When I was growing up, there was always a container of steamed rice sitting in the refrigerator.  My mother is from India, where rice is eaten with nearly every meal, so having rice always at the ready is pretty much standard for her.  If I were to get up right now, go to my parents’ house, and open their refrigerator, I can guarantee you that I would find a batch of rice sitting in there (chances are I would also probably find a package of hot dogs in there as well, because my father is not from India).

What is often found hanging out in my own refrigerator is a collection of bits and pieces leftover from various dishes that I have been making throughout the course of a couple of weeks.  If I spend a serious week or two trying out new recipes, the refrigerator will be, at the end of the cooking spree, a veritable junkyard of end bits, stray vegetables and herbs, and tiny little containers filled with the last drops of whatever I could manage to drizzle out of various jars and cans.  It’s basically one step removed from a compost pile in there.

It’s been a few months since I shared a recipe based on the principle of cleaning out the refrigerator, and, as the recent state of my own fridge indicates, it seems I am due for another.  Coincidentally, this particular recipe started with a container of leftover steamed rice, though the direction I took it was a bit farther to the east than India.  With hearty spoonfuls of lemongrass, scallion, fresh mint, ginger, and lime, all coated with a large splash of coconut milk, the flavors of these rice patties rest comfortably in Thailand.  The sauce I threw together to accompany the patties is a bit more difficult to define geographically, but, with its subtle honey sweetness and bright, kicky hints of lime, it makes a familiar, complimentary companion.

Lemongrass Rice Patties

3 cups cold, day-old jasmine rice
¼ cup rice flour
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh lemongrass (use only the tender middle of the stalk, not the woody outer layer)
1 large finely chopped scallion
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
¾ teaspoon finely grated or minced lime zest
¼ cup coconut milk
1 large egg
pinch of salt
vegetable oil, for frying

Honey-Lime Sauce

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
pinch of finely grated or chopped fresh lime zest
½ teaspoon honey
½ teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
¾ teaspoon soy sauce

In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients, except for the vegetable oil.  The best way to really incorporate all of the ingredients is to mix using your bare hands.

In a large skillet set over medium high heat, heat enough vegetable oil to just cover the bottom of the pan.  When the oil is hot and just beginning to shimmer, form a small patty out of a scant ¼ cup of the rice mixture and gently place the patty in the hot oil.  Place enough patties in the pan to cook them comfortably without crowding them.  Cook one side of the patties until they are light golden in color, about 3 minutes, then carefully flip the patties over and cook until the other side has turned nicely golden.  Remove the patties from the pan and place on a layer of paper towels set on top of a wire rack.  This set up will allow the patties to drain and cool without becoming soggy.

Form and cook remaining rice mixture in the same manner, adjusting the heat of the pan as necessary to prevent the patties from cooking too rapidly and burning.

To make the sauce, whisk together all of the ingredients in a small bowl.  The sauce is great for dipping, or it can be drizzled over the cooked patties en masse.

Makes about 12 rice patties.

About the contributor:
	Elizabeth Miller is a freelance writer who runs Savory Salty Sweet, a food and kitchen appreciation website. She also writes the Melting Pot column here on Indie Fixx, which appears bimonthly on Fridays. Read more about her on the contributors’ page.

Holding rank as true workhorses in both the kitchen and the garden, it is rare to find a carrot that is not at least close to being in season.  I may be late to the party on this one, but I only recently realized that at the winter farmers market in Portland, carrots are always being offered, as is the case with the spring, summer, and autumn markets.  The more I thought about carrots, the more it became clear to me that, in addition to being a flexible, all-season vegetable, carrots are also a veritable cornucopia of cooking versatility.

It may sound surprising to hear someone wax so rapturously about the common carrot, but it’s only occasionally that one is faced with a vegetable so ready and willing to be roasted, mashed, shaved, boiled, pickled, or braised, and yet also able to be simply delicious and satisfying on its own, freshly pulled from the ground.   Carrots are a staple in my home, as I am sure is the case with many other people, and when the seasons change and we begin to set our sights past merely enjoying our carrots crunchy and raw, I begin to think of ways to continue our carrot consumption into the next season.

Roasting any vegetable will bring out the natural sweetness locked within, and carrots hold court as the pride of this tried and true cooking method.  Paired up with richly caramelized cloves of garlic and just a hint of woody and aromatic thyme, this intensely savory roasted carrot spread is an undeniable treat that is fit for both sunny picnics and cool winter evenings.

Taking the current pickling trend into consideration, it seems only natural to mention how well carrots take to brine.  A crisp carrot made vinegary and tart is a welcome snack during any time of the year, and this Indian-spiced pickle is a quick and refreshing way to dress up a garden’s bounty.  Using a cold pickling method to preserve the carrots will result in a pickle that requires being eaten at faster pace than pickles preserved in a hot brine, but I don’t imagine these pickles will be left to languish once word of their spicy, brisk sweetness gets out.  Even if you go so far as to make two batches of these pickled carrots—one batch to tell people about, one batch to hoard for yourself—I wouldn’t be too worried about the state of your pickled carrot supply.  Rest assured, there will nearly always be more carrots waiting for you and your brine.

