I’m a domesticated diva!

Okay, maybe not quite. I don’t cook without looking up recipes and am working on the whole cleaning thing, but being home has made me a tad more domesticated. I am cooking a lot more often, gardening, and trying new “crafty” things. I even plan to do a little wall painting once the weather is drier!

The day I had my wisdom tooth out, I was told that I could not eat any solid foods nor hot foods. A friend suggested I make Cambodian rice porridge. This is something I haven’t had since I was a child; “borbo” is very common in Khmer households. It’s made quite often, especially when someone is sick, and for special occasions like going to Temple. I didn’t remember how to make it since I only made it once or twice with my mother. I did some Googling and found recipes were it was mixed with meats or fish and had to fudge around a bit to make a recipe for plain borbo. It’s rather bland, which is the point, since once it’s done you add whatever you want to it such as cooked chicken, pork, shrimp, green onions, soy sauce, fish sauce, etc. Many Cambodians like eating it with a dash of soy sauce, but since I’ve never been a big fan of soy sauce, I ate it with fish sauce and at times, fried eggs and clams. You really can add anything you want to it!

Khmer Rice Porridge aka Borbo

Khmer Rice Porridge (borbo)

• 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 chopped onion
• 1/2 inch grated ginger
• 10 cups water

A word of warning: This makes a large amount! It lasted me 3 days.

In a large stockpot, brown the raw rice in the oil.  You can tell it’s ready when the rice is a light golden brown.  While I was doing this, I flashbacked to my childhood and remembered vividly doing this for my mother and how much I hated it because it’s tedious and takes a long time to roast the rice.  I would run and hide whenever my mother wanted me to help make borbo, which is why I didn’t remember how to make it.

When the rice is ready, mix in the garlic, onion, and ginger.  Cook for about a minute until the garlic gets fragrant.  It should smell really good right about now.  Add the water and cook on medium heat.  Once it boils, cover and lower to simmer. Continue cooking to your degree of thickness.  The longer you cook it, the thicker the porridge will get.  Some people prefer their borbor watery while others like it thick.  When it’s at your liking, remove, let cook a bit, and eat with your choice of seasonings and add-ons.

At one point, I added in some clams I had bought from Trader Joe’s.  They were frozen, fully cooked, and ready to steam in the microwave.  It was really easy and really good for just $4!

Yummy, inexpensive clams from TJ

Other recent purchases that I’ve been really happy about are my new coffee grinder and French press.  It really does make a huge difference in the quality of coffee when you grind your own beans fresh and then brew the grounds in a French press (as opposed to a drip coffee machine).

The coffee grinder is from Amazon, French press if from Ross

To make a great, fresh cup of coffee:

1. Grind 2 rounded tablespoons of coffee beans coarsely, about 5 - 6 seconds.
2. Put the grounds plus 8 ounces of hot water into the coffee press.  Give it a stir with a plastic utensil (natural oils will stick to metal and get lost).
3. Put the lid on the press but do not plunge down. Wait 4 minutes.
4. After 4 minutes, push the plunger down.  The coffee grounds will be separated from the coffee and pushed to the bottom.
5. Pour into a cup and enjoy!

I know it’s called a French press because you’re pressing down, but for some reason the word plunge seems better to me.

Waiting to be plunged - okay - pressed!

The grinder was $20 on Amazon and the press was $4 at Ross.  It’s really a great deal for a great cup of coffee.

Okay, there’s a lot more I wanted to share, like my recent roasted asparagus dish (I followed someone’s recipe and it came out divine!) and pictures of my ranunculus plant, but this entry is already pretty long so I’ll save that for a separate one.

Time for bed!

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