I warmed it up with a little of the leftover rice and wild rice from this morning's breakfast in a small frying pan coated lightly with sesame oil. I drizzled a little water (not too much!) over the grains, turned the flame down to low, and covered it with a lid, allowing it to warm up while I boiled some water for my tea and heated up a few pieces of the Japanese sweet potatoes in the small toaster oven.
The flavors of the onions and celery with the barley came through, adding a delicate sweetness to the dish. And the sweet potatoes with their faint coconut flavor contributed a more robust, deeper sweetness to the meal. This time, the barley was well-cooked, soft, and tender, and yet it still had a unique texture to it that was fun to chew. In the end, I must say that leftovers can be a wonderful life-saver when you get home late and hungry for dinner!
Julia Ferre gives some excellent tips and recipes for re-using leftovers in her book, Food and Intuition 101, Part 1, on page 218. For example, she suggests using a reheating process that is complementary to how the dish was originally prepared, such as the oven for my roasted sweet potatoes!
As I ate my excellent dinner this evening, I reflected on the other meals that I had today — including a nice meal at P.F. Chang's where I had a small bowl of brown rice, a few pieces of undercooked broccoli, and a delicious side dish of Lemon Scented Brussels Sprouts that had been "shaved" into very tiny slices (that was something new!) — and then I suddenly remembered the great news I received this morning when I stepped on the scales to do my very first weekly weigh-in.
I've lost 2.6 pounds — and now I feel even more enthusiastic about this plan!
Related Blog Articles:
MY DAILY DIET REPORT — Day #8 Of My Weight-Loss Diet
Lunch At P. F. Chang's (1-4-2011)
Searching For Brown Rice In Restaurants
Green Vegetables (2-8-2011)
