No more rice....Quinoa Sushi!

I got this message the other day, and considering we eat rice at least once a week it was very disturbing:

Consumer Reports latest food safety investigation has found troubling levels of arsenic in virtually every rice product we tested – from brown rice to baby cereal, even Rice Krispies. And much higher arsenic levels in people who had just consumed rice. Concerned? So are we. Especially since our nation strictly limits arsenic in drinking water but sets no limits on arsenic in most food and drinks – despite the EPA's stance that no level of exposure to the carcinogenic form of arsenic is 'safe.' It definitely turns me off rice, but one of my "go to" lunches for the kids is veggie sushi. I find it almost as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich, just roll up rice and carrot/cucumber in some seaweed, done! And I thought I was feeding them such a healthy lunch, I was so disappointed to not have this option. Then I remembered this recipe I saw on a blog called "my new roots". Its quinoa sushi! It looks beautiful and I am so going to try it! I thought I'd share.... http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/2012/03/quinoa-spring-sushi-diy-quick-pickled.html

Fig-i-licious

As a child I remember seeing figs alone without their warm newton bed as the most impossible idea of anything I would want to eat.  The seediness of the fig-newton, (somewhat like a cheap hotel) couched cozily in the pillow of the cake was always a perfect package -- but alone -- naked -- brown shrunken looking wrinkly dried on a ring or... raw, green cut it open looking not done yet.. no thank you, where's my cookie?

I remember hearing stories how my grandfather hailing from Athens used to play hookie with his brothers and have fig fights at the Acropolis. . . unless wrapped in a "newton" I couldn't imagine that figs had any better use than shot put practice for the Olympics.

Last year, amazingly, a friend brought green figs from her tree in Echo Park to my house as dessert offering for our meal-- I thought to myself -- how long before these ripen and what will I do then? 

Amazingly, after dinner was over - we cut the green figs in half - laid them on a platter with walnuts and some candied pecans.  Amidst a smattering of goat cheese and grapes she squeezed honey right over the top!  Transformed to the clouds of Mount Olympus my Greek ancestors must've been smiling down.  I was trying to see if I could squeeze all the elements in one bite and then found myself pairing the parts -- a fig and a walnut -- a fig and a piece of goat cheese -- could it be? Just a fig with honey and there I was -- lapping up the sweet sticky figs with no honey at all... Hoopa!