# Spicing Up My Rice



## carpy1985 (Jan 1, 2012)

Hello All 

I got a new set of Prestige Pans and a Wok for Xmas and since i have been a bit more adventurous with my cooking!

My favourite so far is to bring some water to the boil and add a chicken stock to the pan and adding rice once this has dissolved. Beautiful!

What i want to do next is to add some spice / colour to the rice... but i am a bit fussy and dont like onions and so was wondering what you would suggest i try adding!

So far i am thinking to finely chop in some peppers or something to add flavour and colour!

If it helps this is to accompany a load of diced up chicken (which i tend to dry fry with some Nandos hot sauce)

Also i am Gluten Intolerant which shouldn't make a difference but just in case! 

Thanks Guys and Happy New Year!!

Andrew


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## merstar (Jan 1, 2012)

You can make Spanish rice and omit the onions, ie, sauteed garlic, peppers, tomatoes, and spices, such as chili powder, cumin, etc.

Or sauteed garlic and peppers, along with some green peas and spices. If you have saffron, it's great in this.

Do you like shallots? You can use those instead of onions in many dishes.


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## carpy1985 (Jan 1, 2012)

Must admit I've never tried Shallots. Think my stigma with Onions is that I hate it when they are either fried or people put massive chunks of them in my food. 

I may try some of the things you have suggested including some finely diced dry fried onions (I'm dry frying everything at the minute ha) to see what I like. 

Not a clue what saffron is though - nothing google won't solve though!!


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## 4meandthem (Jan 1, 2012)

Try some rice salads. use different veggies,different herbs,different onions. Try some different dressings like pesto,italian.tarragon,green goddess etc. serve warm or cold. try different rices too. They all have their own taste/texture.

For example:
cooked brown basmati
small dice red onion
thawed frozen corn
small dice red bell pepper
chopped Italian Parsley
small dice zuccini
Homemade italian dressing with some fine grated pecorino.


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## 4meandthem (Jan 1, 2012)

Try "Blooming" your onions or shallots if using them raw. My wife won't enjoy them unless i do. It just means a quick marinade in vinegar to cut the sharpness. Try different vinegars. 10-20 minutes is all that is needed.


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## carpy1985 (Jan 1, 2012)

I like brown rice so that's a good one. 

Some of those things are another language though haha but I'm seeing that there are a lot of options!!

#Newbie
#StillLearning


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## carpy1985 (Jan 1, 2012)

4meandthem said:
			
		

> Try "Blooming" your onions or shallots if using them raw. My wife won't enjoy them unless i do. It just means a quick marinade in vinegar to cut the sharpness. Try different vinegars. 10-20 minutes is all that is needed.



NOW!!! 

That seems like a very, very good option!! 

Do I just literally plonk them into some Vinegar or do they require cooking?!


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## Siegal (Jan 1, 2012)

sometimes I put a cinnamon stick, tumeric (color), and some other whole spices like crushed cardamom, star anise, cloves, etc
sometimes a black lime (loomi) but not with the other spices


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## GLC (Jan 1, 2012)

Saffron, the real thing, soaked in water for a while to motivate it and added to the not too strong stock. And for depth, shallots sliced paper thin and added during the last five minutes of cooking. 

If barely cooked shallot doesn't appeal, slice them thin and fry them in a bit of oil and top the finished rice with the crispy fried slivers.


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## no mayonnaise (Jan 1, 2012)

Toast up some cumin seeds in a dry pan and toss them in the rice before cooking, along with a bay leaf.  Bonus points if you toss a little butter or ghee in the pan just before the cumin seeds finish toasting.

Also maybe you can try risotto.

One of my favorite things is Furikake.  You can get it in a million different flavors but it's the equivalent to putting ketchup on fries or cheese on a burger.  Just put it on the rice at the table, with maybe some shoyu or tamari.


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## inchrisin (Jan 1, 2012)

These are excellent for rice balls.  The salmon is excellent.  Some of them are a little dank for my liking.


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## 4meandthem (Jan 1, 2012)

carpy1985 said:


> NOW!!!
> 
> That seems like a very, very good option!!
> 
> Do I just literally plonk them into some Vinegar or do they require cooking?!



Just place the raw slices into a small bowl and cover with vinegar.
The furikake is also good but an aquired taste. I am the only one who
eat it my house. There are many to choose from though.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 2, 2012)

merstar said:


> You can make Spanish rice and omit the onions, ie, sauteed garlic, peppers, tomatoes, and spices, such as chili powder, cumin, etc.
> 
> Or sauteed garlic and peppers, along with some green peas and spices. If you have saffron, it's great in this.
> 
> Do you like shallots? You can use those instead of onions in many dishes.



Upon reading the OP these were my ideas too, so just quoting rather than repeating.

Also, suggest you try heating some oil in your pan then saute the rice (don't add any water yet) until it starts to brown, then add the water. If you intend to add sauteed vegetables, saute them first and reserve them aside, add any additional oil and brown the rice, then add the necessary water and reserved vegetables and continue cooking.

I would add green peas at or near the end of cooking because they need warming only not cooking.

Chop up some parsley and sprinkle over your rice just before serving.

You can brown some almond slices or pine nuts in oil or butter, then throw them over the rice just before serving. Or same with bacon or chopped ham.

