Recipe - Lime Rice

 So this is the recipe as it's written in the Hare Krishna Cookbook. If you want a PDF of that book, one's available for free --> here. It isn't a terrific scan but for me, zooming in makes it a bit easier to read. The web page and the book itself have a lot of info on the "yoga diet," though I'm not an adherent. It's a good vegetarian collection, but does include dairy-based recipes, so if you're lactose intolerant or vegan, you can skip those parts. 

1 1/2 cup chickpeas
2 cups rice
1 Tb turmeric
1 fresh lime
1/4 cup ghee
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tb ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne

'Cook the rice as usual with the 1/2 tsp. of salt. Soak the chickpeas for 3 hours and drain. Fry the chickpeas in 1/4 cup ghee until crisp. Then mix them with the turmeric. Toss lime juice, spices, and salt with the rice. Garnish with fresh lime slices.'

Bird Says:

I couldn't tell from the recipe if the chickpeas were supposed to be cooked here or not, but I would assume so. I used a different type of bean and I assume you could as well - my next batch will likely have cranberry beans. 

2 cups dry rice yields 4 cups cooked. You can use white or brown rice, just follow the directions for whichever you choose.

I also assumed the recipe was calling for fresh turmeric, which I didn't have. I used one teaspoon of dried ground turmeric instead. I also added the spices and ginger to the pan with ghee (I used olive oil, actually) and beans in order to 'bloom' them. After the spices I added the rice, stirred to mix it all thoroughly, then added the lime juice last.

If I see fresh turmeric root when I'm out next I will try this recipe with it, but I've never worked with it before. 

I found this was a good accompaniment to crispy tofu nuggets, but it stands on its own really well. I warm mine up, but it would probably be fine cold, thus good for a bento lunch, but use caution if your bento is wood or light colored plastic since the turmeric will discolor it.

While I'm sharing, here's the quinoa salad recipe from Kusafiri Coffee Shop in Disney's Animal Kingdom, courtesy of D23. I will be leaving out the cucumber as I'm not a fan. You could either pay five bucks for a bowl at Disney, or spend five bucks on bulk ingredients and make enough to feed your neighborhood. Happy chowing!

That Tree Came Out of Nowhere

 I had my first real bike crash yesterday. I am working on learning to turn and corner, so right now I'm playing with balance and steering, trying to keep in a more or less straight line, that sort of thing. Some places are very hard because the sand has gotten dry and soft again, making some areas very hard to keep your momentum in, so there were a few times when I basically just slid sideways - no biggie. Until I got severely off course and hit a tree. Not a big tree, but one covered with those stupid thorny vines that grow everywhere around here! So I just laid there for a moment doing an internal 'system check,' decided I was more okay than not, and slowly began extricating myself from the brambles. I cleaned up my very minor injuries and called it a day. I scraped one elbow, which looks awful because of how much skin was torn off, but is actually a pretty shallow wound, have scratches up my left arm and on my hand, and yesterday was having minor muscle pains in the left leg, probably from tensing up and then falling on it, IDK. But this morning I was all right when I got up (scrapes and cuts aside) and after my morning yoga I don't really feel any muscle or joint pains.

So like the very stupid and very persistent person I am, I'm going out again today. But hopefully I won't be examining any plant life close-up.

I guess I should think about getting a helmet.

 I'm considering doing a supply run Saturday. Again, not low on much except fresh produce, and I'll be topping off other things like cat food, some canned goods, flour if I can find it. I'm pretty sure you've all seen the idiots beating the drum to "re-open America" and I know we're going to just Leeroy Jenkins it. But Fox and I are going to continue staying home as much as possible and keeping contact to a minimum. I understand people want to get back to work because they've been living paycheck to paycheck, and no real help is forthcoming. I also worry about governmental overreach and loss of the freedoms we still have. But I also don't want to go spreading deadly viruses around, either. So when you see me making fun of the "re-open" crowd, I mean the people who just want to go to Bass Pro Shop, or who've been stockpiling dried beans and ammo for decades getting ready for "the big one" and are now losing their shit because Baskin Robbins is closed. "I need a haircut!" No, darlin' you want a haircut, there's a difference and it's not one of mere semantics. 

I mean, I've had a MAD craving for Tijuana Flats these last few days. Florida peeps know what I mean - gotta get some of that Slap My Ass Sauce. ;D I wonder if they're doing curbside take-away. Hmmm.