I didn't tell you - I went home to England three weeks ago for a week,
after many years away.
Got sick, spent three of those seven days in the hospital. Bummer.
OB food: The food was great: perfectly prepared, perfectly
presented - except at the hospital.
Ask me about the National Health Service.

Dora

On Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:07:54 -0400, "Dora" > wrote:

>I didn't tell you - I went home to England three weeks ago for a week,
>after many years away.
>Got sick, spent three of those seven days in the hospital. Bummer.
>OB food: The food was great: perfectly prepared, perfectly
>presented - except at the hospital.
>Ask me about the National Health Service.
>
>Dora

What a terrible thing! To wait for years to return to your old
stomping grounds and then get ill and have to be in a hospital!

That truly is a bummer, Dora.

Ok, what do you think of England's National Health Service?

I keep seeing it being talked up like it's the best thing that has
ever happened. Is that the truth?

On 6/18/2011 3:07 PM, Dora wrote:
> I didn't tell you - I went home to England three weeks ago for a week,
> after many years away.
> Got sick, spent three of those seven days in the hospital. Bummer.
> OB food: The food was great: perfectly prepared, perfectly presented -
> except at the hospital.
> Ask me about the National Health Service.

Darn! I hope you're all better. All these years you must have
wanted to go back and then you wind up sick. Bummer is right.

No one expects good hospital food, but what did you have before
that was so good?

nancy

On 6/18/2011 2:07 PM, Dora wrote:
> I didn't tell you - I went home to England three weeks ago for a week,
> after many years away.
> Got sick, spent three of those seven days in the hospital. Bummer.
> OB food: The food was great: perfectly prepared, perfectly presented -
> except at the hospital.
> Ask me about the National Health Service.
>
> Dora

Well, big time bummer! Nothing like a journey that's less than ideal
due to illness. I hope you've fully recuperated. Do you think it
might've been the water?

Sky

--

Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice!!

Sky wrote:
> On 6/18/2011 2:07 PM, Dora wrote:
>> I didn't tell you - I went home to England three weeks ago for a
>> week, after many years away.
>> Got sick, spent three of those seven days in the hospital. Bummer.
>> OB food: The food was great: perfectly prepared, perfectly
>> presented
>> - except at the hospital.
>> Ask me about the National Health Service.
>>
>> Dora
>
> Well, big time bummer! Nothing like a journey that's less than
> ideal
> due to illness. I hope you've fully recuperated. Do you think it
> might've been the water?
>
> Sky

No, Sky - my ticker. Feeling OK now, darn it.

Nancy Young wrote:
> On 6/18/2011 3:07 PM, Dora wrote:
>> I didn't tell you - I went home to England three weeks ago for a
>> week, after many years away.
>> Got sick, spent three of those seven days in the hospital. Bummer.
>> OB food: The food was great: perfectly prepared, perfectly
>> presented
>> - except at the hospital.
>> Ask me about the National Health Service.
>
> Darn! I hope you're all better. All these years you must have
> wanted to go back and then you wind up sick. Bummer is right.
>
> No one expects good hospital food, but what did you have before
> that was so good?
>
> nancy

Not in that order, but - the best seafood bisque I've ever had.
Delicious mushroom soup - I think they used the hand blender, because
the mushrooms were very fine, not sliced. Fresh fish, beautifully
served; very fresh vegetables. Service was really polished. England
has come a long way - those meals could stand up against anything fine
here in the US.
Made me proud!

On Sat, 18 Jun 2011 20:14:27 -0400, "Dora" > wrote:

> England has come a long way - those meals could stand up against anything fine
> here in the US.

I was totally impressed with the food in England when I visited 5-6
years ago and I didn't make it a practice to eat at fancy pants
restaurants.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

On 6/18/2011 4:42 PM, Nancy Young wrote:
> On 6/18/2011 3:07 PM, Dora wrote:
>> I didn't tell you - I went home to England three weeks ago for a week,
>> after many years away.
>> Got sick, spent three of those seven days in the hospital. Bummer.
>> OB food: The food was great: perfectly prepared, perfectly presented -
>> except at the hospital.
>> Ask me about the National Health Service.
>
> Darn! I hope you're all better. All these years you must have
> wanted to go back and then you wind up sick. Bummer is right.
>
> No one expects good hospital food, but what did you have before
> that was so good?
>
> nancy
>
There is a Catholic order that operates two hospitals locally and they
go out of their way to make good food. The hospital cafeteria serves the
same food and I often meet a doc friend for lunch and we typically eat
there because the food is good.