I'm sure there's more than a million ways to make rice.



GLC said:


> Saffron, the real thing, soaked in water for a while  to motivate it and added to the not too strong stock. And for depth,  shallots sliced paper thin and added during the last five minutes of  cooking.



I've been looking for ideas on how to use saffron. Does that change the taste or only the color?

I don't know why but I've really never noticed much difference when using stock instead of water. I've been using Swanson canned chicken stock. Somebody please tell me why I can't notice much if any difference. Maybe I'm just a barbarian.



GLC said:


> If barely cooked shallot doesn't appeal, slice them thin and fry them in  a bit of oil and top the finished rice with the crispy fried  slivers.



Crispy fried shallot slivers sounds really good! You're making me sorry it's after dinnertime now. 



carpy1985 said:


> I like brown rice ...



Try my favorite brown rice. It's Lundberg Jubilee (Lundberg = brand, Jubilee = variety) "a gourmet blend of whole grain brown rice," available at Whole Foods Market or other markets and/or Internet. I've never found anything as good! I'm not sure if it has gluten or not.


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## carpy1985 (Jan 2, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> I don't know why but I've really never noticed much difference when using stock instead of water. I've been using Swanson canned chicken stock. Somebody please tell me why I can't notice much if any difference. Maybe I'm just a barbarian.



I really love my stock rice at the minute - really changed how i cook! much better than plain boiled rice lol

The way i do it involves bringing the water to the boil, dissolving the stock in said water, then add the rice and once boiling again re-cover and turn the heat down. Leave for approx. 10 minutes. Once done i leave to stand for a couple of mins and then drain and you can deffo taste!

couple of things to note i guess:
Rice - this is with White Long Grain Rice, Brown rice might take more for the stock to penetrate the rice?
Rice/Water Ratio - to get a strong flavour its approx 1 cup of rice : 2 cups of stock water. Or for a slightly milder flavour 1cup of rice : 3 cups of stock water.

Just my findings on this little matter 

BROWNING OF RICE
When you say brown the rice in some hot oil, just for simpletons like me - do you mean rice out the packet, (wash rice,) into pan until browned and then pop into my boiling pan of (maybe stock) water?

Further to that - might try only doing that with half the rice... could mix up the colour a little?! anyone tried that lol


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## Timothy (Jan 2, 2012)

carpy1985 said:


> Must admit I've never tried Shallots. Think my stigma with Onions is that I hate it when they are either fried or people put massive chunks of them in my food.
> 
> I may try some of the things you have suggested including some finely diced dry fried onions (I'm dry frying everything at the minute ha) to see what I like.
> 
> Not a clue what saffron is though - nothing google won't solve though!!


Hi Carpy, welcome to DC. Your aversion to onions may be textural. My Brother is the same way. For recipes that use onions, he simply blends them, (since they are mostly water anyway), and then strains the solids out of them before adding the juice alone to the recipe.

There are about a million ways to mix veggies for stir-fry and then top cooked rice with the results. Have you made stir-fry in your new Wok yet?


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## carpy1985 (Jan 2, 2012)

I think texture is certainly one! I think finely diced ones could work as way back when before I knew I was gluten intolerant I happily are the ones on McDonald's burgers! I just really hate big obtrusive ones as you say texture wise it's not to my pallet


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## carpy1985 (Jan 2, 2012)

Timothy said:
			
		

> Have you made stir-fry in your new Wok yet?



I haven't tried it yet but I am just returning from the supermarket with a few bits to test it out later!!

I have chicken, peppers, diced onions (which I'll dice more), leeks, some spices, sea salts and that's it I think (girlfriend helped with things she thought would be okay in a stir fry)

Oh and bacon of course!


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## Timothy (Jan 2, 2012)

carpy1985 said:


> I haven't tried it yet but I am just returning from the supermarket with a few bits to test it out later!!
> 
> I have chicken, peppers, diced onions (which I'll dice more), leeks, some spices, sea salts and that's it I think (girlfriend helped with things she thought would be okay in a stir fry)
> 
> Oh and bacon of course!


 
It sounds like you're ready for stir-fry! The most important part of stir fry is the "stir". You should use the Wok as hot as you can without it smoking. Then, using only two tablespoons of high heat cooking oil like Canola, put your one inch sized pieces of veggies into the Wok and Turn them constantly, never stopping the turning. Depending on the quantity of veggies, it should only take about 2 minutes or so to bring them to a "still-crunchy" cooked state.

Then, turn down the heat, add your seasonings and any already cooked meat you want, some broth and about one teaspoon of corn starch mixed with a little water. Stir until well blended and simmer for awhile.

Ladle this over rice and you have a meal fit for kings!


