Rice, Rice Baby

It's been awhile since you guys had the joy of a Gatherer food review. Nothing has been crazy inspiring or different. That's probably because I've stuck to the same meal delivery service for awhile (Dinnerly). Of all the services I've tried they meet the requirement of good enough meals, fairly good quality products, variety of options...but most important, price point. There's also something to be said for the Natives in that they are developing more mature palettes so they accept more of the options without much drama. I'm not saying they are requiring 5 Michelin star meals or anything, but they like most vegetables and proteins, I've learned which ones are totally off limits (I still don't understand why they hate shrimp so much), so its become easier to pick meals that are at least edible without threatening to delete youTube if they don't eat their dinner...for the love of all that is holy please pick up your fork and eat.

I've added in a fried rice variation once or twice a month because Native 2 used to HATE the texture of rice but has since decided it is edible (maybe even delicious). Native 1 still gags at mashed potatoes (from anywhere, not just the ones I make, its not just me and my inability to cook I swear). This fried rice was Bacon and Eggs. Native 2 was initially very angry at me that it wasn't spaghetti, which he had just had 2 days earlier. When the bacon hit the pan he changed he tune and all of a sudden I was "the best mom in the whole wide world I love you can I have extra bacon okay bye I have to play Fortnite". There was some sus from me because the recipe said to boil the rice like pasta, drain, rinse and dry. I know fried rice is best made with left over rice so while I normally care if the kit sends anything pre-made or cooked (I'm strange, I like to learn how to make all-the-things) I would have been okay with pre-cooked rice. I went a step further and rather than let the rice dry out on a tray on the counter, I put it on a silicon baking pad and put in the oven on the lowest setting while I did the rest of the prep.

Speaking of prep, Hunter bought the prep deck for me for mother's day. I would love to show you said prep deck and tell you how awesome it is, but they've had supply chain issues and no idea as to when my deck will arrive. I'm not saying I'll have a fancy prep area in my kitchen when I win the lottery, but I will definitely have a fancy prep area.

Back the the recipe. Again one of the things I like about this company is that they tend to have recipes with easy to obtain from the grocery store ingredients. Jasmine rice, fresh ginger, spring onions/scallions, bacon, teriyaki sauce, and peas. From my cupboard it requires salt, pepper, garlic, eggs, white wine vinegar, and a neutral oil. I subbed the white wine vinegar with rice wine vinegar and the neutral oil with sesame oil. I do that with all of my Asian flavor recipes, because I like the taste better. I actually by sesame oil in the same gigantic quantity that I buy olive oil. The cook-like-pasta and dry out method isn't horrible. If I plan better and know which meal I'm cooking I'll still probably cook the rice the day before, but it works in a pinch. Please don't tell Uncle Roger (Nigel Ng) because he would absolutely roast me, but the Natives really enjoyed this one so I'll take the roasting gladly if it means no drama.

Recipe is below. I lost track of my sweet tea ratings, and let's be honest there wasn't any scientific consistency to it. It was a fantastic meal, really loved the Millard flavor from the crispy bits from the bottom. Lovely combo of acid, salt, a hint of crunchy texture, brightness from the peas, a subtle sweetness from the teriyaki sauce, and that smoky bacon deliciousness. If you don't have teriyaki you can always mix some tamari soy and sugar and will get a similar taste. Final judgement: 5 ice cold sweet teas on a hot humid summer day after running 11 training miles in 80% humidity.

Bacon and Egg Fried Rice

For anyone wondering, the Natives loved this meal. Any time I have made any fried rice variation since this one causes epic levels of excitement from Native 2. Native 1 is way too close to the indifference of the teenage male to provide much input other than, "it was good". If asked if I could make it again, Native 1 shrugged and said "sure". I think I'm going to have to make meals with meatballs in it to get any sort of reaction out of him...of course the only reaction I'm going to get is him chuckling and saying "you said balls".