Saturday, July 11, 2009

You Didn't Have to Be So Nice

I would have liked you anyway.
You were just a mish-mash of leftovers, combined with some rice and cooked, all gunky and savory, in the rice cooker.
You were dowdy, but, draped in accessories of chopped cilantro and crumbled goat feta, you sparkled.
What amazed me was your depth, your sweetness, your complexity, and yet, your very simpleness.
It was a case of needing to use up some delicious liquid left from cooking black beans. This broth was already flavored very well, sort of Latin-ish with cumin and garlic. Bay leaf, of course. Then there was the drib of homemade tomato sauce, about half as much as there was bean juice. Mixed together, they yielded a cup and a half, so we just cooked 3/4 cup of rice with it until the beeper beeped. There. That's the recipe.
You were surprisingly delicious, in a Spanish Rice and Beyond kind of way; a little caramelized and sticky, hot, dark and sexy.
More than I expected.
And it's true.
I adored every lovin' spoonful.

9 comments:

Greg said...

The Loving Spoonful 1966. A wonderful memory and a wonderful looking dish.

Zoomie said...

Oh, you clever, clever girl!

kudzu said...

I almost had to fan myself as I read your description of this dish. Whoo-ee.

Nancy Ewart said...

You are really clever - working in a comment about one of my favorite Loving Spoonful songs in a description of a delicious dish.

cookiecrumb said...

Greg: Thanks. The dish ended up being memorable, too. Don't know if I'll remember it in 43 years, though. Still can't forget the song.

Zoomie: I must have a very cooperative muse, because it just popped into my head. Merci, sweets.

Kudzu: Oh! And... I put it in my MOUTH!!! Cookie Does Dishes.

Nancy: It came about because that's how I felt eating the dish. It was nicer than it needed to be! Kisses.

Christine said...

Sometimes the very best things are left over. Very inspired pot scrapings!

cookiecrumb said...

Christine: Hi, hello! Yes, actually, "scrapings" is a good word, because it formed a slight glaze in the rice pot. And, you will have noticed, it's completely vegetarian. :-)

Sweet Bird said...

I love it when leftovers come together so nicely. I managed to pull off a warm chicken salad for lunch on Sunday using up all our leftovers from several restaurants - it was delicious.

cookiecrumb said...

Sweet Bird: Yeah, it's like taking stuff you already liked, and coming up with something you like even better. Nice.