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Jan 2, 2012)

Here is my world famous recipe for Mexican (NOT SPANISH!) rice. I normally serve it with my also world famous Huevos Ranceros Suprema or Beef Barbacoa for Sunday brunch, but I have also been known to serve it for supper with tamales and pinto beans with bacon & jajalapeño:


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]*MEXICAN RICE*[/FONT]​
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]_*Ingredients:*_[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]1 cup long grain white rice[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]1 cup vegetable broth[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]½ cup beef broth[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes and zesty jalapeños, with juice[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]½ red bell pepper, diced[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]½ green bell pepper, diced[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]1 jalapeño, ribs and seeds removed, diced[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]1 tsp ground cumin[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]1 tsp Mexican oregano[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]1/2 tsp ground corriander[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]fresh cilantro for garnish [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]_*Instructions:*_[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Pour vegetable broth, beef broth, and juice from petite diced tomatoes into a large measuring cup. Add water to make 2 cups, if required. Put all ingredients into rice cooker or medium sized pot, and cook as you would everyday rice. Fluff finished rice with a fork, place in serving bowl and garnish with fresh cilantro. If you're one of those people who think cilantro tastes like soap, use parsley.[/FONT]


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## PolishedTopaz (Jan 2, 2012)

*Welcome to DC!!!*

*Along with these other really great ideas, I would aslo suggest a "sofrito" which is a mixture of herbs and other aromatics blended in a food-pro until a paste is formed. Sofirto is a mexican style that is cilanto, garlic, onions, oil and several other ingrediants that escape me at the moment.*

*It can also be adjusted to suit other reigons, Italian, Indian, French...  *

*To use in a rice dish, take 1/4-1/2 a cup and saute in rice pot for 5 mins on low heat  BEFORE adding the rice and water. Add rice and water or stock and proceed as you normally would.*

*Once this basic sofrito base is done it can be frozen and added to braises, sauces or soups.*

*Remember.........Play with you food!*


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## Zhizara (Jan 2, 2012)

I really like making rice with onion soup mix.

The mix takes 4 cups of water, so I use 2 cups of rice and don't add any salt.

It makes a perfectly seasoned rice with very small bits of onion and a lovely rich flavor.


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## Rocklobster (Jan 2, 2012)

You can use half tomato juice and half chicken stock also. Changes the flavor and color.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 2, 2012)

carpy1985 said:


> I really love my stock rice at the minute -  really changed how i cook! much better than plain boiled rice lol
> 
> The way i do it involves bringing the water to the boil, dissolving the  stock in said water, then add the rice and once boiling again re-cover  and turn the heat down. Leave for approx. 10 minutes. Once done i leave  to stand for a couple of mins and then drain and you can deffo taste!
> 
> ...



First of all, it sounds like you're using bullion cubes. When I said  stock I was referring to canned stock as in Swanson's or store brand  canned beef or chicken stock.

In my discussion about browning rice I was referring to white rice, not brown rice. I haven't tried browning brown rice.

Rice:water ratio and cooking time - traditionally you use two parts of  water to one part of rice (either kind of rice). Traditional cooking  time is 20 minutes for white rice, 40 minutes for brown rice. This  assumes the rice is tightly covered and that you don't peek, and I'm  referring to stove top cooking. A rice cooker may have different  suggested cooking times.

And again, I have not noticed any significant change in rice taste when I substitute canned *stock* for water. I don't use bullion cubes.


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## kezlehan (Jan 2, 2012)

This is what I love to do with rice. I find it exceedingly tasty and satisfying. In fact I might make it tomorrow now!
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f20/my-mushroom-and-rice-one-pot-recipe-75674.html


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## carpy1985 (Jan 2, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:
			
		

> First of all, it sounds like you're using bullion cubes. When I said  stock I was referring to canned stock as in Swanson's or store brand  canned beef or chicken stock.



I am using at the moment some Knor Chicken Stock which I add to the boiling water before adding the rice 

I am also using Long Grain White Rice as its 'Family Friendly' lol


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## Claire (Jan 2, 2012)

Leftover plain rice is the very definition of fried rice.  Leftover everything.  look over your leftovers.  Any meat, chop onions, garlic and mostly any vegetable.  I like some zip and add some hot sauce.  Ginger.  Soy sauce.  Fry (I like peanut oil, because you can get it good and hot, but any vegetable oil will do).  At the last minute scramble an egg or two and toss in.


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## carpy1985 (Jan 2, 2012)

Claire said:
			
		

> Leftover plain rice is the very definition of fried rice.  Leftover everything.  look over your leftovers.  Any meat, chop onions, garlic and mostly any vegetable.  I like some zip and add some hot sauce.  Ginger.  Soy sauce.  Fry (I like peanut oil, because you can get it good and hot, but any vegetable oil will do).  At the last minute scramble an egg or two and toss in.



I like the flair and creativity that cooking involves. I am just starting to develop mine!

Adding a Knor stock to rice was revolutionary for me haha normally I would just have boiled rice and grilled chicken and be happy with it!


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## Timothy (Jan 2, 2012)

carpy1985 said:


> I like the flair and creativity that cooking involves. I am just starting to develop mine!


 
Stick around DC for awhile, carpy. Man, we sling food ideas around like crazy! I've gotten more wonderful recipes from DC than any other source in my life.

When reviewing my personal cookbook, "Oh Wow" is my most used comment.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 2, 2012)

carpy1985 said:


> I am using at the moment some Knor Chicken Stock which I add to the boiling water before adding the rice



Is that a liquid product? Powdered? Solid cubes? If liquid, is it standard strength or concentrated? Is it pure or does it have spices added?


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## Claire (Jan 2, 2012)

Flinging food around?  You should see my floor when I'm in full steam.  I was without a dog for almost two years,  and, yes, I missed the companionship.  But I also missed having a little being who would eat anything that hit the floor before hubby or I could step on it and grind it into the floor or slip and fall on it!  I'm a mess.


