Broke Food: Risotto!

One of my favorite scenes in all of movie-dom is from The Little Princess. (Take your pick, but I prefer the Shirley Temple version.) Little Sarah has gone from wealthy and pampered prep school queen to orphan scullery maid, due to the unfortunate disappearance of her Father (and his fortune) during the Boers War. Now she must discard her fabulous clothes and furniture and live up in the freezing attic with the other little maid, while the other girls mock her relentlessly and the mean headmistress tortures her for being poor. (Let's just keep our Marxist analysis to ourselves...)

Then, one particularly freezing and dreary night, while the two little girls are sleeping, the next door neighbor's Indian butler, who has been charmed by little Sarah, replaces the squalor of their attic with a lush bedroom, filled with soft bed-dressing and clothes, a sumptuous buffet, and beautiful paintings. The girls wake up the next morning to think that they have conjured the whole thing through the power of imagination.

I think you can pull a similar trick with risotto. Through pure mind power (read: stirring a lot) you can transform plain old rice and broth into a warming gourmet meal. With the help of an friendly butler (read: mushrooms, squash, or other veggies) you can take it over the top to something truly magical. It really works for me when I am feeling like an orphan scullery maid, which is often these days. (Don't worry, its just finals period.)

So here is my recipe, which I've shared before (many times before), but made as plain and wallet-friendly as possible. I've been eating it so much lately I feel like a risotto making machine, but if its your first time, be vigilant- you don't want to ruin the bottom of your pan by not stirring enough.

Risotto w/ [your favorite and/or cheapest vegetable]
1 large yellow onion, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, diced
olive oil and/or earth balance
*1 c. white wine
1 cube veg boillon, or packaged veggie broth
Your vegetable of choice, plus an herb of choice

1. [First you will probably want to prepare the vegetable. If its mushrooms, slice and cook together with some thyme or oregano and olive oil in a saute pan until brown and slightly crispy. If using squash of pumpkin, slice in 1/2 and place in a pan in the oven along with some olive oil and sage and cook at 375 until soft. Asparagus can be sauteed or cooked in the oven with some oil and garlic. You get the picture.]
2. Fill a pot with water and boil along with a bouillon cube. Reduce heat to medium. (Alternatively, heat a package of veggie broth over low heat on the stove top.) Keep within reach of your other pot.
3. Melt 1 knob of Earth balance and a drizzle of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When bubbling add in garlic and onion and cook until translucent.
3. Add in rice and allow to coat with oil and mix with onions and garlic. Salt and Pepper liberally.
4. Add in white wine. (*If you can't afford wine like me, substitute two tablespoons of plain vinegar or white wine vinegar.) Stir until just absorbed.
5. Ladle in about a cup of the heated broth, stirring until absorbed by the rice. Repeat this step over and over again, ladling and stirring, until rice is no longer crunchy and coated in a thick creamy sauce.
6. At this point, add back in your cooked veggie, salt and pepper liberally, stir, reduce heat to low and cover. Serve with warm bread and a crispy salad.

Suggestions for combos:

Butternut squash and sage

Lemon and Asparagus (add in a bit of lemon juice and zest when you add in the cooked asparagus.)

Mushroom and Leek with thyme, my personal favorite.

I suspect one can stretch this recipe into new territories, like using beets, fake cheese, or non-italian flavorings. However, even minus the veggies this is pretty awesome comfort food, and the only thing you really have to buy is the rice. Ah, cheap, classic, kitchen magic. "Because every little girl cook is a princess."

Song of the Day: Neko Case- This Tornado Loves You

"Food Inc." and Swell Curry

One of the stars of "Food Inc."

Today, I took a break from studying to see "Food Inc," a documentary that purports to expose the dark side of the American industrial food complex, and does a decently good job of doing so (particularly when it comes to the plight of illegal immigrant laborers). However, though I thought it admirable that the movie explores the problem from a range of socio-economic positions and tries not to be too judgmental of the people inside and out the system, there were some points when my jaw-dropped at the totally glaring omission.

Here: I can sum up the problem very simply. Our first introduction to the narrator features him (Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation) sitting at a diner counter, thoughtfully perusing the menu before finally landing on a cheeseburger and french fries. Let me just pause to have you think about that for a moment.

This is the guy who exposed the fast food industry. The guy who is going to spend the next two hours touring the nation's biggest producers of meat to expose the disgusting conditions, health risks, and human rights abuses caused by our food system skewed towards mass meat production. A guy who is going to quote The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. And he opens the movie chomping down on a burger? WHY?

This was my issue with the movie in a nutshell. They overview the major issues with the food system, and examine a few possible solutions and potential areas of improvement. But never, once, does anyone mention the word "vegan", "vegetarian", or "plant-based diet". (The word "herbivore" is thrown in there- in reference to an animal.) And believe me, after watching this movie, your decision to go vegetarian is going to be the #1 thing on your mind. The lack of ANY reference to vegetarianism as a viable solution or even step in the right direction isn't just an oversight, its outrageously bizarre given the context and, I think, offensive.

As a matter of fact, I struck up a conversation with a guy leaving the movie theater, who immediately brought up the fact that his first reaction with the movie was revulsion at the treatment of animals throughout the film. "I'm an athletic guy, and I always thought I needed protein... but you look at those animals, and how sick they are, and loaded up with crazy chemicals and think: I need THIS to stay healthy? There's got to be a better way." Couldn't agree more, movie-guy. Just wish "Food Inc" would have thought to mention that.

Did anyone else see the film and think differently? I would encourage others to see it, just take it with a grain of salt since it clearly equivocates on animal rights.

*********

At any rate, the movie did make me thrilled to be vegan. And I was even more thrilled when I got home and, in no time at all, threw together this scrumptious little curry from the fabulous Swell Vegan's line-up of delicious recipes. I made her "Lower-Fat Rama Spinach Curry," subbing green beans for spinach and seitan for tofu. But it was perfectly lovely, and made a sweet background to me ranting at my parents about the industrial food complex for a few minutes.


You make people dinner and they'll forgive a lot of things. :)


Song of the Day: Fugazi- Merchandise