Dora wrote:
> I didn't tell you - I went home to England three weeks ago for a week,
> after many years away.
> Got sick, spent three of those seven days in the hospital. Bummer.
> OB food: The food was great: perfectly prepared, perfectly
> presented - except at the hospital.
> Ask me about the National Health Service.
>
> Dora

Sorry to hear of your troubles. FWIW, the food at our local hospital is
good. I was in for a week with pneumonia in 2003. I lost 10 lbs. in 10
days and was severely dehydrated, but once they gave me IV fluids and
serious antibiotics (leavquin and flagyl for 14 days), I almost
immediately felt better - and hungry, hungry, hungry. They told me it
was OK to check off as much food as I wanted on the menus, so I did, and
basically doubled up on breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the rest of my
stay. It was all really good.

Took me 10 weeks to get a clear chest x-ray, though - not a fun time,
and I broke a rib coughing during that time.

My one complaint about the food in the UK was the coffee - tea was
great, but it was tough to find a good cup of coffee.

-S-

Steve Freides wrote:
>
> My one complaint about the food in the UK was the coffee - tea was
> great, but it was tough to find a good cup of coffee.
>
> -S-

Agreed. It must be the coffee itself. Even in a French press it
tasted stale.

Dora wrote:
> Steve Freides wrote:
>>
>> My one complaint about the food in the UK was the coffee - tea was
>> great, but it was tough to find a good cup of coffee.
>>
>> -S-
>
> Agreed. It must be the coffee itself. Even in a French press it
> tasted stale.

The coffee was compensated for, however, by the tea, which was
invariably good. I guess the English just aren't coffee drinkers.

My favorite black tea is TJ's English Breakfast Tea - lovely stuff.

-S-

On 6/18/2011 8:46 PM, George wrote:
> On 6/18/2011 4:42 PM, Nancy Young wrote:


>> No one expects good hospital food, but what did you have before
>> that was so good?

> There is a Catholic order that operates two hospitals locally and they
> go out of their way to make good food. The hospital cafeteria serves the
> same food and I often meet a doc friend for lunch and we typically eat
> there because the food is good.

I have heard of hospitals with such a nice cafeteria that people
actually go there for meals like it was some restaurant.

But, in general, I wouldn't go into the hospital with expectations
that I'd get good food. Knock wood I don't have to worry about
that any time soon.

nancy

On 6/18/2011 8:14 PM, Dora wrote:
> Nancy Young wrote:
>> On 6/18/2011 3:07 PM, Dora wrote:

>>> Got sick, spent three of those seven days in the hospital. Bummer.
>>> OB food: The food was great: perfectly prepared, perfectly presented
>>> - except at the hospital.

>> No one expects good hospital food, but what did you have before
>> that was so good?

> Not in that order,

Ha! I assumed you got sick after being there a few days,
perhaps because I would think if you were in the hospital,
you'd get home when you were released.

I got sick on vacation a couple of years ago, nothing serious
but I had to come home early. Stinks.

> but - the best seafood bisque I've ever had.

Oh, I love that.

> Delicious mushroom soup - I think they used the hand blender, because
> the mushrooms were very fine, not sliced. Fresh fish, beautifully
> served; very fresh vegetables. Service was really polished. England has
> come a long way - those meals could stand up against anything fine here
> in the US.
> Made me proud!