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## carpy1985 (Jan 2, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:
			
		

> Is that a liquid product? Powdered? Solid cubes? If liquid, is it standard strength or concentrated?



It's liquid and I guess concentrated as you need to dissolve in 500-750ml of water.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 2, 2012)

carpy1985 said:


> It's liquid and I guess concentrated as you need to dissolve in 500-750ml of water.



If you can, please look at the ingredients and see if it has things like spices, flavor enhancers, etc.

The stock I use is just pure stock with no seasonings not even salt added.

I've recently seen Knor and other competitors have introduced highly concentrated stock, in little pouches that they suggest adding to any dish to kick up the flavor. From what I can tell on TV they appear to be an ounce or less, and probably intended to replace 8 oz. or more standard stock.


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## carpy1985 (Jan 2, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:
			
		

> If you can, please look at the ingredients and see if it has things like spices, flavor enhancers, etc.
> 
> The stock I use is just pure stock with no seasonings not even salt added.
> 
> I've recently seen Knor and other competitors have introduced highly concentrated stock, in little pouches that they suggest adding to any dish to kick up the flavor. From what I can tell on TV they appear to be an ounce or less, and probably intended to replace 8 oz. or more standard stock.



See attached photo for the ingredients 




If I use this with the recommend 500ml of water it is (to me) strong. For my girlfriend I have to use 750ml to tone it down a little


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## taxlady (Jan 2, 2012)

carpy1985 said:


> See attached photo for the ingredients
> 
> 
> View attachment 12730
> ...





There's 2% chicken fat and .2% chicken powder. The rest isn't even chicken.  Knorr seems to have gotten some better - no MSG, but salt is still the 2nd ingredient.


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## carpy1985 (Jan 2, 2012)

taxlady said:
			
		

> There's 2% chicken fat and .2% chicken powder. The rest isn't even chicken.  Knorr seems to have gotten some better - no MSG, but salt is still the 2nd ingredient.



Ha I know what you mean! Luckily I don't have a lot of salt in my diet anyway and most importantly for a newbie it's much easier to use to begin with lol


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 2, 2012)

Sorry, the ingredients on the right side of the image are too dark for me to read.

I suspect we're discussing two different things. I was referring to not noticing much change in rice using pure canned chicken stock (low fat) with no other ingredients added. I can see at least salt, sugar and yeast extract on your ingredients, and that's just on the left side of the image. 

I'm just trying to reconcile my not noticing any great improvement from adding stock vs. your noticing an improvement. Apparently we are adding different things. Apparently your stock and my stock are not the same thing.


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## carpy1985 (Jan 2, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:
			
		

> Sorry, the ingredients on the right side of the image are too dark for me to read.
> 
> I suspect we're discussing two different things. I was referring to not noticing much change in rice using pure canned chicken stock (low fat) with no other ingredients added. I can see at least salt, sugar and yeast extract on your ingredients, and that's just on the left side of the image.
> 
> I'm just trying to reconcile my not noticing any great improvement from adding stock vs. your noticing an improvement. Apparently we are adding different things.



By the sounds of it by using the stock I'm adding anything but chicken lol 

What is the workings of the stock you use?! Sounds healthier than mine!! If it doesn't add much flavour then is there another reason for using it?

EDIT: took a better photo (i hope)


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 2, 2012)

Okay, as near as I can make it out your product has:

INGREDIENTS: Water, Salt, Vegetable Fat, Flavoring (contains barley), Sugar, Chicken fat (2%), Yeast Extract, Carrot, Leek, Thickeners (Xantham Gum, Locust Bean Gum), Parsley, Chicken Powder (0.2%), Colour (Burnt Sugar Caramel, Mixed C?????), Pepper, Rosemary Extract.

My stock (Swanson's or store brand) canned stock contains nothing but pure chicken stock with less than 1% fat. There are no seasonings, no salt, no anything except the stock.

The point is that you notice a difference when you add stock while I don't notice much if any difference because you're adding a variety of additional spices while all I'm adding is chicken, and not much fat either.

With my stock you would add the spices that you want rather than a prepared kit of spices like your stock contains. Also, it's desirable to not add any salt until near the end of the cooking process because cooking often reduces the liquid, so it can't be seasoned properly until it has reached nearly the final thickness. If you season it earlier in the process and then lose liquid the result will taste more and more salty because everything has become more concentrated.

I'm not so sure there's anything unhealthy in your stock, but I'd rather know what I'm adding to my recipes by adding ingredients I choose. Also, when you use a formulated product you're stuck with that brand product if you want to recreate your recipes, must include brand names when you share your recipes with others, while my recipes use generic fresh ingredients (most of the time) and can be reproduced by others without reference to brand names.

By the way, your stock doesn't contain chicken. It uses _chicken powder_ and _chicken fat_. Yum!


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## carpy1985 (Jan 2, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:
			
		

> Okay, as near as I can make it out your product has:
> 
> INGREDIENTS: Water, Salt, Vegetable Fat, Flavoring (contains barley), Sugar, Chicken fat (2%), Yeast Extract, Carrot, Leek, Thickeners (Xantham Gum, Locust Bean Gum), Parsley, Chicken Powder (0.2%), Colour (Burnt Sugar Caramel, Mixed C?????), Pepper, Rosemary Extract.
> 
> ...



