September 25, 2007
of no particular consequence whereupon i long for a lens, get rid of white rice and get fed delicious beans
Are you liking the interminable titles yet?
I’ve gotten spoiled by KS lately, who has been making me dinner when I get home from a late night at work or even later after a gym session. I think that when you get home at 8:30pm, I am not very drawn to my kitchen. Instead, I want to eat and be done with it all by 9pm. To make the matters more difficult, we have officially entered the autumn season as now days are shorter than nights (Hello, fall!) and unless I break down and get one of the funky flash attachments, I am going to be looking at pictures of sweaty, glistening food (gross!). And let me tell you, food that has that flash glow is just not appetizing. Not on pictures anyway.
But as much as I am going to lament my camera equipment deficiencies, I’m not going to budge and buy the pricey equipment just yet since purchasing $750 lenses while living on one income is a tad frivolous. I will sigh and swoon every time I look at B&H website, but I’ll hold my ground. Lens, oh beautiful, lovely, stunning lens - wait for me. You are now on my Wish List, and thus you know I have eyes only for you, but be patient, my lovely – we’ll be together soon!
But back to dinner – cooking at 8:30pm just doesn’t entice me, does that make me lazy? Hopefully not, especially, if KS gets to flex his creative muscle in the kitchen for you all to see. He is much more of a practical cook than I am, using what he has at his disposal, whereas I will get ideas from perusing an site after site after site. Not to mention blogs that give constant inspiration!
With the meal KS made last week of basmati rice and stewed beans with vegetables and herbs, we finally completed our white rice supply. No more white rice. The only rice that will cross our threshold now will be brown. Or wild. But not white. Did I mention we no longer stock white sugar either? It’s all either turbinado or demerara at Chez Radish. It's like we've become food racists!
The beans with vegetables and herbs were tremendous – the aroma of cooked cilantro and garlic was so seductive, I resisted the urge to lick my bowl clean. I mean, I already have food hands, I should probably try to maintain some decorum while eating. And it’s always good to take a break from animal-based protein. I often find meat or chicken too heavy for consumption at night. And the beans, I’m certain, can be served over just about any rice, or grain or even couscous, if you want to have some kind of a starch. Alternatively, you could just spread the beans over a toasted piece of rustic garlic-rubbed bread and enjoy a variation on a traditional bruschetta.
2 cups cooked basmati rice*
1 can canellini beans (I know, after I knock canned food, it's on my blog!)
cumin
1 onion, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely finely minced**
1 tomato, chopped
8 sprigs of cilantro, finely chopped
salt
In a medium-sized sauce pan, sauté the onion, shallot, and garlic until onions are translucent. Add tomato and sauté for 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle a tiny bit of cumin over the vegetables and let it sink in. Add the chopped cilantro, mix well and add the beans. Cook for another 10 minutes, remove from heat and serve over rice.
*To get 2 cups of cooked rice, you need to cook about 1 cup of dry rice (I think)
**I prefer hand-mincing garlic as opposed to let a crusher do it
Comments
I have the exactly same lens envy. If we lived closer, we could share! Love these kinds of multi-purpose recipes, too.
oh the woes of a food blogger w/o a decent light source... i feel your pain. my little cannon elph is not gonna cut it for much longer and the light box would be a solution but but... seems like an ordeal. i am so clueless on these matters and donwanna learn but my pics are hurtin...
as for beans - i rarely make/eat beans. except for hummus. i need to eat more beans. ok. starting ummm - next week. more beans. for sure. just you wait and see. beans it is.
Jim, lightbox schmight box - laziness aside, who has the space? Certainly not us, New Yorkers living in perpetual space-deficit!
Lydia, I would totally share lenses - photo optics is a costly hobby. And as a woman in finance, I have to make a decision - nice bag? or a nice lens? isn't it telling I want a nice lens instead?
Claudia, funny because I'm rather indifferent to chick peas and it's beans that i love, especially made like this - try it and see, you might become a bean devotee. Also, try the butter beans - they are delicious. As for your camera woes, I am happy to give you thoughts on what I've learned having purchased a body and a few lenses in the SLR land - all you really need (for food photos) are body, macro lens (skip the regular stuff for the time being) and a good flash. I'm enamoured of Nikons, but more folks i know use Canons. Both are fantastic companies! I wouldn't buy other ones in the SLR land.
Since I'm still wielding a point-n-shoot with no attachments, virtually all of my photography attempts are doomed to glistening failure, so I can sympathize with your lens desire. Of course, if I weren't so apocalyptically lazy I could build a light box, but who has time for that?