FROM THE EDITOR

Since my family moved overseas when I was young, eating rice was part of our daily diet, most of the time My childhood included many scenes of rice patties stretching as far as my eyes could see At that age, I didn’t think much of it, except I knew harvesting rice was a back-breaking chore We learned a song in English (and Tagalog):

“Planting rice is never fun, “Bend from dawn till the day is done

“Cannot stand and cannot sit, “Cannot rest for a little bit ”

I didn’t realize until we moved back to the States that most Americans didn’t eat that much rice (and most didn’t know how to make it) The Flick kids all knew how to cook the rice Pour the rice into the saucepan (we eyed it; we all knew how much our family ate), wash and rinse until the water is clear, level out the rinsed rice in the pan, stick your finger in the middle to measure how much rice there is, then fill with water to the next knuckle (or double the depth of the rice) My sister and I would throw a couple of tablespoons of butter in, too Then heat the pan uncovered on high until it boils, reduce the heat to low, cover, then cook until the water is gone, about 20 minutes

That’s how we were taught We were also taught how to make Filipino Fried Rice Prepare the rice the day before (do not use freshly cooked rice, it will get soggy) and refrigerate Brown some bacon, remove from the pan or wok and dry In the bacon grease, saute garlic and green onion When they are translucent, throw in your protein (often ham or shrimp), chopped bacon and rice Fry until the ingredients are well mixed Pour soy sauce on the fried rice, until it’s the shade of brown you like (depending on how much you like soy sauce; I use low-sodium soy sauce or you can use tahini) Push aside the rice, then pour three or four scrambled eggs into the pan or wok Let the eggs start to cook, then when they’re not runny, fold them into the fried rice And that’s it! Add salt if you want to No peas and carrots in Filipino Fried Rice!

At this year ’ s Winter Fancy Food Show, I was intrigued to talk to Car yl Levine and Ken Lee, who introduced black rice to the United States, calling it Forbidden Rice, and who freely promote a new way of growing rice that is more efficient and Earth friendly I didn’t realize when I saw all those rice patties in the Philippines that the practice was used to cut down on weeds But by eliminating the flooded fields, the soil is better enriched and the production increases This is important in emerging countries suffering food insecurity, where rice could help reduce hunger

Caryl and Ken wrote a book, “Rice Is Life: Recipes and Stories

Celebrating the World’s Most Essential Grain” in which they talk about their regenerative ideas toward growing rice, share many recipes for the various kinds of rice (yes, there’s more than longgrain and short-grain) and even tell those inexperienced cooks (who may not like the loosy-goosy method I talk about) how to cook rice

Now I’m hungry

Until next time, stay safe! GN

Gourmet News

WWW GOURMETNEWS COM

PUBLISHER Kimber y Oser

PRESIDENT Tara Neal VICE PRESIDENT Abeer Ab aad

VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES Anthony Socci anthony s@oser com

PRODUCTION MANAGER/ART DIRECTOR Yasm ne Brown

SENIOR EDITOR AJ F ick EDITOR JoE len Lowr y

CUSTOMER SERVICE customerser vice@oser com

AJ Flick • Senior Editor aj f@oser com

CIRCULATION MANAGER Jamie Green amie g@oser com

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Heather A brecht heather a@oser com

PUBLISHING OFFICE 1877 N Kolb Road

MEMBER OF:

OSER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP FOUNDER Lee M Oser

Periodicals postage paid at Tucson AZ and additional m a i l i n g o ff i c e G o u r m e t N e w s ( I S S N 1 0 5 2 - 4 6 3 0 ) i s published monthly by Oser Communications Group 1 8 7 7 N o r t h K o l b R o a d , Tu c s o n , A Z 8 5 7 1 5 ; 520 721 1300 Publisher assumes no responsibility for u n s o l i c i t e d m a t e r i a l o r p r i c e s q u o t e d i n n e w s p a p e r

Contributors are responsible for proper release of proprietar y classified information

©2023 by Oser Communications Group All rights reserved Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission of the publisher, is expressly prohibited B a c k i s s u e s w h e n a v a i l a b l e c o s t $ 7 e a c h w i t h i n t h e past 12 months, $12 each prior to the past 12 months

Back orders must be paid in advance either by check or charged to American Express, Visa, or Master Card

Gourmet News is distributed without charge in North America to qualified professionals in the retail and distribution channels of the specialty foods and hardgoods trade; paid subscriptions cost $65 annually to the U S and Canada All foreign subscriptions cost $150 annually to cover air deliver y All payments must be made in U S funds and drawn on a U S bank For subscriber s e r v i c e s i n c l u d i n g s u b s c r i p t i o n i n f o r m a t i o n c a l l 520 721 1300

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Gourmet News, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715