I'm with you! I like the idea of adding my own later on as I can vary the heat of the dish much easier that way!

And a less salty dish also appeals as I'm not the biggest fan (unlike my mum lol)

I will pick these things up quite quickly it seems by hanging out at cafe DC


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 2, 2012)

I suspect you should have no problem obtaining fat free or low fat canned stock. Look for it in or near the canned soup section.

At least in America restaurants, fast food places (I hesitate to call them restaurants) and convenience foods often contain huge amounts of salt, probably to increase the taste of the product. As a result people who eat these salty foods get acclimated to salty foods and tend to use more salt on everything. I'm not sure if more salt is bad for everybody but I am sure that more salt is bad for many of us. My opinion is to use just the minimum necessary salt to get the desired taste, and no more.

More flavor is not necessarily good, at least in my opinion. Some convenience foods (microwave ready) taste so highly flavored to me (Lean Cuisine for example) that I quickly tire of any specific variety because my sense of taste gets overstimulated, and if I use their brand too often (like I used to take to work every day for lunch) I reach a point where I just can't eat it anymore. In this case I think it would be a better product if they didn't use so much concentrated flavor and flavor enhancers.

Between super-sizing and over salting our fast food "restaurants" and convenience food producers are killing us.


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## carpy1985 (Jan 2, 2012)

Got to say I agree with everything you just said. I really am a fan of the K.I.S.S. type principles.

Keep
It
Simple
Stupid



Just give me what I want without a load of extra rubbish (and gluten) and salt thrown in lol


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## taxlady (Jan 2, 2012)

Making your own stock is easy.

I usually make mine from chicken bones that I saved from meals that we have eaten. I keep them in the freezer until I have enough to 1/3 fill a large pot. Then I cover with water and about 5 cm more water. I bring it to a boil kinda slow and then simmer for hours. After that I strain out the bones. Sometimes I reduce it so I have a concentrated stock. I don't put any seasoning. I can always add that later. I freeze it in chunks in my silicone muffin "tin" and have them handy for whatever. It's very cheap, easy, low labour, but time consuming.


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## Izghoga (Jan 2, 2012)

Try a powder from dried mushrooms and fennel.
Mushrooms with strong taste and aroma are necessary.

Or. 

If there is a possibility to buy a truffle.
Put it in bank with dry rice. In which it it is stored.
For couple of weeks rice will absorb in itself aroma of a truffle. And dried up a truffle it is possible to rub on a grater and to add in cooking as spice.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 2, 2012)

carpy1985 said:


> Just give me what I want without a load of extra rubbish (and gluten) and salt thrown in lol



If you want to add extra stuff, use a lot of fresh ingredients like onions, carrots, garlic, shallots, parsley, bell peppers, hot peppers, etc. All of those add vitamins, nutrients, anti-oxidants and plenty of flavor to your cooking, without adding a bunch of chemicals and preservatives..



taxlady said:


> Making your own stock is easy.



It is easy, but it's a lot of work. Yeah I know most of the work is at the front end, and then some straining at the end, and storing it. Most of the cooking time can be spent out of the kitchen since the stock cooks itself with little tending. But... Canned stock is so convenient and is inexpensive particularly stocking up on stock when it's on sale. I used to make stock out of every turkey I cooked (and I cooked lots of them) but usually I just buy stock on sale and keep it in the pantry.

When I make my own stock and use it in my recipes, I find that I have more pride in the food I've cooked, and that's a good thing. From the labor standpoint it's not worth it to me, but from the satisfaction side it is worth it. I'll continue both making it when I have leftover ingredients to use, and buying canned stock the rest of the time.


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## carpy1985 (Jan 2, 2012)

Just had my first test run and it seems to have gone down pretty well!!

Rice with Knor stock (plus all the other crap they throw in lol)
Chicken left overs from yesterday pan fried (with 1 cal type spray) with chopped up leek, onions (can only describe them as crushed) and green beans.
Threw on some paprika and peri peri seasoning.

I found the paprika and peri peri hid most of the taste of the onion which I don't like and just left a subtle hint of it behind. 

Next time I'll be increasing the amount of veg in it as I just wanted to taste it first before diving in lol

EDIT: This was done in a Teflon frying pan - wok action tomorrow when I have some high heat oil!


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## merstar (Jan 2, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> I would add green peas at or near the end of cooking because they need warming only not cooking.



Absolutely! I always add them (frozen, thawed), at the end, just to warm up - otherwise, they get mushy!


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 2, 2012)

Try shallots instead of onions for a milder but similar taste. If you don't like the shallots then maybe you should skip onions altogether. You can either dice the shallots, or what I like even better just slice them very thinly.

I don't believe you need any particularly high heat oil for the stir fry you're doing here. Although peanut oil has the reputation of being one of the highest smoking point oils I see no reason why you couldn't use olive or canola oil, or any of a number of other vegetable oils.

I really love leeks. Of course they're in the onion family too. 

