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Miso Rice Salad with Sesame and Radishes

We’re obsessed with Frozen Rice.

It’s exactly what it sounds like: cooked rice in your freezer, ready to go. No extra ingredients or preservatives and, most importantly, no extra cost. It shaves tons of time off meal preparation and is always 100% perfectly cooked. Sometimes we don’t even fucking heat it up. While the more civilized among us may zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds— we just pour half a cup in the bottom of a bowl and let a scoop or two of piping hot curry do all the cooking for us. Frozen rice is a foundation of quick but satisfying meals in both of our kitchens, and that applies doubly in shitty hot weather like this.



One of our favorite applications of frozen rice is a dish that is totally essential to our lifestyles: rice salads.  They’re satisfying and hearty and don’t make you sweat when you eat them. A good vinaigrette, as you may have guessed by the little theme we’ve got going this week, is the key to making these salads happen. Since rice isn’t know for its, uh, particularly Robust flavor profile, it serves as a perfect backdrop for the intense flavors of the viniagrette. The fat in the dressing, beyond being fucking delicious, actually makes the rice and veggies we throw together more nutritious. It’s simple, it’s cheap, and it’s actual food that feels good to eat.

Miso Rice Salad with Sesame and Radishes

  • 1 cup of Brown Rice, cooked and cooled or simply from the freezer.
  • 1 cup of Wild Rice, ditto.

- or you can use one of those fancy schmancy rice blends-

  • 1 cup of shelled Edamame- frozen also works nicely here
  • 5 Radishes, thinly sliced
  • 2 Carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1-2 Scallions, chopped
  • 1/4 cup Sesame Miso Vinaigrette, plus more to season as necessary.
  • Sesame Seeds

This is probably the easiest recipe we’ve ever given y’all. Put the rice and veggies in bowl. Toss it together. Add the dressing. Let it sit for a few minutes, until the rice is thawed. Check for seasoning; you won’t need salt but you may need more dressing because rice is generally bland and absorbs lots of liquid. Serve, and top with scallions and sesame seeds. Do this before bed, put in a storage container, and stick it in the fridge for a perfect, stupid simple, hella satisfying lunch the next day.

Three Vegetables, Three Ways

Summer time is vegetable time. Local stuff is fresh and abundant, and, while they taste pretty good raw, just a little extra effort makes them truly fucking delicious. We picked our three favorite vegetables and prepared them our three favorite low-maintenance ways. Think of these methods less as recipes and more as formulas; add your favorite flavors, swap for whatever is in your CSA or looking good at the market, and use these simply prepared veg in your favorite pastas, sandwiches, and salads.

Pickles: Radish

adapted from Rachel’s Gramma’s recipe for fridge pickles

  • 7 or 8 radishes, quartered
  • 3 tbsp vinegar- I like apple cider vinegar, but pretty much whatever works
  • 1/8 cup boiling water
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 3/4 tablespoon salt
  • 1 small piece ginger
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 clove of garlic, scored
  • 1tsp peppercorns
  • a shake or two of red pepper flake (optional)
  • 2-3 cloves

Serves: it’s tough to say with pickles, since it’s some people think of them as a condiment but folks like Rachel hold them as the foundation of the food pyramid. Whether you want this as a side or garnish, this recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups!

In a small, heat proof container combine sugar, salt, ginger, bay leaf, garlic, peppercorns, red pepper flake (if that’s your thing), and cloves. Add boiling water and stir. Once the sugar and salt has dissolved, add your radishes and vinegar. Refrigerate. They’ll be ready to eat in about two hours (you can tell because everything will be a really pretty light pink) but they will keep OK for about a week. This pickle brine works great with cucumbers, zucchini, and carrots, and pickled radishes give an incredible zing to deviled eggs.

Roasting: Asparagus

  • As much asparagus as you can eat in a sitting
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
Serves: 1 bunch of asparagus usually feeds the two of us as a side dish, with no leftovers, but we’re really, really into the stuff.
Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Snap or trim the tough ends off of your asparagus and thoroughly rinse.  Shake off any excess moisture, but there’s no need to get prissy and use a towel. Arrange the asparagus in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Lightly drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Reserve pepper for after the asparagus is roasted, to avoid burnt, bitter, shitty things from happening.
Roast the asparagus until it turns bright green, with some brown spots, and is fork tender— which takes about 15 minutes. The good news about roasted asparagus is that it’s pretty much impossible to over cook it, whereas other methods can turn it into bloated baby food in minutes. Since you aren’t washing away all of the nutrients, deliciousness, and texture with water, if you take it a little too far the worst that can happen is extra flexible stalks. And that just means you can shove entire pieces into your mouth more easily.
Remove from the oven and top with a few turns of black pepper. Serve immediately and do your best to not eat it all before it gets to the table.
Any leftovers, though we don’t anticipate them, should probably get chopped and added to risotto or pasta tossed with butter, garlic, and Parmesan.

Haricot Vert with Bacon Lardons and Shallots


  • 3 strips of good, thick cut bacon cut into 1/2 inch pieces 
  • 1 pound of haricot vert, or (for those of us allergic to pretentious bullshit) those delicious, tender, skinny green beans that are at their best in late spring, early summer.
  • 1 huge pinch of salt, bigger than you think necessary
  • 1 shallot, diced very small— or 2-3 cloves of garlic sliced paper thin
  • 1 tbsp of cider vinegar
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
Serves: 4, but these stand up well to gentle reheating. we recommend making enough for left overs.
Prepare a bowl of ice-water, about 2/3 of the way full, and set aside.
Heat your heaviest skillet over medium heat, add your bacon, sautee until the pieces turn a dark mahogany and you can’t stop eating them.  Remove the bacon, and reserve 1 tablespoon of fat.
Fill your biggest pot half way with cold water. Bring to a boil, season with salt. Quickly blanch your haricot vert just until their green deepens and they become barely tender— about 2 minutes. Immediately transfer to the bowl of ice-water to stop the cooking.
Drain the beans very well. In the 1tbs of reserved bacon fat, sautee your shallots (or garlic) until deliciously translucent (or just hardly golden brown). Add your vinegar and the haricot vert, toss until everything is nice and warm. Season with black pepper and top with the bacon.
If you’re veg-an/itarian, this method works super great with your favorite fat, topped with any toasted nuts that strike your fancy as a sub for bacon! With our leftovers, we added roasted red pepper, and pistachios and it was, like, Unreal. Try this method with broccoli and cauliflower, and prepare to have your mind blown.