Roasted Carrot and Garlic Spread

1 pound carrots, scrubbed, trimmed of ends, and cut into roughly 3-inch chunks
3 large cloves of garlic, unpeeled and very lightly smashed
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  On a heavy baking sheet, combine carrots, garlic, thyme, olive oil, and seasoning. Toss to coat evenly.  Roast carrots and garlic for 25 minutes, turning over garlic cloves halfway through, until both carrots and garlic are soft and deeply caramelized.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on pan for 5 minutes.
When carrots have cooled slightly, scoop them into the bowl of a food processor, pouring in as much excess olive oil and possible.  Remove garlic cloves from their papery skin, and add to the carrots.  Blend in the food processor until thick and smooth, stopping every few seconds to scrape down the sides of the bowl, about 1 minute total.

Quick Pickled Indian Carrots

½ pound carrots, peeled and tops removed
1 ½ cups white vinegar
1 ½ cups cold water
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon whole mustard seeds
½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
5 paper-thin slices of peeled fresh ginger
4-inch long by 1-inch wide strip of fresh lemon peel, outer part only, with no white pith
4 sprigs of fresh cilantro

In a 1-quart mason jar, combine all ingredients.  Tightly screw on the lid of the jar, and shake vigorously until the salt and sugar have dissolved and all of the ingredients have become intermingled.  Place in the refrigerator and allow carrots to pickle for at least 5 hours, but preferably overnight, before eating.  Pickled carrots will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, and their flavor only gets better the longer they are allowed to sit in their brine.

About the contributor:
	Elizabeth Miller is a freelance writer who runs Savory Salty Sweet, a food and kitchen appreciation website. She also writes the Melting Pot column here on Indie Fixx, which appears bimonthly on Fridays. Read more about her on the contributors’ page.

Since I am a big fan of cooking and being in the kitchen, I am generally not the type of person you’ll find looking for ways to make every recipe shorter or less labor intensive. I like working in the kitchen, so I am, unfortunately, more inclined to want to try out a ridiculously elaborate recipe than I am inclined to run away from one.

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, and this trait of mine is by no means immune to that general truism. My general downfall when it comes to wanting something straight away, fresh from the kitchen? Sweets. That’s right. When I want a baked good, I want it NOW.

This is generally not a problem when I am craving a cookie or a muffin, but Danish pastries and rolls provide a bit of a problem. Fresh pastries, warm and inviting, are like a siren song to me, but I am often driven to despair by having to wait all day long to produce some fine and tasty pastries, on account of the necessity of waiting for a yeasted dough to rise, get punched down, shaped, rise again, etc. I’ve often thought that there must be a faster, more efficient way to hammer out fresh pastry in under an hour, and, after a bit of perusing my cookbook shelves, it turns out there is.

America’s Test Kitchen saves the day on this one, with a fantastic recipe for no-yeast cinnamon rolls that emerge from the oven as rich and delicious as any standard cinnamon roll that takes several hours longer to produce. I changed some of the proportions of the ingredients, altering them to my current tastes (lately I’ve been desiring my sweets to be a bit less sweet, so I tend to dial back the sugar of every recipe I see) and swapping out plain old cinnamon for a mix of enticing Indian spices, but the genius of the method is all due to ATK.

With this great recipe, you can have soft, fresh, delicious sweet rolls on your plate in fewer than 60 minutes. I hate to admit it, but this recipe might just be the key to making me less patient in the kitchen. Will I ever again enslave myself to the labor of rolling butter into a yeasted dough sponge, then turning and folding for an entire day, just to perfume my kitchen with the magic of fresh pastries? Perhaps. I may have to think about it, though. I’ll get back to you in an hour, after I’ve pulled these rolls from the oven and am sitting down to have a bit of a snack while I think things through.

Indian-Spiced Sweet Rolls

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with a layer of foil that fits all the way across one way, then layer another sheet of foil on top of the first. You want to make a foil sling that will allow the rolls to be removed from the pan with minimal fuss. Spray the prepared foil sling with vegetable oil spray.

Filling

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
pinch of salt

Dough

2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups buttermilk or sour milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Glaze

3 tablespoons cream cheese
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
pinch of ground ginger
pinch of cardamom
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of salt

Prepare the filling by mixing all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Prepare the dough by whisking the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and two tablespoons of the melted butter. Slowly stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture until the dough comes together and looks quite shaggy, about 30 seconds. Turn dough out onto a well-floured counter and knead for 30 seconds or so, until the dough has just become smooth and pliable (do not overwork the dough, as it will become quite tough).

Shape the dough into a 12” x 9” rectangle, long side facing you. Brush the dough with the remaining one tablespoon of melted butter, then sprinkle the filling mixture over it, leaving a ½-inch border along the top edge. Gently press the filling into the dough to make it stick a bit better.

Using a bench scraper or metal spatula, gently loosen the dough from the counter. Rolling lengthwise, roll the dough away from you into a tight log. Pinch the seam down and roll the log seam side down. Using a serrated knife, slice the log into 9 evenly sized rolls. Ever-so-slightly flatten each piece of dough to seal the open edges and keep the filling in place.

Arrange the rolls cut side down in the prepared baking pan. Tightly cover the pan with foil and bake for 12 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and bake for an additional 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges of the rolls are golden brown. Do not over bake, as the rolls can dry out fairly quickly.

Flip the rolls out onto a wire rack set over a sheet of parchment paper or foil (for easy cleanup). Remove the foil sling and allow rolls to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before frosting.

To prepare the frosting, whisk together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, spices, and salt. Flip the rolls upright, then frost generously.

About the contributor:
	Elizabeth Miller is a freelance writer who runs Savory Salty Sweet, a food and kitchen appreciation website. She also writes the Melting Pot column here on Indie Fixx, which appears bimonthly on Fridays. Read more about her on the contributors’ page.