I had to google to figure out what it is, piri piri, a type of chili pepper. You might consider using some kind of fresh chili peppers. Be careful in your selection since some are mild while others are very hot. You might slice them very thinly on an angle, for use in this recipe. You can throw them in with your saute, or you can sprinkle over before serving.

My advice in using chili peppers instead of a ground seasoning is along the same lines as my stock suggestions. I prefer to go to the more natural, fresher ingredients, fresh spices instead of dried spices, whole dried spices instead of ground dried spices, etc. I believe the more primitive and less processed you get the better it tastes.

By the way, everybody should be very careful about following any of my advice about using chilis, because I'd think nothing of adding lots of very hot chili peppers to many recipes I cook. I like spicy food and I suspect a lot of people would find some of my spicy recipes too hot for them. Again, this is one of the advantages of cooking your own food, that you can get it just exactly as spicy as you like, no more and no less.


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## Claire (Jan 2, 2012)

Izghoga said:


> Try a powder from dried mushrooms and fennel.
> Mushrooms with strong taste and aroma are necessary.
> 
> Or.
> ...



Dried mushrooms can also be put in a food processor and powdered, then used in any broth.


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## carpy1985 (Jan 2, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:
			
		

> Try shallots instead of onions for a milder but similar taste. If you don't like the shallots then maybe you should skip onions altogether. You can either dice the shallots, or what I like even better just slice them very thinly.
> 
> I don't believe you need any particularly high heat oil for the stir fry you're doing here. Although peanut oil has the reputation of being one of the highest smoking point oils I see no reason why you couldn't use olive or canola oil, or any of a number of other vegetable oils.
> 
> ...



I like hot food! So I'm all good  

I really don't like onions BUT I don't like a lot of veg so this is a cheeky way of adding them in without actually eating them if you know what I mean?!

Also the other half really likes them so I'm keeping the people happy whilst upping the veg count for me! Can't lose!

I will certainly be venturing down the shallots route though lol


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## Caslon (Jan 2, 2012)

carpy1985 said:


> Hello All
> 
> I got a new set of Prestige Pans and a Wok for Xmas and since i have been a bit more adventurous with my cooking!
> 
> ...



You might try adding some curry powder with a little butter, it would go well with the chicken and other fixngs.


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## Zhizara (Jan 3, 2012)

I agree with you about sneaking veggies in.  Sometimes I'll add a handful of frozen mixed vegetables at the beginning of cooking rice.  You don't really taste the veggies so much, but it's really pretty. LOL


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## Fabiabi (Jan 3, 2012)

I like the idea of adding cumin seeds to rice. I really like rice salads, you can literally add anything you like and it will probably taste great.


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## carpy1985 (Jan 4, 2012)

Adding seeds is appealing too as things like pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds are really good for you too!

Goes with the whole lumping veg in sneakily to stay healthy


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## CWS4322 (Jan 4, 2012)

A friend of mine is married to a gentleman from India. She makes the loveliest curry powder (which she gives me in exchange for FRESH eggs). I like to add her curry powder to rice.


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## Timothy (Jan 4, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> A friend of mine is married to a gentleman from India. She makes the loveliest curry powder (which she gives me in exchange for FRESH eggs). I like to add her curry powder to rice.


MMMmmmmmmmm, I love curry. It's my "Comfort Seasoning"


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## Addie (Jan 4, 2012)

carpy1985 said:


> Must admit I've never tried Shallots. Think my stigma with Onions is that I hate it when they are either fried or people put massive chunks of them in my food.
> 
> I may try some of the things you have suggested including some finely diced dry fried onions (I'm dry frying everything at the minute ha) to see what I like.
> 
> Not a clue what saffron is though - nothing google won't solve though!!


 
Saffron is one of if not the most expensive spice on this earth. It leaves a color of orange/yellow on the food and is used very sparingly. It comes from Spain and Portugal.


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## Caslon (Jan 4, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> A friend of mine is married to a gentleman from India. She makes the loveliest curry powder (which she gives me in exchange for FRESH eggs). I like to add her curry powder to rice.



Got there first a few posts back about adding curry powder to rice, its delicious.  One thing I noticed about adding curry to rice tho, you have to add a lot as the rice keeps neutralizing the curry flavor as I add it.   That's why I think adding in a pat of butter to the rice is a good idea as it coats the rice and allows the curry to stay on top, and not be absorbed and nulled.


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## carpy1985 (Jan 5, 2012)

Addie said:
			
		

> Saffron is one of if not the most expensive spice on this earth. It leaves a color of orange/yellow on the food and is used very sparingly. It comes from Spain and Portugal.



That's why my other half balked when I mentioned it then


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## Addie (Jan 5, 2012)

carpy1985 said:


> That's why my other half balked when I mentioned it then


 
I would have passed out. It is kept under lock and key.


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## Timothy (Jan 5, 2012)

Addie said:


> Saffron is one of if not the most expensive spice on this earth. It leaves a color of orange/yellow on the food and is used very sparingly. It comes from Spain and Portugal.


 
I found it listed for $145 an ounce for spanish saffron stigma threads. I guess this is one seasoning I'll just have to do without.


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## Andy M. (Jan 5, 2012)

Timothy said:


> I found it listed for $145 an ounce for spanish saffron stigma threads. I guess this is one seasoning I'll just have to do without.



You can get enough saffron for a recipe for around $5.


