Thursday, January 24, 2008

Wild Rice with Pecans & Dried Blueberries



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Oh peaches, my heart broke into a zillion itsy bitsy bits of bits of shards of bits yesterday, as my darling camera took it's swan song picture, whimpered, whirled and - alas - ceased to work.

It's death, well, it was a truly sad moment. Let's all take a micro-second of head-bowing silence in its memory, shall we? Just a micro-second though. The true trials of the world deserve our real head bowing.

Much like my fancy-pants cell phone that was unceremoniously murdered last week by a fast approaching hardwood floor - the cameras passing was a bit of a bother. And just like in the instance of the phone, I learned that in this disposable age, digital camera repair doesn’t actually exist. Can you believe? And to add insult to injury, the darned thing is barely recyclable. Oy. (And for my readers who speak the Queen's English, that isn't a salutatory "oy," that's a lamenting "oy.")

But enough of my whinging (and for my Non-British readers, that’s a synonym for whining – I’m just here to help.) on with the show…which may be on temporary halt until I figure out this situation, do some research and figure out the best route to take. Wish me luck.

This concoction was thrown together last week, in an effort to cast a bit of summery fun into the rain-soaked Los Angeles I inhabit of late. And it’s mission was indeed accomplished.

Try it my peaches, and taste the joy.

½ cup olive oil
¼ cup blueberry or raspberry vinegar
2 T. port wine jelly (omit if you don’t have)
Pinch of salt and pepper
1 cup cooked wild rice
3 cups cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons flax seed
¼ cup green onion
¼ cup dried blueberries and/or cranberries
1 cup pecan halves as garnish

Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, jelly, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste.

Toss ¾ of the dressing with the wild rice, brown rice, onion and dried berries. Let the dressing absorb for 15 minutes or until ready to serve. When ready to serve, re-toss with the remaining dressing, garnish with pecans and serve.

Makes 6-8 servings.


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The good folks at Lipton Tea want you to get outdoors~

North American Blueberry growers ship more than 100 metric tons of fresh blueberries each year to Iceland, and more than 500 metric tons to Japan. - Foodreference.com

People who eat two or more servings of red meat a day are much more likely to develop conditions leading to heart disease and diabetes, University of Minnesota researchers have found. The study in a study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute also found that diet soda consumption was linked to these elevated risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, echoing the findings of a study published in July. - Daily Mail.Co.UK