It all sounds wonderful. I feel much better thinking that your
trip ended on that note rather than the other way around.

nancy

In article >, says...
>
> Dora wrote:
> > Steve Freides wrote:
> >>
> >> My one complaint about the food in the UK was the coffee - tea was
> >> great, but it was tough to find a good cup of coffee.
> >>
> >> -S-
> >
> > Agreed. It must be the coffee itself. Even in a French press it
> > tasted stale.
>
> The coffee was compensated for, however, by the tea, which was
> invariably good. I guess the English just aren't coffee drinkers.
>
> My favorite black tea is TJ's English Breakfast Tea - lovely stuff.

I think the Brits just plain don't understand coffee. I gave a British
friend some Blue Mountain a while back. Two years later I noticed it
squirreled away in a hot corner of a cabinet, saved for a special
occasion.

On 6/18/2011 7:03 PM, Dora wrote:
> Sky wrote:
>> On 6/18/2011 2:07 PM, Dora wrote:
>>> I didn't tell you - I went home to England three weeks ago for a
>>> week, after many years away.
>>> Got sick, spent three of those seven days in the hospital. Bummer.
>>> OB food: The food was great: perfectly prepared, perfectly presented
>>> - except at the hospital.
>>> Ask me about the National Health Service.
>>>
>>> Dora
>>
>> Well, big time bummer! Nothing like a journey that's less than ideal
>> due to illness. I hope you've fully recuperated. Do you think it
>> might've been the water?
>
> No, Sky - my ticker. Feeling OK now, darn it.

Whew! As long as it goes 'tocking' too - all the better ;>

Sky

--

Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice!!

Il 19/06/2011 03:25, Nancy Young ha scritto:

> I have heard of hospitals with such a nice cafeteria that people
> actually go there for meals like it was some restaurant.

Here in Italy the cafeteria for the personnel is not open to the public
but every hospital has a privately owned bar or cafeteria, and now even
pizzeria. The main hospital in my town has recently switched from a
family operated bar to a franchise of a local canteen owner and caterer,
and this is PizzaRito, the pizza version with a snkck-bar attitude. They
also have PastaRito, with a more classical atmosphere. In this PizzaRito
they make incredible sandiches, the baguette-like bread is to die for
and they actually can warm it up along with the ingredients. They also
offer dozens of different pizza and pizza formats, from the 4" x 4"
trancio to the full round pizza of 15" in diameter. And a sad, crappy
line of coffees and such. Nice pastries, too, I must admit.
When I'm in that area, sometimes I jump there and get a chicken cutlet
sandwich.
--
Vilco
And the Family Stone
Sei al secondo auting oggi.
Io foss'in te mi fermerei qui,

Il 19/06/2011 03:16, Steve Freides ha scritto:

> The coffee was compensated for, however, by the tea, which was
> invariably good. I guess the English just aren't coffee drinkers.

"I don't drink coffee I take tea my dear
I like my toast done on one side
And you can hear it in my accent when I talk
I'm an Englishman in New York"


--
Vilco
And the Family Stone
Every burp of a table companion is a sign of gratitude for the cook

Il 19/06/2011 02:14, Dora ha scritto:

> Not in that order, but - the best seafood bisque I've ever had.
> Delicious mushroom soup - I think they used the hand blender, because
> the mushrooms were very fine, not sliced.

Basically, how does this soup look like? Is it thickened / enriched by
adding cream or bechamel or a butter & flour roux?

> Fresh fish, beautifully
> served; very fresh vegetables. Service was really polished. England has
> come a long way - those meals could stand up against anything fine here
> in the US.
> Made me proud!

Glad for that, and glad you're ok now
--
Vilco
And the Family Stone
Si stava parlando di pizza di pizzeria, non di pizza napoletana, che
ovviamente si trova solo in fonderia

ViLco replied to Dora:

>> Not in that order, but - the best seafood bisque I've ever had.
>> Delicious mushroom soup - I think they used the hand blender, because
>> the mushrooms were very fine, not sliced.
>
> Basically, how does this soup look like? Is it thickened / enriched by
> adding cream or bechamel or a butter & flour roux?