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## Timothy (Jan 5, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> You can get enough saffron for a recipe for around $5.


I imagine that would be about a half gram of it. Thanks Andy, but spending $5 for just one seasoning for a recipe is out of my league.

I'll stick with my cheap curries.


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## Addie (Jan 5, 2012)

Timothy said:


> I found it listed for $145 an ounce for spanish saffron stigma threads. I guess this is one seasoning I'll just have to do without.


 
Wise decision.


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## Timothy (Jan 5, 2012)

Addie said:


> Wise decision.


Thanks! And Good Morning to you! How are you feeling today?


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## Savory (Jan 5, 2012)

Things I can think of:

1. Since you have a wok, try Chinese stir fried rice - very versatile, it normally includes egg, your favorite meat/seafood, chicken or bacon, or shrimp, and you spice it up with green onion, pepper, salt, etc. 

2. Since you like hot food, try Jambalaya - rice with shrimp, sausage, tomato, chili

Here is my recipe for *Chinese stir fried rice*:

*Ingredients*

Long grain rice -- 2 cups 
Eggs -- 2 
Chicken tubes -- 1 cup 
Carrots, finely chopped -- 1/2 cup 
Salt -- 1 1/2 tsp 
Pepper -- 1/2 tsp 
Cooking oil -- 4 tbsp 
Green onion, finely chopped -- 1 stalk 


*Steps*
Cook rice according to instructions on package. Prepare rice in advance so that you have enough time to cool rice. You can cook rice the night before and refridge it overnight.
Beat egg. Combine 1/2 tsp salt with eggs.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a deep wok. Saute chicken for 2 minute or until no longer pink. Remove and set aside.
Heat remaing 2 tbsp oil in wok. Add beaten eggs into work. Cook over medium-low heat. When eggs are half cooked, add rice. Stir rice so rice is coated by half-liquid egg as much as possible.
Add chicken and carrots to wok. Now turn heat to medium-high. Stir together for 3 minutes or until eggs are cooked and all are blended well.
Add green onion, remaining salt, and pepper. Stir well.
*Tips*


Rice should be a little dryer than normal. The moisture in rice is undesired. So it is preferred to prepare rice well in advance and let the moisture gradually disappears over time.
Step 4 is critical. When eggs are half cooked, rice absorbs the flavour of eggs during cooking and results in wonderful taste.
Cut all the ingredients as small as possible so they get cooked quickly and aromas blend with each other.
Remember to keep stirring. This is the only way to avoid eggs being overcooked.


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## Addie (Jan 5, 2012)

Timothy said:


> Thanks! And Good Morning to you! How are you feeling today?


 
So much better. Thank you for asking.


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## carpy1985 (Jan 8, 2012)

Savory said:
			
		

> Things I can think of:
> 
> 1. Since you have a wok, try Chinese stir fried rice - very versatile, it normally includes egg, your favorite meat/seafood, chicken or bacon, or shrimp, and you spice it up with green onion, pepper, salt, etc.
> 
> ...



Now that does sound delicious!!! (aside from prawns which I'd omit  )


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 8, 2012)

Savory said:


> *Ingredients*
> 
> Long grain rice -- 2 cups
> Eggs -- 2
> ...



What are chicken tubes?


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## Timothy (Jan 8, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> What are chicken tubes?


 
I think that's supposed to be "Chicken Cubes",.


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## taxlady (Jan 8, 2012)

Timothy said:


> I think that's supposed to be "Chicken Cubes",.



I was wondering if it might be cubes, but 2 cubes = 1 cup????


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 8, 2012)

I didn't catch the reference to prawns either but I'd totally include them!


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## Timothy (Jan 9, 2012)

taxlady said:


> I was wondering if it might be cubes, but 2 cubes = 1 cup????


 
Sorry, but I see no reference to (2) cubes.

I just see "Chicken Cubes 1 cup."


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## taxlady (Jan 9, 2012)

Timothy said:


> Sorry, but I see no reference to (2) cubes.
> 
> I just see "Chicken Cubes 1 cup."



I could have sworn that's what I saw. Oh well. BTW, I checked, it still says tubes, not cubes.

But what is a 1 cup of chicken cubes? Is it a whole cup of chicken bouillon cubes?


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 9, 2012)

I understand now:

1 C. cooked chicken, cubed


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## Timothy (Jan 9, 2012)

taxlady said:


> I could have sworn that's what I saw. Oh well. BTW, I checked, it still says tubes, not cubes.
> 
> But what is a 1 cup of chicken cubes? Is it a whole cup of chicken bouillon cubes?


 
One of us will have to PM "Savory" and ask what was meant for sure, but I'm pretty sure it means one cup of cubed chicken. That is chicken meat which has been cut into cubes. 1/2" cubes are what I see in most recipes.

It's much too late for the OP to alter the recipe now. Editing is only allowed here for a brief time after posting. 20 minutes I think.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 9, 2012)

I'm sure he meant cooked chicken, cubed. A cup of chicken bullion cubes would make the recipe inedible IMO.


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## Timothy (Jan 9, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> I understand now:
> 
> 1 C. cooked chicken, cubed


 
The directions for the recipe call for sauteing the chicken, so I'm pretty confident that the ingredient list means RAW chicken, cut into cubes for the initial ingredients.

