Let them eat balls !

Yesterday , hot sandwiches were on tap for dinner, but they needed some kind of side. Not feeling salad right now. Raw veggies seemed blah and chips were so last week. What's a mom to do ? Feed em balls ! Arrancini to be exact . What is arrancini you might ask ? They are a Sicilian rice ball that is filled with cheese, peas or a savory meat filling  and deep fried. They look like baby oranges when finished, hence the name Arrancini -little orange in Italian.

To make, you need the following ingredients:

4 cups cooked rice, 2 eggs, 1 lb grated cheese, 1/4 cup parsley and about a cup of your desired filling  ( shredded mozerella in this case)

You will also need breadcrumbs and an egg wash to coat them in and some way to deep fry these ( dutch oven with oil for frying or a fryer)

Mix the cooked rice with the parsley, grated cheese and eggs. It should form a stiff, sticky mixture.( do not let the scary woman with no make up frighten you- she has had coffee , so she is safe to approach)

Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, grab an ice cream scoop size mound of the mixture

mush it into a small patty and add about a teaspoon of your chosen filling

then re-form the ball, adding extra mixture if nessisary to insure your filling is contained in the rice mixture

Roll into a ball and then roll the ball in an eggwash mixture followed by breadcrumbs. It is helpful to have a bowl of water nearby so you can wash your hands between balls or they will start to resemble a hand shaped arancini , and you don't want to mistakenly deep fry those. Let the finished balls sit for a few minutes  while you heat your oil to 375. Meanwhile, bask in the knowledge that you really, really need to buy new jelly roll pans :

Once your oil is at temperature, fry the balls for 3-5 minute, until golden brown

Drain on paper towels and giggle at how your son calls these Matzo Balls, Rice a Roni and just plain yummy. They really are exactly that. I think these could make even a PB and J sandwich seem like a rather dressed up dinner !

Nice Rice baby !

Yesterday was an adventure in flour buying - amongst other foods. While you can live gluten free with meat, vegetables, fruit, dairy, starchy things become a problem. Things like corn, potatoes , flax and rice will serve you for many things, but there will come occasions when you want to have an actual slice of sandwich bread or a roll or even a birthday cake. There are many commercially made mixes on the market today , but sometimes you just do not want to be trapped into what someone else decides that you should be limited to eating. Here is where the multitude of gluten free flour enter your life. From what I have discerned from several recipes on line, the tools (flours) of the trade are rice flour, potato starch, besan flour, corn flour, tapioca flour and xanthan gum, so it was my intention to get a supply of each and do some experimenting. Could not find the tapioca starch ( trip to Whole Foods later today will remedy this) and I was blown away by the price of xanthan gum ! A small bag costs nearly 20 dollars. I have no idea what the heck a xanthan is, let alone why it's gum is so darn expensive, but thankfully you use small amounts when you use it. I brought it home, found shelf space for it ( not an easy thing here) , and kissed my bag of brown rice , for being so versatile and so cheap ! I was especially thankful for one of the nummies it can create- rice pudding. We have a custom of having a treat on Saturday night, and lately it has been a thing from the bakery in a single serve portion. Mine used to be brownies, but the contain gluten( wheat flour, white flour, rye flour or barley flour) and are a no no. In anticipation of this dilemma, on Friday I made Brown Rice pudding in my crock pot

Rice Pudding GF (6 servings)

3 cups cooked brown rice
3 cups almond milk
1/2 cup splenda
2 chopped apples
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
3/4 teaspoon vanilla ( extreme sensitives should use gluten free vanilla powder)

Combine all in a crock pot and cook on low for 4 hrs.

The weather is supposed to be nice today, so we are off to play on a driving range today and hopefully get in a walk in the woods. There has been a lot of flooding in the area , and several trails have been underwater or a sea of mud, so hopefully we can find something clear to walk on !