In the vegetable world, zucchini is a lot like Olivia Newton-John’s character “Sandy” from the 50’s era movie, Grease. On its own it can be a little boring, stable and nutritious, but give it some black spandex pants, and a perm, and Va-Va-Voom! What I’m saying, is that everything needs a little bit of care to be brought from boring to sublime.
Now don’t get me wrong, zucchini is fine. Cut into rounds, steamed, and then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese is, eeh. Sliced into batons, sauteed with garlic, and a bit of red chili flake, now that’s getting better. But it’s still a bit insipid… How about grated? Now that’s what I’m talking about. Grating the vegetable brings a whole other texture to the mix– delicate, creamy, yet crunchy if you choose. It’s versatile: sauteed until crisp and browned, stirred into a batter [...]

My sister-in-law doesn’t like rice. What? You may be asking yourself, how can a person dislike something so innocuous. That’s almost like saying you don’t like water– which come to think of it, my sister isn’t all too crazy about. I guess you could say that I come from a family of awkward eaters. But back to rice, well, I love it. And I also adore soup. So what about a meal of soupy-rice? Bring it on!
Warm and nourishing, a stick to your ribs sort of meal that is both homey and satisfying. And it couldn’t be more simple. Like a risotto, only stripped down. Minus the continual, deltoid-building stirring, Risi e Bisi makes a lovely, hot meal, with just a crust of bread, and perhaps a salad to round the whole dish out.
Made with arborio or carnaroli rice, the short-grained [...]