I don't know about the soup that Dora had, but my favorite mushroom soup is
thickened by adding lots and lots of mushrooms and a little bit of rice.
Here's the recipe (which I've posted here before):

Cream of Mushroom Soup
(adapted from _Robuchon_)

1 leek, white part only
1 1/4 pound small oyster mushrooms, or an assortment of mushrooms
(I used a mix of oyster mushrooms, porcini, and chanterelles)
2 shallots
1 teaspoon butter
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup short-grain rice
1 quart good-quality chicken broth (or brodo; Google for my past posts on
it)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon chervil leaves

Cut the leek in half lengthwise, then crosswise into quarters. Wash well.
Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Peel and mince the shallots

Warm the butter in a soup pot over medium-low heat. Gently cook the shallots
but do not allow them to color. Add the mushrooms along with some salt and
pepper. Stir well with a wooden spoon or spatula, cover, and cook over low
heat for 2 minutes. Stir gain and cook 3 minutes more, still covered.

Remove 4 tablespoons of the prettiest mushroom from the pot and set aside
for garnishing.[1] Leave the soup pot over very low heat. Add the leek and
cook for 3 minutes, stirring. Stir in the rice. Add the broth and bring to a
boil. Reduce the heat to very low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.

Turn off the heat. Ladle off a cup of the broth without any solids and set
it aside. Working in batches if necessary, blend the soup. (Blending hot
liquids can be hazardous because steam released during blending can cause
pressure to build in the blender container. It is often wise to put a towel
on top of the blender and hold the lid down with some force during
blending.)

Add the cream and mix well. Taste and adjust as needed with salt and pepper.

Just before serving, blend again so soup is foamy. Pour soup into bowls,
float pretty mushrooms on top of each bowl, and sprinkle with chopped
chervil.

Bob
BOB'S NOTE: [1] As an additional garnish, I cut king oyster mushrooms in
half lengthwise and cooked them in butter in a skillet until nicely browned.
The mushrooms were floated cut-side-up in the bowls of soup, surrounded by
the "pretty" mushrooms mentioned in the recipe and the chervil. I recently
posted its picture, too: http://i54.tinypic.com/6iseiv.jpg

Il 19/06/2011 12:01, Bob Terwilliger ha scritto:

>> Basically, how does this soup look like? Is it thickened / enriched by
>> adding cream or bechamel or a butter& flour roux?

> I don't know about the soup that Dora had, but my favorite mushroom soup is
> thickened by adding lots and lots of mushrooms and a little bit of rice.
> Here's the recipe (which I've posted here before):
>
> Cream of Mushroom Soup
> (adapted from _Robuchon_)
>
> 1 leek, white part only
> 1 1/4 pound small oyster mushrooms, or an assortment of mushrooms
> (I used a mix of oyster mushrooms, porcini, and chanterelles)
> 2 shallots
> 1 teaspoon butter
> Salt
> Pepper
> 1/4 cup short-grain rice

I love short grain rice, Arborio is one of my alltime favs

> Add the cream and mix well. Taste and adjust as needed with salt and pepper.

A cream enriched soup, then. A style I like very much

> BOB'S NOTE: [1] As an additional garnish, I cut king oyster mushrooms in
> half lengthwise and cooked them in butter in a skillet until nicely browned.

My way to do it. Apart from the fact that I sautee them in butter inthe
same pot I'm doing risotto in. But your one is a soup, that makes the
difference. It's a kind of mushrooms risotto soup, interesting.

> The mushrooms were floated cut-side-up in the bowls of soup, surrounded by
> the "pretty" mushrooms mentioned in the recipe and the chervil. I recently
> posted its picture, too: http://i54.tinypic.com/6iseiv.jpg

Looks way good!
--
Vilco
And the Family Stone
Ovviamente so benissimo...

ViLco wrote:
> Il 19/06/2011 02:14, Dora ha scritto:
>
>> Not in that order, but - the best seafood bisque I've ever had.
>> Delicious mushroom soup - I think they used the hand blender,
>> because
>> the mushrooms were very fine, not sliced.
>
> Basically, how does this soup look like? Is it thickened / enriched
> by
> adding cream or bechamel or a butter & flour roux?

No - it was very dark, slightly thickened but not a "cream of
mushroom" type of soup at all. Quite different but good.

