KNIKA

I add spinach to many of my dishes. I should try this one.

Article from the NY Times by Martha Rose Shulman

Green rice — arroz verde — is a great way to get your kids to eat spinach without realizing it. Serve this rice with just about anything — it has a fresh, herbal flavor. You can make the dish with brown rice, but it won’t have the usual vivid green color. If you use basmati, you’ll have a much larger yield, as basmati expands about twice as much as regular white rice.

2 cups chicken, vegetable or garlic stock, or water

1 cup tightly packed baby spinach

1/2 cup tightly packed cilantro leaves

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon canola oil or extra virgin olive oil

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup long grain rice or basmati rice, rinsed several times with cold water

Salt to taste

1. Combine 1 cup of the stock or water with the spinach and cilantro in a blender, and blend at high speed until smooth. Place the remaining stock or water in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer.

2. Heat the oil in a medium-sized, heavy saucepan over medium heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, three to five minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and the garlic and rice. Stir together for a few minutes until the rice is beginning to crackle. Add the simmering stock or water and salt to taste (I use about 3/4 teaspoon). Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer five minutes.

3. Uncover, and stir in the blended green mixture from the blender. Rinse the blender with about 1/4 cup water, and add it to the rice. Stir once, raise the heat and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until all of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Turn off the heat, uncover and place a clean kitchen towel over the pot. Replace the lid, and allow the rice to stand undisturbed for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a spoon or fork, taste and adjust seasoning. Serve.

Yield: Serves four to six as a side dish.

Advance preparation: You can prepare this several hours ahead. When the rice is done, spread it in a lightly oiled baking dish, uncovered, and allow to cool completely. Then cover with foil, and when ready to serve, reheat in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes.

Nutritional information per serving (based on four servings): 231 calories; 4 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 42 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 39 milligrams sodium (does not include salt added during cooking); 5 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

NY TIMES ARTICLE

I’m a bit late with this article, but it is still good news. I read this back in the summer. More photos below or Click Slideshow Here.

Full Article Here

“With the end of its long civil war, Sri Lanka’s government has eased curbs on fishing in the waters off the eastern port city of Trincomalee, which offer a bounty of fish and other seafood”

 “Fishing is at the heart of the economic and cultural life of Trincomalee, which has one of the world’s deepest natural harbors.”

 “The waters off Trincomalee hold a bounty of fish, crab and prawns that could provide tens of millions of dollars in earnings to the community. Whales spawn here and dolphins leap in its azure waters.”

October 21, 2009

F.D.A. to Clarify Standards for the Front of Food Labels

 By WILLIAM NEUMAN

Click Here for the link!

The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it would seek to clear up the confusion caused by a surge of upbeat nutritional claims — for everything from Froot Loops to mayonnaise — that manufacturers have begun to make on packaged food labels.

By early next year, officials said, the agency will issue proposed standards that companies must follow in creating nutrition labels that go on the front of food packaging.

That could force manufacturers to deliver the bad news with the good, putting an end to a common practice in which manufacturers boast on package fronts about some components, such as vitamins or fiber, while ignoring less appealing ingredients, like added sugar or unhealthy fats.

The F.D.A.’s move could present a challenge to the Smart Choices program, a nutrition labeling campaign begun this summer with much fanfare by some of the nation’s largest food companies. That program has drawn fire because it gives a nutritional seal of approval to many foods, including sugary cereals and high-fat mayonnaise, that many nutritionists consider to be unhealthy.

“We believe in the science behind the Smart Choices program,” Mike Hughes, the program’s chairman, said in a statement. “We also look forward to the opportunity to participate in F.D.A.’s initiatives on front-of-package labeling.”

Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, the F.D.A. commissioner, said that under the changes being discussed, putting nutrition information on the front of packages would be voluntary. But if manufacturers chose to do so, then they would have to comply with the new F.D.A. rules.

Smart Choices is one of several labeling programs embraced by the food industry, in which critics charge that sound nutritional advice was diluted by the need to sell products.

“It is clear that at the present time this vast array of different approaches is adding confusion rather than clarity,” Dr. Hamburg said. “We believe we can offer important benefits in terms of developing the science- and nutrition-based criteria for the use of dietary guidance claims.”

Officials said that the proposed rules would be issued within a few months and that they could be finalized before the end of next year.

The new labels would be meant to give consumers quick access to key dietary information, most of which is already included in the familiar Nutrition Facts box on the back or side of packages.

Speaking in a telephone call with reporters, Dr. Hamburg said that she expected package-front labels would be required to include information on saturated fat, salt, added sugar and calories.

Dr. Hamburg repeatedly mentioned a package-front labeling program in Britain that uses red, yellow or green dots — like traffic signals — to indicate the relative amounts of important ingredients.

She said that could provide a model for the F.D.A. as it sought to find the best way to provide information to American consumers.

Discussion of package-front nutrition labeling heated up over the summer when the F.D.A. sent a warning letter to the Smart Choices program saying it would be concerned if the program led consumers to choose highly processed foods over fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Then last week, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said that he was investigating the program and some of the companies that participate in it, including Kellogg’s and General Mills, to see if they had violated a consumer protection law that bars deceptive marketing claims.