I made a great "fried rice" last night that I forgot to share with you. I bought frozen brown rice from Whole Foods, it's amazing. I love the frozen rice from Trader Joe's but it comes premeasured, and the brown rice from Whole Foods allows you to use what you want.
Ok, here's the basic recipe. By the way, I bought one of those Vidalia onion slicer/dicers at CVS a while ago (it was an impulse buy!) however I must admit that it works very well in dicing things into teensy tiny pieces!
Heat 1 tsp. of peanut oil in a nonstick pan. When it's hot, add 1/2 C. diced onion, saute until browned. Add in 1 diced zucchini (use the gadget for dicing these) and saute for another minute. Add in 1 C. frozen brown rice, stir to incorporate and let brown for a minute or two. Add a little diced red pepper and add in 1 Tbs. hosin sauce. serve.
If I had any cashews, I would have crushed up a few and added them in, but I didn't. I cut up a chicken drumstick that we had roasted and threw the meat into the rice.
The kids picked out the red peppers, but ate the rice.
P.S. Here is the article about our school lunch reform that came out in today's Westport News.
Westport Moms Come Together for School Lunch Reform
By Jenna Gaillard
Article Launched: 10/01/2008 10:14:40 AM EDT
A group of Westport mothers angry about the types of foods being served in their children's school cafeterias have joined forces to call for a change.
The group, Parents for Change, want other Westport moms to unite and look at the food their children are eating in school and try to figure out how they can transform these foods into better healthy food choices.
"We just want better choices for our kids," said Nicole Straight, founder of Parents for Change.
Not too long ago Straight sent an e-mail to a few of her Westport friends who have children, want ing to know if they were interested in creating healthier food choices for children and asking them to send the e-mail to others. The e-mail, in a short period of time, has picked up speed and so far Straight has heard back from several people, many of whom she doesn't even know, asking what they can do to help.
Straight is a mother of two daughters and decided to call for a change because she feels that it's her "moral obligation." Straight said schools don't have to make drastic changes, such as serving tofu, just healthy options. She believes school cafeterias should get rid of chicken nuggets and switch to, for example, chicken drumsticks.
"As a parent my hope is
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to offer kids some healthy examples; significantly healthy alternatives," Straight said.
Straight teaches cooking classes called "Time to Eat" three times a week from her Westport home. The cooking classes focus on preparing healthy and delicious meals in 15 minutes.
According to Straight, when she creates recipes for her classes, she always takes into consideration whether her family will eat the meals.
Using her daughters as "guinea pigs" Straight said she has a lot of experience choosing menus kids will like and that's where she thinks she can help.
Straight believes that school cafeterias should do a little "tweaking" to the types of foods they serve to students. For example, instead of serving beef tacos, they could serve turkey or chicken tacos with non-fried tortilla shells; or for grilled cheese sandwiches use wheat bread and skim cheese.
"That's how kids get a better palette -- trying new things," Straight said.
According to a press release from Parents for Change, children aren't getting enough nutrients from the food served in schools, which is affecting their behavior, ability to concentrate and their brainpower. The press release also states that children eating chicken nuggets and pizza for lunch aren't getting the "right kind of nutrition for proper growth."
Parents for Change isn't the only one trying to reform school lunches. Mothers Amy Kalafa of Weston, and Susan Rubin of Chappaqua, N.Y., teamed up to film the documentary Two Angry Moms.
According to the documentary's Web site, www.angrymoms.org, Kalafa decided to make the documentary when she saw headlines about a national child health crisis.
Two Angry Moms examines what parents need to know about better food choices in school cafeterias and how to get these food choices offered to students.
Straight believes that everyone should see Two Angry Moms and that's why Parents for Change is sponsoring a special screening of the documentary at the Westport Public Library.
"It's very eye-opening," Straight said. "I think the movie is such a model for showing how to reform school lunches. It changes the way I thought about how it could be done."
Straight said one important feature in the documentary was that it showed "the reality of dealing with school boards and the resistance to change."
Straight knows that transforming school lunches won't happen overnight but she remains optimistic.
"I think Westport has come a long way and in the right direction," said Straight.
For the screening of the documentary, Straight said the group has invited the PTA and First Selectman Gordon Joseloff.
"I have a vision we can be a beacon to do school lunch reform and other towns can see how happy everyone is once it's re formed," Straight said.
Two Angry Moms will be shown Tuesday, Oct. 28, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., in the McManus Room at the Westport Public Library and is free to the public.
For more information about Two Angry Moms visit www. angrymoms.org or contact Straight at 221-8306.
