Rice Rice Baby!

The cubs and I took a little trip to the nursery. Not just any nursery... the fancy-pants one where they don't have roses set out in pots to browse... nooooo. You have to special order them. Out of a really big binder. While they stand there and watch you. And tell you that the rose you tell them you want really isn't the rose you want, even though you just told them that it is, in fact, the rose you want.Yup. We're talking high-end, Ye Olde Money nursery. Thing is, now it's rather run down. The kids? They still had fun. But they are kids. Practically everything is fun to them. And if it isn't fun... well... give 'em five minutes. They'll make it fun.

So here we are, at this run-down fancy-pants nursery wandering around amongst the weeds and half dead $200 plants in black nursery pots. I had this silly thought in my head that I would look for a sorrel plant since, mine, um, died. (Because I didn't water it. Naughty, naughty Mrs. Lyons!!) And that surely the fancy-pants nursery would have a sorrel plant... right? WELL, guess what obstacle we ran into whilst attempting to peruse the herbs and vegetables? That's right. Mrs. Ye Olde Money. Aka: I Own The World, Get Your Brats Out of My Way. *sigh* She was blocking the whole herb isle with her little cart full of half dead over priced plants... all I wanted to do was find a sorrel plant!! [whine] Come on! I'm sick and I'm on my period and my back is killing me and I had to drag the kids with me! Can I get some space here?? Pleeeeassse???

NOPE.

But that's fine. The kids didn't care; we went down a different isle and found some hideously deformed carrot "seedlings." See? God always makes it up to ya somehow. I was too shocked and disgusted to take a crappy cell phone picture, sorry. Next time I'll try harder.

What we DID come home with was organic slug and earwig and pill bug and three-other-bugs-I've-blocked-from-memory because... seriously? I don't like thinking about bugs. Oh, and two Martha Stewart Food magazines.

green rice and black beans...mmmmmm

Green Rice
Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine, May 2010

1 large bunch cilantro
1/4 white onion, chopped
1 garlic clove
1 3/4 cups water
salt and pepper

1 tsp. olive oil
1 cup basmati rice

Throw everything into a blender and, uh, blend it. BUT. First check to make sure that your dinner assistant (you know? the one who really wanted the rice?) knows how to put the blender top on properly. Add the oil and rice to the sauce pan over med-high heat and stir the rice until coated with oil. Add the cilantro juice you made in the blender (minus what's on the floor and cabinets) to the rice, bring to a boil, cover, then finally simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Stir it all together or "fluff with a fork" before serving.

thoughts: Well. My kids love rice. Me? Not so much. As for this particular recipe... the kids loved it and ate every last rice... kernel? Maggot look-alike? What the heck do you call rice anyway? Oh. GRAINS. So yeah, the kids loved it, it was tasty, but opening a jar of salsa verde and just dumping it in with the water is WAY easier... So is my usual routine of cook the rice, fluff, then add chopped cilantro and garlic powder.

And I really should ban the kids from using the blender, seeing as how they are violently allergic to *remembering* to cleaning up after themselves.