"ViLco" > wrote

>
> I love short grain rice, Arborio is one of my alltime favs
>

I never cared for rice growing up. Plain white rice is bland and I never
saw a reason to eat it. Fried and otherwise doctored up was OK. Later in
life I discovered Arborio rice and risotto. I like both making and eating
it.

On Sun, 19 Jun 2011 03:01:15 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:

" Ladle off a cup of the broth without any solids and set it aside."

So when does the cup of broth get used?

Nancy Young wrote:

> I have heard of hospitals with such a nice cafeteria that people
> actually go there for meals like it was some restaurant.
>
> But, in general, I wouldn't go into the hospital with expectations
> that I'd get good food. Knock wood I don't have to worry about
> that any time soon.
>
> nancy
>

A local Catholic hospital in Augusta used to be just that way- a kitchen
run well and the cafeteria, while limited in selection due to small size
of the facility, offered a few very good meals daily. Visitors would
often enjoy as a side trip to eat there while visiting patients or other
business in the area. I think the patients were also served a lot of the
same dishes (perhaps slightly altered, I don't know) but it would allow
for the kitchen to focus on a few things daily and do them well. Sadly
the hospital was sold and I was told the food is now horrible. What a
sad loss for that community.

Goomba wrote:
> Nancy Young wrote:
>
>> I have heard of hospitals with such a nice cafeteria that people
>> actually go there for meals like it was some restaurant.
>>
>> But, in general, I wouldn't go into the hospital with expectations
>> that I'd get good food. Knock wood I don't have to worry about
>> that any time soon.
>>
>> nancy
>>
>
> A local Catholic hospital in Augusta used to be just that way- a
> kitchen run well and the cafeteria, while limited in selection due
> to
> small size of the facility, offered a few very good meals daily.
> Visitors would often enjoy as a side trip to eat there while
> visiting
> patients or other business in the area. I think the patients were
> also served a lot of the same dishes (perhaps slightly altered, I
> don't know) but it would allow for the kitchen to focus on a few
> things daily and do them well. Sadly the hospital was sold and I
> was
> told the food is now horrible. What a sad loss for that community.

Our local Catholic hospital used to be run by the nuns - from
administration to bedside nursing.
The food was excellent - I still remember some of the dishes from
years ago. Sadly, the nuns are no longer there - first the nursing
staff changed, then the administrator left. Now, it's just another
hospital with the usual institutional meals.

ViLco wrote:
>Terwilliger keyboard kooked:
>
>> I don't know about the soup that Dora had, but my favorite mushroom soup is
>> thickened by adding lots and lots of semen and a little bit of rice.
>
>A cream enriched soup, then. A style I like very much

One could say that.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

>> I love short grain rice, Arborio is one of my alltime favs

> I never cared for rice growing up. Plain white rice is bland and I
> never saw a reason to eat it. Fried and otherwise doctored up was
> OK. Later in life I discovered Arborio rice and risotto. I like both
> making and eating it.

I use it for both risotto, which is rice cooked along with the condiments,
and normal rice, which is rice boiled alone and then dressed with something
else, like a bolognese ragu' or just butter and cheese. Arborio ss the
variety grown in my area, and the most common in every shop and store.
--
ViLco
Let the liquor do the thinking

Tom Del Rosso wrote:

> I haven't been in a hospital in 32 years (US, NYC), but the food was
> much better than airline food even then, and the latter is worse now.

Yes, airline food is terrible and getting worse. The only good dish I ever
ate on a plane was long grain rice with chicken, some veggies and saffron on
an Air India flight, Delhi-Rome in 1995. The worst was a blod of overcooked
spaghetti and acidic too-much-tomatoey ragu' on a KLM flight,
Milano-Amsterdam in 2006.
--
ViLco
Let the liquor do the thinking

On 20/06/2011 9:41 AM, ViLco wrote:
> Tom Del Rosso wrote:
>
>> I haven't been in a hospital in 32 years (US, NYC), but the food was
>> much better than airline food even then, and the latter is worse now.
>
> Yes, airline food is terrible and getting worse. The only good dish I ever
> ate on a plane was long grain rice with chicken, some veggies and saffron on
> an Air India flight, Delhi-Rome in 1995. The worst was a blod of overcooked
> spaghetti and acidic too-much-tomatoey ragu' on a KLM flight,
> Milano-Amsterdam in 2006.


