the steam out of the pot which will have a negative effect on the cooking process.

• No you do not have to keep stirring the rice.
When you keep stirring the rice your rice will grow stickier by the minute. This will eventually turn the rice into mush! However if you want the effect of a semi sticky rice you can stir the rice a little bit perhaps twice while it is cooking.

• No you do not have to turn the burner to high at any point the rice is in the pot.
This will not result in the rice cooking fast. Instead, it will result in the rice burning in the bottom of the pot... then you will have the smoke alarm going off and the entire house stinking. :) The only time your burner should be up high is when you are trying to bring the water to a boil before you add the rice.

This should help you conquer that “hard to cook” rice.

Very Truly Yours,

Britnee Timberlake

Sandwiches

I love fantastic sandwiches. I am kind of like Bill Cosby in how he was always making the biggest and best sandwiches on "The Cosbys" TV show. By the way, ladies… it is foot ball season… which means it is sandwich season for our men (and for some of us who are football fans too ;). I have a 10 tips for you to help take your ordinary sandwich making to the extraordinary level:

Tip 1: Use salad dressings as sandwich spreads.

Tip 2: Pesto is king!(Pesto is often viewed as a fancy spread but in fact there is really nothing fancy [other than its flavor]to it).

Tip 3: Sautee and season some tomatoes to replace the regular raw ones.

Tip 4: Use cranberry Sauce on your turkey sandwiches.

Tip 5: Buy your sandwich bread from a fresh dough bakery.

Tip 6: Everyone loves a little cole slaw on their sandwich (it makes for great texture and flavor) Add a little spicy mustard to it and you are in the money!

Tip 7: Double up on your meats (pair turkey with bacon while salami is great with ham and pepperoni).

Tip 8: Use your left over meat from last night’s dinner to make great sandwiches.

Tip 9: Combine Tip 2 and 4 in the same sandwich and it is great! If you are a vegetarian and want to spice up a cheese sandwich this is how to do it!

Tip 10: Use thinly sliced deli meat instead of thick (this will make the meat less tough) but please do pile the meat high.

Be creative!
Be confident!
Have fun!
You are great!

Very Truly Yours,
Britnee Timberlake

Cooking Games

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Click on "cooking games" there are so many cooking games online here for little boys and girls to play with. I see a new generation of top chefs realizing their passions :)

Collard Greens on the Show "Chopped"

Ok. So… I was watching one of my favorite TV shows "Chopped." The secret ingredient was collard greens. No one really knew what they were! LOL it was very interesting to see chefs who have been formally trained not know what this was. I expect for everyday people to not know anything about "collards" but it is unacceptable for chefs not to know. I did however feel bad for the chefs because collard greens take forever to cook down properly, and on chopped you only have 30 min to make something edible
For those who do not know... Collard greens are a very thick leafy vegetable that is used as a staple when cooking “soul food” (usually only substituted by string beans or cabbage). They are usually cooked down in a pot with a meat such as a smoked ham hock or a turkey neck for flavoring. “Soul food” is a food which originated down south USA during slavery. The history behind it is as follows: after the slaves harvested the fields the masters would leave them the scraps to cook with. In turn the slaves made something out of nothing which influences the way people eat today. Today all soul food is not made with scraps, but it includes dishes like home made Mac and cheese, collard greens, fried chicken, grits, smothered pork chops, an array of ribs, okra, among many other things. Soul food is most commonly identified today with the African American Peoples of America. Personally, I love soul food. It is one of the first cuisines I learned how to make being that I was raised up on it! It is very hearty and savory. Anyone can make it if they try and are taught by someone who knows what they are doing. Almost everything in soul food from the side dishes to the main entree consists of comfort food. It truly is food for the soul! Chopped get it together! :)