The week before this I cooked batches of brown rice and farro to use. The farro I used two ways: one was tossing it with roasted onions, mushrooms, and kale and the other was using it in a batch of soup. Both of these dishes turned out very well. I am a big fan of farro.
One of the uses I had for the rice was making a batch of fried rice. Normally I would add a bit of beef but having none at hand I didn't sweat it. My fried rice is seasoned with soy sauce and sake. I didn't miss the beef serving the fried rice with baby broccoli and a mug of green tea .
I had some potatoes hanging around too so I decided to make a batch of fried potatoes. I've experimented over the years with this and the best results have come from boiling the potatoes first and then frying them in a mixture of olive oil and butter. Near the end of cooking I added some rosemary and thyme that got crispy, but not burned. I named these The Best Fried Potatoes Ever! I was happy with the results. I don't save mine (I probably should) but bacon fat makes for good fried potatoes too.
To go with the potatoes (and the bread) I made some beans and greens. When thinking about making it I knew I wanted it to be "soupy" so I added some chicken broth to the pot and let it simmer for a little while. The best beans and greens comes from using swiss chard and I like to boil the swiss chard and the stems first before adding them to the oil, garlic, and beans. Oh and don't forget the red pepper flakes, it is the magic ingredient here, even if you use just a little to add some zing. This time I made it soupy, but sometimes I will make it "dry" using a little of the swiss chard's cooking liquid to moisten everything. I also prefer using ceci (garbanzo beans), white beans tend to be a little mushy. If I close my eyes I can remember the sitting in the basement of my uncle's house with my father snarfing the beans and greens my uncle made from fresh-picked swiss chard. Good stuff and good memories.
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