I think that might have been the same pasta meal that I had on a flight
from Toronto to Amsterdam in 1999. We had paid extra to fly KLM because
my previous transatlantic flight had been such an unpleasant affair....
Air Transat. KLM turned out to be just as late leaving, just as cramped
seating and the food was even worse.

There were 5 of us travelling together. By brother and I were in the
middle and the rest of our party was across the aisle and one row back.
We had the opportunity stewardess. Not only were my brother and I were
the last two served for every meal and snack, but we got ours at least a
half hour later than the rest of them. Because she was so slow and we
were last, we had no options. We just got whatever was leftover.

On 18/06/2011 8:03 PM, Dora wrote:

>> Well, big time bummer! Nothing like a journey that's less than ideal
>> due to illness. I hope you've fully recuperated. Do you think it
>> might've been the water?
>>
>> Sky
>
> No, Sky - my ticker. Feeling OK now, darn it.


That's a heck of a way to spend part of your trip. Hope you're going to
be okay. No fun having ticker problems. They can kill you.

On Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:33:58 +0200, "ViLco" > wrote:

>Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
>>> I love short grain rice, Arborio is one of my alltime favs
>
>> I never cared for rice growing up. Plain white rice is bland and I
>> never saw a reason to eat it. Fried and otherwise doctored up was
>> OK. Later in life I discovered Arborio rice and risotto. I like both
>> making and eating it.
>
>I use it for both risotto, which is rice cooked along with the condiments,
>and normal rice, which is rice boiled alone and then dressed with something
>else, like a bolognese ragu' or just butter and cheese. Arborio ss the
>variety grown in my area, and the most common in every shop and store.

I think orzo is better than rice.... makes gleat fly lice and better
than arborio for risotto.

On Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:41:13 +0200, "ViLco" > wrote:

>Tom Del Rosso wrote:
>
>> I haven't been in a hospital in 32 years (US, NYC), but the food was
>> much better than airline food even then, and the latter is worse now.
>
>Yes, airline food is terrible and getting worse. The only good dish I ever
>ate on a plane was long grain rice with chicken, some veggies and saffron on
>an Air India flight, Delhi-Rome in 1995. The worst was a blod of overcooked
>spaghetti and acidic too-much-tomatoey ragu' on a KLM flight,
>Milano-Amsterdam in 2006.

Back in '50s-'60d airline food was better than on luxury cruise ships,
and the stewardesses were lucious... now yoose get served by limp
wristed faggots and flat dykes.

On Sun, 19 Jun 2011 10:17:26 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
> wrote:

>
> "ViLco" > wrote
>
> >
> > I love short grain rice, Arborio is one of my alltime favs
> >
>
> I never cared for rice growing up. Plain white rice is bland and I never
> saw a reason to eat it. Fried and otherwise doctored up was OK. Later in
> life I discovered Arborio rice and risotto. I like both making and eating
> it.

I'm with you on every type of long grain white rice. My day to day
rice is a medium grain and I'm happy with that.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

On Sun, 19 Jun 2011 10:17:26 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
> wrote:

>I never cared for rice growing up. Plain white rice is bland and I never
>saw a reason to eat it. Fried and otherwise doctored up was OK. Later in
>life I discovered Arborio rice and risotto. I like both making and eating
>it.

I kind of see rice as a carrier of other things. It's somewhere to put
different types of sauces and other foods and seasonings to bulk them
out.

Plain rice *is* bland. It's got an almost *nothing* taste. Like most
white breads that aren't homemade.

On Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:31:42 -0400, Landon > wrote:

>On Sun, 19 Jun 2011 10:17:26 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
> wrote:
>
>>I never cared for rice growing up. Plain white rice is bland and I never
>>saw a reason to eat it. Fried and otherwise doctored up was OK. Later in
>>life I discovered Arborio rice and risotto. I like both making and eating
>>it.
>
>I kind of see rice as a carrier of other things. It's somewhere to put
>different types of sauces and other foods and seasonings to bulk them
>out.
>
>Plain rice *is* bland. It's got an almost *nothing* taste. Like most
>white breads that aren't homemade.

