I Can't Cook Rice for the Life of Me

Many, many, times I have tried to cook rice and it's a failure every time. It drives me crazy that I can't get it right. All I want is some yummy, fluffy Mexican rice. Is that too much to ask for?! If you have dinner at my house and I serve you rice, just know that I didn't make it. Instead, I took a package out of the freezer and threw into the microwave for 3 min and Voila.. rice! Thanks Trader Joes! :P

Anyways, I "think" I have narrowed down the reason why I can't make rice. IMPATIENCE! I like to think of myself as a pretty good cook, but I know that I could be a lot better. Because I tend to be impatient, I make mistakes and things don't come out right. There is a reason why you need to let something sit for 5 min. They didn't just put it on the recipe for fun. And there is a reason you are supposed to simmer and not boil.

I was reading the March issue of Cooking Light and came across and really great article entitled, "The 25 Most Common Cooking Mistakes". I learned that there are several things that I do incorrectly. Here are a few:

4. You boil when you are supposed to simmer. This is where my impatience comes in.

6. You over soften butter. Whaat! I didn't think that was possible. Hmmm.... Kristy, I think I figured out why our chocolate chip cookies were really flat!

17. Meat gets no chance to rest after cooking.

23. You pop meat straight from the fridge into the oven or on the grill. Ooohhh!

So, check out that article! You just might learn something new!

I'm strong to the finish, 'cause I eats me Spinach

Spinach always makes me think of Popeye and how he used to eat it and become really strong. I loved the cartoon growing up and have always thought of it being very nutritional for you, especially high in iron. Since, I have been on a huge spinach kick lately and eating a lot of it (I have had it 4 times in one week), I feel like I deserve a pat on the back for eating more healthy.

Today though, in effort to keep myself entertained on my lunch, I looked up the nutritional facts for spinach. I was actually quite surprised when I read up on it. It is rich in Vitamin A, C, E, and K. When it came to the Iron though, because spinach is also high in Oxalates, it makes it hard for our body to absorb the Iron. I will let Wikipedia explain it for you.


According to Wikipedia:

"The larger portion of dietary iron (nonheme) is absorbed slowly in its many food sources, including spinach. This absorption may vary widely depending on the presence of binders such as fiber or enhancers, such as vitamin C. Therefore, the body's absorption of non-heme iron can be improved by consuming foods that are rich in vitamin C. However, spinach contains high levels of oxalate. Oxalates bind to iron to form ferrous oxalate and remove iron from the body. Therefore, a diet high in oxalate (or phosphate or phytate) leads to a decrease in iron absorption.

Hmmmm, to me that sounds like they cancel each other out. Well, I'm not going to stop eating it, as:

• One it tastes really good
• It has other nutritional value
• I want to be strong like Popeye. I can dream can't I? :)

"I'm strong to the finish, 'cause I eats me Spinach, I'm Popeye the sailor man!" - Popeye

Blogging Brick Wall

It's been exactly a week since I last blogged, which is kinda sad. I feel like I have hit a blogging brick wall. All last week, I kept trying to think of something to blog about. I would think of something and then think to myself, nah no one would be that interested in reading about that. Maybe I am over analyzing it too much? Or we just had a boring week, I don't know.

I didn't even cook anything that I found too interesting to share. I did make Chicken Stuffed Shells, which I found on Annie's Eats. Everyone said they loved it, but I didn't really like it so that's probably why I didn't blog about it. I think what happened was that while eating it, I realized that I am not really into heavy pasta dish's like lasagna or mostacolli. If you like these types of dish's I really suggest trying this recipe.

Anyways, I am getting off topic. Back to the blogging brick wall, is there anything that you guys like reading about? Anything you want to know more about the hubby and I?

P.S. I am so glad the spelling function is working again because I am the worst speller in the world! :)