Thursday, May 8, 2008

Wild Rice and Artichoke Bake



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I'm Rachael. I write this blog that I call Fresh Approach (because I'm fresh n' cheeky of course!) and I have been at it for four years.

The Ombudsman (who wants me to call him Sparkplug from now on. I mean, really. Sparkplug? Ha ha ha. Not gonna happen.) is my good friend. (The kind who takes me to the Dodger game even though it is the hottest day of the year, or the kind who helps me dig in the garden even though I am so obsessed with getting the soil perfect that I actually may never plant anything.) He is that for lots n' lots of reasons, but that he is endlessly tolerant of my antics and indulgent of my whims makes him one of my all time favorite people. (Tied with my mother who is the true saint in that category.)

Do you ever test your friends tolerance? Like say, when you wake up super-duper early and you are in a kinda sorta bouncy mood (is that just me?). So you put on your pink hat, fill up your pink water bottle, slip in to your pink clogs and hop on your fantastical pink beach cruiser. Then, you show up on your friends doorstep. And despite the fact it is 7 am on a Saturday, he opens the (three locks, security gate and) door with a smile.

That my readers, is a friend.

But I didn't show up empty handed! No, no, I did not. I showed up with this fantasmagorical calorie laden delight. It is rich and nutty and kind of tangy (the artichokes do that), it is dense and cheesy (but not too cheesy). It had just been so good the night before (with pecan crusted fish and garlic-green beans. So awesome.) I had to share (and be earth friendly by riding my bike too.) asap. So, I showed up at first light to share. Because I am a sharing, caring kind of girl.

And in that spirit, I am here to share with you too. Because really my darlings, is that not the point of this site? It's not to ramble on in pithy couplets about my life, or promote anything...it's simply my way of sharing the tasty treats.

So try this my peaches, (with the best ingredients you can get your hands on) and taste the joy.


1 cup marinated artichoke heart quarters, drained
1 cup cooked brown rice, chilled
1 cup cooked wild rice
1 cup white cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
8 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper


Preheat your oven to 350F.

Whisk together the eggs, milk and mustard. Add salt stir again. Stir in the artichoke hearts, rice and cheeses.

Pour into a well-buttered eight-inch square baking dish.

Sprinkle the top with paprika, and additional salt and pepper.

Bake for 45 minutes, uncovered. When done, cut in to squares.

Serves nine, hot, warm or cold.


© 2008 Fresh Approach Cooking
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Please help support disaster relief in Myanmar (Burma)

California's wild rice industry began in 1972 when white rice farmer Vince Vanderford decided to plant Minnesota wild rice seeds at his Yuba City farm in Northern California. Commercial production of California wild rice began around 1977.

The amount of food Britons throw away unnecessarily is at record levels, costing the economy 10 billion pounds a year. More than half of the 6.7 million tons of food that households throw away annually is still edible, the study from the Waste and Resources Action Programme revealed. About one billion pounds worth of wasted food is still "in date", the report concluded, while about 6 billion pounds of food was bought but left untouched. An average household discards about 420 pounds worth of unused food a year, the study said, while for families with more children that rises to over 600 pounds. - Reuters