This points out the value of proof reading ones recipes prior to posting them. A simple typo can cause a lot of confusion.

Spell check. It only takes a few seconds. Then a quick proof reading to catch the obvious wrong words like "Tubes" instead of "Cubes".


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 9, 2012)

Oh yeah, I didn't look back. Raw then, or use cooked and skip the saute step.

I've proof read some of my recipes dozens of times and errors still get past. You see what you expect to see, not what is actually there. It's valuable to have somebody other than the author proofread your recipes.


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## Timothy (Jan 9, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> Oh yeah, I didn't look back. Raw then, or use cooked and skip the saute step.
> 
> I've proof read some of my recipes dozens of times and errors still get past. You see what you expect to see, not what is actually there. It's valuable to have somebody other than the author proofread your recipes.


 
I hear you Greg. I've written papers and re-read them years later and found lots of errors in word usage and spelling. Lately, I've noticed my typing of "and" and "the" are "adn" and "teh". It happens so frequently that it's starting to bother me.


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## Savory (Jan 9, 2012)

All, sorry for the typo, that's terrible!  Sorry for the confusion for you all.

I meant - 1 cup of raw chicken meat, cut into small cubes. 

Cut into cubes of 1/2 inch or whichever size you like

Raw is ok, since you will saute it later. But if you have cooked ones bought from supermarket, that's fine too. Just use them directly.

THANKS to Timothy for your PM!


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 9, 2012)

Or maybe you have cooked chicken from some other leftovers. Fried rice is a good recipe to make use of whatever you've got.


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## Timothy (Jan 9, 2012)

Savory said:


> All, sorry for the typo, that's terrible! Sorry for the confusion for you all.
> 
> I meant - 1 cup of raw chicken meat, cut into small cubes.
> 
> ...


 

Thank YOU, Savory, for clearing this up!


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## Savory (Jan 9, 2012)

You are right, Greg.  You can always make use of leftovers in fried rice. Just need to make sure the flavours match.


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## Timothy (Jan 9, 2012)

This thread is starting to remind me of Comedian Bill Saluga, who had a bit that he did on TV variety shows. If you watched television in the late 70s you’ll remember it. A zoot-suited character named Raymond J. Johnson Jr. would appear. If you called him “Johnson,” he launched into a tirade:


Ahh, ya doesn't has to call me Johnson! 
You can call me Ray, 
You can call me Jay, 
or you can call me Johnny 
or you can call me Sonny, 
or you can call me RayJay, 
or you can call me RJ… 
but ya doesn't hafta call me Johnson!

I can almost hear him saying:


Ahh, you doesn't have to use raw chicken,
You can use cooked chicken,
or you can use prawns,
or you can use bullion cubes,
But ya doesn't have to use raw chicken!


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 9, 2012)

After all, the main ingredient, the rice, is often the leftover you started with in the first place!

I usually make rice specifically for fried rice. I cook it 1-2 hours in advance and let it cool off on the counter, before frying. The rest of my ingredients are usually fresh, intended specifically for the fried rice.


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## Savory (Jan 9, 2012)

This recipe calls for chicken in fried rice. However, you can certainly use shrimp if you like. Indeed I personally prefer shrimp. Another great one to include is bacon. Bacon certainly adds flavour to fried rice. With fried rice, you can be really creative!


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## Savory (Jan 9, 2012)

Timothy said:


> This thread is starting to remind me of Comedian Bill Saluga, who had a bit that he did on TV variety shows. If you watched television in the late 70s you’ll remember it. A zoot-suited character named Raymond J. Johnson Jr. would appear. If you called him “Johnson,” he launched into a tirade:
> 
> 
> Ahh, ya doesn't has to call me Johnson!
> ...


 
You're so COOL!!!


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## Savory (Jan 9, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> After all, the main ingredient, the rice, is often the leftover you started with in the first place!
> 
> I usually make rice specifically for fried rice. I cook it 1-2 hours in advance and let it cool off on the counter, before frying. The rest of my ingredients are usually fresh, intended specifically for the fried rice.


 
Totally.

Rice should be dry, dry, dry. The moist in warm rice will ruin the stir-fry. 

I usually cook extra rice on the day before, keep in fridge, and use it for fried rice after leaving it in fridge overnight.


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## taxlady (Jan 9, 2012)

Timothy said:


> ...
> 
> It's much too late for the OP to alter the recipe now. Editing is only allowed here for a brief time after posting. 20 minutes I think.



Yes, there is a time limit for editing, but a person can always PM a mod and ask them to edit the post.


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## Timothy (Jan 9, 2012)

Savory said:


> You're so COOL!!!


 
Well, thanks, but that routine really did flash into my head during this series of posts.


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Jan 10, 2012)

Timothy said:


> This thread is starting to remind me of Comedian Bill Saluga, who had a bit that he did on TV variety shows. If you watched television in the late 70s you’ll remember it. A zoot-suited character named Raymond J. Johnson Jr. would appear. If you called him “Johnson,” he launched into a tirade:


 
Raymond J Johnson Jr


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## Timothy (Jan 10, 2012)

Sir_Loin_of_Beef said:


> <clip>


 
Thanks SLB, (I hesitate to refer to you as SLOB for the obvious reason), great find!


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