Quick and Dirty Fried Rice

Fried rice is a delicious, and makes for a pretty good meal. Sometimes you don't want to go out for Chinese food, or you are looking for a cheaper alternative. The good news is that you can make some at home pretty easily!

Ingredients:
1 cup Rice (White)
2 cups water
1/2 onion, diced
1 carrot
1 stick celery
1 Green Pepper, diced
3 handfuls frozen peas
1-2 eggs, scrambled
Soy Sauce
Garlic
Oil (for frying)

Equipment:
Stir Fry Pan/Wok
Chef Knife
Cutting Board
Spatula

Directions:
1. Cook the cup of rice with the two cups of water, and chill in the fridge.
2. Heat the oil up in the pan. Once hot, add onion, carrot, celery, green pepper, and peas. Keep the vegetables moving.
3. Once the veggies are mostly cooked and the onions are translucent, add the rice.
4. When the rice has started frying, push it to one side of the pan. In the free space, scramble the egg.
5. Once the egg is scrambled, mix it into the rice.
6. When the rice is almost mostly fried, add soy sauce.

Should serve 3~4 plates as a main dish, and 6 plates as a side dish.


Possible alterations:
There are lots of things you can add to fried rice to make it really tasty. Of course, you can add meat, such as chicken or shrimp. Baby corn would also probably be a good addition, and I've heard rumours that adding some fish sauce is a definite must.

If you were unaware, fish sauce is a flavour enhancer, like soy sauce, that is made from fermented fish juice. It may smell terrible, but when mixed with other flavours, apparently makes for a savoury delicious taste that is hard to replicate. As always, comments are always appreciated!

Good Eats and Happy Gaming!

The Amazing CLT

To round out our month of trying to be healthier players, lets talk about a wondrous sandwich which I call the CLT.  The CLT is made with three primary ingredients: cheese, lettuce, and tomato.  Unlike the BLT, where primary flavour comes from the bacon, the tomato actually brings the most to the party in the CLT.  These sandwiches are best with fresh, large tomatoes.

Equipment:
1 chef's knife
a cutting board

Ingredients:
slices of Mozzarella/Provolone cheese, 1~2 per sandwich
1~2 tomatoes, thickly sliced
Lettuce (Romain is nice), washed and ripped
Mayonnaise
Salt (Sea Salt is best)
Sliced bread, toasted

Directions:
1. Apply mayo to bread slices
2. Place 1~2 slices of tomato on the sandwich
3. sprinkle/grind salt over tomato
4. add cheese and lettuce to sandwich
5. close the sandwich

Serve!  1 medium sized tomato should yield enough for 3 or 4 sandwiches, at least.

Possible Alterations:
Sandwiches are very flexible, but aside from different sauces, there isn't much in the way of additions or subtractions one can make without making something that isn't a CLT.  That doesn't mean that they'd be bad, by any stretch though! 
Now it is also important to note that these sandwiches, while tasty, aren't necessarily the most filling things on the face of the planet.  They'd be best served with a side of some sort of hefty side dish.  One might consider rice and beans, or some kind of bean salad. 

Happy gaming!

Dirty Veggie Rice

If you need something filling, rice is the place to turn.  Rice is inexpensive, and is great on the side as well as in the main course.  On nights when I don't have much in the way of foodstuffs, whether I'm about to go home for break or I haven't done any grocery shopping, this dish is fantastic, easy, and filling. 

Ingredients:
1 cup white rice
2 cups water
1/2 bag of frozen mixed vegetables
Garlic powder
Chili powder
Curry powder
Black pepper
Salt
Butter

Equipment:
1 large stirring spoon
1 2 qt pot
1 butter knife
1 rice cooker (optional)
measuring cups

Directions:
1. Put the rice, water, and mixed vegetables into the pot
2. Add Garlic powder, Chili powder, curry powder and stir.
3. Grind some salt and black pepper onto the mixture and stir.
4. Slice some butter into the mixture.
5. Turn on heat and cook the rice.

Good news, you're done!  This recipe will make two heaping bowls of rice, or four well portioned bowls of rice.  It can also be served as a side dish.  The recipe should easily scale to feed more people.

Possible alterations:
Consider adding tuna or chicken to the mix, as well as using celery or onion in the dish as well.  Black beans or kidney beans would also be a good addition

Happy gaming!