SURREALISM AND BROWN RICE

I slept in until 4:21 a.m. today. Yes, you read that right. Now’s it 4:53 a.m., and I am enjoying my coffee and my current breakfast of choice: maple-flavored Brown Cow yogurt (low-fat) with Grape Nuts mixed in.

Yesterday, as we were finishing Breads class, my partner turned to me and said, “You know the last three weeks have been surreal, and I don’t mean in a good way.” I love breads, but I do understand what she means about surreal. It is one of the earliest classes in the baking program. Your start time fluctuates between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., which would not be so bad, but that’s not when you actually start. Back up 15 minutes from those times, and you have the time you should arrive, put on your toque, your apron, your side towel, wash your hands, grab scaled ingredients, and basically hit the ground running. 5:00 a.m. or 6:00 a.m. is actually when your dough has to be on the mixer. But first, before you can even arrive at the bakeshop 15 minutes before scheduled, you need to meet with your group, go over your game plan for the day, your recipes, your survival strategy. Most days this group meeting took place at 4:30 a.m. I have a 20 minute drive to school so this means leaving the house at 4:10 a.m. Oh wait, no, it’s winter, and we’re on an ice- and snowstorm every three days schedule, so I need to be out at the car around 3:50 a.m. because too many mornings I discovered the roads are not plowed at 4:00 a.m. Allowing time to make myself hygienically presentable and partake in the yogurt and coffee breakfast has meant I have been awake at 3:00 a.m. most mornings these past three weeks.

Things have been wacky. One morning, I undressed in the bathroom, not to take a shower, no just to brush my teeth. What made it so odd is that I already was completely dressed for school, down to my chef’s jacket so it was a lot of clothes to take off just to brush my teeth.

Another morning, I walked into the campus dining hall only to unzip my winter coat and realize I was wearing only an undershirt and a neckerchief. Now, take note, my winter coat is made by a company called Betty Rides, which makes snowboarding gear for women. It was 6 degrees outside when I drove to school, and yet in just my undershirt, my torso never got cold. Perhaps if it had I would have realized I was missing my chef’s jacket. My mother will tell you school is really a military institution, and she’s right to a point. The chef’s jacket is our uniform, and you can’t just borrow one because our names our embroidered on our jackets. At 5:24 a.m. that day, I had no choice but to turn a 40-minute roundtrip drive to claim my jacket into something much shorter so I could be in the bakeshop by 6:00 a.m. As I was racing around on icy back country roads, hoping no deer would enter my path, I realized that I fear more a chef yelling at me for dress code violations than I fear a car accident. School messes with your head like that.

Yet another morning, I was in the bakeshop readying for the day, and searching for my cell phone. I always turn it off when class starts. I couldn’t find it, but I remembered putting it in my bag. So from 6:00 a.m. on, my lingering thought wasn’t I hope I scaled the water correctly for our sourdough or what ratios do I need for my grain soaker, no it was wondering where my cell phone was. When class ended, out to the parking lot went I in search of the phone in the car. No phone. Also, no water bottle. Shoot, I left it in class. Walked back down the length of the parking lot to the Baking building to claim my water bottle. As I was returning to the car, I put my hands in my pants pockets as it was darn cold outside. Sitting in my left pocket was my cell phone. Eeessh!

So this kind of schedule messes with your head and it messes with your biorhythms. I eat breakfast at 3:30 a.m., lunch at 9:15 a.m., and dinner around 4:30 p.m. Lunch is a gluten festival because really it’s the breads available for sampling in the bakeshop. My diet has been nothing but gluten, gluten, gluten with little protein or vegetable matter. I miss meals with Brian as by the time he arrives home in the evening I am ready for bed. We’ve taken to leaving each other Post-It notes and emailing, knowing that graduation is 12 weeks away and this crazy schedule cannot last indefinitely.

Last night, though, I was motivated. I could finally have dinner with my husband. I could have a balanced meal, something warm and comforting as it has been one cold, trying winter (did I mention all the snow and ice?). I prepared fish with a simple mustard sauce, a salad of lettuce and tomatoes, and brown rice. Brown rice is a staple for us and we’ve experimented with different ways to make it, but here is our favorite way.

Molly’s Brown Rice
1 cup short-grained brown rice
2 ½ cups chicken broth (we prefer low sodium)
1 T olive oil

Equipment: 2-quart saucepan with lid, large wooden spoon for stirring.

Measure each item and have it ready to go at the stove. You can measure the oil right into the saucepan.

Heat the olive oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Do not get it smoking as it will impart off flavors. Just heat it until it slides around very easily. Add the rice and start stirring. You do not want to stop stirring or you will burn the rice and then you’ll have to throw it out which is a bummer. Stir the rice to toast it and really notice how the kernels get a nice caramel-colored edge. You should hear a slight sizzle sound throughout this process. Now, you only need to toast it about 2 minutes, just long enough to coat all the grains with the oil and get them toasted.


Next, add the broth, stir for even distribution of rice in the broth and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 40-45 minutes. The rice, when finished, should still have body to it and yet be creamy. If the rice is finished, but there is still broth, take the lid off, increase the heat a little and boil off the extra broth.



We do not normally season the rice until we are at the table. Sometimes, like when we roast chicken thighs, the rice stands on its own and needs some salt and pepper. Other times, though, it will be mopping up sauce and does not need any seasoning. Either way, it’s up to you.
Enjoy!