In The Cucina With Seamas

The other day I had a craving for fried rice so I went searching for recipes. The one common ingredient from the results was day old rice. This gave me the idea to cook one cup of rice when making my Spicy Rice which inspired me to try something new when making black beans and spicy rice. When I next made Spicy Rice, and the rice was finished cooking I scooped a cups worth into the skillet with the cooked black beans. Then I added a 1/2 cup of salsa, mixed everything together until the rice absorbed the salsa. This way got more of the liquid out of the salsa.

Puddle Deep Thought

Blogs are like dreams, they're only interesting to the person who has them.

In The Cucina With Seamas

On my last grocery trip I got Dr. Praeger’s Kale Veggie Burgers. They're delicious but mushy and fell apart as I tried to eat them with roasted red pepper as a topping. However it gave me the idea to try them mixed into brown rice or pasta.

Which I tried for tonight's dinner using small shell pasta, 2 tablespoons of vegan butter and a dash of garlic. After draining the water from the pasta, I mixed in the butter while it was still steamy so it would melt then added the garlic. The burgers were placed on top of the pasta and another spoon mix and dinner was ready.

It was delicious, and next time I'm in the mood for it I'll try rice.

In The Cucina With Seamas Life Hack

 To get that little bit of tomato sauce out of your jar, pour 2 tablespoons of water, close the lid, shake it up.

To thicken that tomato sauce, add a quarter cup of instant potato mix once its heated up.

The Need For Change

I wasn't able to get the bread and milk on my last grocery pick up because I went at 3pm on a Sunday before a snowstorm. So when I ran out of milk on Wednesday morning it meant I'd have to take my coffee black for the first time in a long time.

While the first cup on Thursday morning was bitter, it had a nutty taste (which the milk covered up in the past). I tried putting vanilla ice cream in the second cup but it didn't work out as well as I hoped. By the third cup I was enjoying it plain.

On Friday morning, I was enjoying the full rich bean flavor more.

Hopefully I'll get milk today and can go back to enjoying my morning cup of motivation the way I have for the past 30+ years.

New Look, Same Puddle Deep Thought

 Thought I'd try a cleaner look for the blog by increasing the width, moving the search and archive to the bottom and removing links.

Thanks to everyone who keeps checking in for new content.

Life Hack

If you use paper towels to dry your hands after washing them, you can hang them to dry and reuse them as;

makeshift pot holders

clean up spills

wipe up stove top splatters

clean up messier accidents

clean mirrors and windows

In The Cucina With Seamas

Seamas's Quick Mexican Rice

3 tablespoons avocado oil
1/2 cup of uncooked rice
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup of salsa

1. Pour oil into saucepan, heat over medium flame
2. Add uncooked rice, stir for 2 minutes
3. CAREFULLY add vegetable broth
4. Bring to a boil, cover saucepan, simmer over low heat for 10 minutes
5. Add salsa, cover and simmer for 5 minutes

Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention

Or in this case a lifehack.

I realized I didn't have enough milk for my morning cups of coffee after pouring it for my cereal. As I carried my bowl and mug to the living room an idea struck, use the milk leftover from my cereal for my next cup. The bonus to this idea was I was eating Trader Joe's Crispy Quinoa Stars which makes the milk a little sweeter and ergo the coffee as well.

Tried Something New

I shop at CVS a lot during any given month, so much that I have a category for it in my spending tracker. As I got close to the new month and low on supplies I decided to do all my CVS shopping once a month.

Yesterday morning I made a list, then on my lunch break I made my purchases.

As I left work, carrying my CVS bag, proud of myself for doing something new I remembered that I didn't buy floss.

When I got home I saw that I have enough to last me until next month.

Better Late Than Never

November was a busy month and I didn't have time to work on December's entry. I do have ideas lined up for 2019.