I sort of agree with you that *white* rice is just a vehicle for
something else.

But Ed said "plain white rice" - and you just said "plain rice". In
case you really meant 'plain rice' - I've got a challenge for you.

Pick up a bag of Nature's Earthly Choice 100% whole grain Basmati
Brown rice. The first time I cooked this stuff, I grabbed the
package to see what they had added to it. It fills the house with
the most pleasant scent.

The texture is great, too-- but it is the smell and favor that really
make it stand out.

I *think* I've had other rice labeled Basmati-- but this stuff is the
first rice I can actually get excited about.

Jim

On Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:57:32 -0400, Jim Elbrecht >
wrote:

>On Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:31:42 -0400, Landon > wrote:
>
>>On Sun, 19 Jun 2011 10:17:26 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
> wrote:
>>
>>>I never cared for rice growing up. Plain white rice is bland and I never
>>>saw a reason to eat it. Fried and otherwise doctored up was OK. Later in
>>>life I discovered Arborio rice and risotto. I like both making and eating
>>>it.
>>
>>I kind of see rice as a carrier of other things. It's somewhere to put
>>different types of sauces and other foods and seasonings to bulk them
>>out.
>>
>>Plain rice *is* bland. It's got an almost *nothing* taste. Like most
>>white breads that aren't homemade.
>
>I sort of agree with you that *white* rice is just a vehicle for
>something else.
>
>But Ed said "plain white rice" - and you just said "plain rice". In
>case you really meant 'plain rice' - I've got a challenge for you.
>
>Pick up a bag of Nature's Earthly Choice 100% whole grain Basmati
>Brown rice. The first time I cooked this stuff, I grabbed the
>package to see what they had added to it. It fills the house with
>the most pleasant scent.
>
>The texture is great, too-- but it is the smell and favor that really
>make it stand out.
>
>I *think* I've had other rice labeled Basmati-- but this stuff is the
>first rice I can actually get excited about.
>
>Jim

I did mean "Plain white rice". I love all the other types with nothing
on them mostly. I'll pick up some of what you suggest and give it a
try! It sounds like you've done the testing for me! Thanks! haha

Spanish rice and stir fried veggies is one of my favorite meals.
Sometimes I add meats to it, sometimes not.

I look forward to trying what you've suggested.

Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>
> I don't know about the soup that Dora had, but my favorite mushroom
> soup is thickened by adding lots and lots of mushrooms and a little
> bit of rice. Here's the recipe (which I've posted here before):
>
> Cream of Mushroom Soup
> (adapted from _Robuchon_)

<snipped and saved>

Bob, I'm going to try this. I have a feeling it's going to be very
similar to the mushroom soup
I had in the UK. Thanks!

Dora

On Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:57:32 -0400, Jim Elbrecht >
wrote:

> Pick up a bag of Nature's Earthly Choice 100% whole grain Basmati
> Brown rice. The first time I cooked this stuff, I grabbed the
> package to see what they had added to it. It fills the house with
> the most pleasant scent.

The rice I can eat "plain" is Trader Joe's "Brown Rice Medley" and I
know what I like about it too... the daikon radish seeds give it a
little zing.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

Dora wrote:
> I didn't tell you - I went home to England three weeks ago for a week,
> after many years away.
> Got sick, spent three of those seven days in the hospital. Bummer.
> OB food: The food was great: perfectly prepared, perfectly presented -
> except at the hospital.
> Ask me about the National Health Service.
>
> Dora

Oh, that IS a bummer. Did you get to enjoy ANY of your trip?

--
Jean B.

Clueless AOL newbie Sheldon "Pussy" Katz blathered:

> I think orzo is better than rice.... makes gleat fly lice and better than
> arborio for risotto.

You've never made risotto, or you'd realize just how ignorant that statement
is.

Bob