Thai Lime Tuna Wraps with @TastyBite

You guys, my four years of college life were a culinary whirlwind of self-discovery. My first year, I went to community college and lived at home. I'd be the first one home, I'd be hungry, so I would make dinner. That was when I first really started to learn to cook.

My second year, I lived in an independently-owned student housing apartment building (yeah, it was complicated). The apartment was gorgeous, and had a nice, if small, kitchen. But there was really no grocery store nearby that I could find, so I'd go home on the weekend to shop for supplies. As you can imagine, this meant stuff that traveled well, stuff that wouldn't spoil or melt in the car ride back, and stuff that would last me a good long time. In other words, a lot of prepackaged foods, and a lot of trips to CostCo. Me being me, I managed to get pretty creative with what I had, as I got bored very quickly with the selection. That's when I learned to listen to my instincts when it came to cooking.

My third and fourth years, I rented an attic much closer to school, within walking distance of a small, though serviceable, grocery store. But I had no kitchen, just a dorm room fridge, a microwave, a coffee maker, and a George Foreman grill that my aunt bought me. The only sink I had was in the bathroom, and I didn't have a whole lot of storage space. Staples for me at that time were tortillas, shredded cheese, boil-in-a-bag rice, and peanut butter. Easy Mac made it's obligatory appearance, as well as whatever else I felt like buying that week. Usually tuna, sometimes cold cuts, a lot of veggie burgers and veggie nuggets. Once I bought corn dogs. Really, anything that I could get some mileage out of, I'd try at least once. I learned a lot about what one could do with a tortilla, an electric grill, and a lot of creativity.

It was around that time that I first discovered Tasty Bite. And let me tell you, their all natural, vegetarian stews were a life saver. They didn't need to be refrigerated, they didn't need to be cooked, they were healthier than most of my other options, and they were a nice change of pace, flavor-wise. I'd make a bag of boil-in-a-bag brown rice, mix in one of their stews-- my favorite was the Kashmir Spinach-- and I'd have dinner for the week. So when Tasty Bite contacted me and asked if I wanted some free samples, I didn't have to think twice.

Of course, this unexpected windfall made me nostalgic for for some of my culinary masterpieces from my college days. I made wraps like this constantly. Rice and protein (usually tuna, sometimes chopped up veggie burgers, occasionally even chili) and whatever veg I had on hand (usually cannibalized from a campus convenience store salad. They were massive and cheap), mixed with a little salad dressing or bbq sauce and some shredded cheese, wrapped in a tortilla, and toasted either on a skillet or a George Foreman grill. I called them quesarritos, because they were a bit like quesadillas, and almost entirely unlike burritos (50 nerd points if you get that reference). 

For these, I used Tasty Bite's Thai Lime Rice. The rice itself is soft and flavorful, without being overpowering. And ready in 90 seconds. No boiling in a bag required. I mixed in a can of tuna. Instead of salad dressing, I added lime juice and a drizzle of oil (I used olive oil, but sesame oil would be really good too), just to keep things from getting dry. Then I found a salad in the fridge that I picked out some peppers, onions, and broccoli from. Just like old times, except it didn't come from the C-Store. *sad face* Then I toasted it until it was golden.

True to it's origins as college food, this wrap is a breeze to put together, taking about 10 minutes total, using basic ingredients, and it's a pretty satisfying meal. It's also very easy to eat one-handed during a study session. The Thai Lime Rice gives it a nice depth of flavor that you wouldn't otherwise get, giving it a subtly exotic taste. It's like gourmet dorm food. Oh yeah.

Thai Lime Tuna Wraps
Yield: 4 wraps

Ingredients
1 pkg. Thai Lime Rice
1 can tuna, well drained
Juice from one lime
Vegetables of your choice
Approx. 1 tbsp olive or sesame oil
4 tortillas (burrito size)

Directions
Heat the rice according to package directions. Mix the rice with tuna, vegetables, and lime juice. Add the oil (just enough to keep it moist). Heat a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat. Wrap the filling in the tortillas, burrito style, and toast a few minutes on either side, until golden brown. Serve warm.

Recipe by Kim

Disclaimer: I was provided with free samples from Tasty Bite. I was under no obligation to review, and receive no further compensation for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Horchata for a Music-Inspired #SundaySupper

In December, drinking horchata,

I'd look psychotic in a balaclava.

This week's #SundaySupper is hosted by fellow Whovian, Susan of The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen, and is all about music. Because seriously, who doesn't like music, and who doesn't like food?

As for me, my taste in music is rather more eclectic than my taste in food. I got a little technopunk, a little industrial, a little indie, a little pop, a little dance, some classic rock, and some show tunes.

And, umm, whatever you would call the songs that the Guild released, like "(Do You Want to Date My) Avatar." Geek rock?

Despite my varying musical tastes, I had a more difficult time coming up with a music-inspired recipe than I thought I would. I was completely sure that I would be able to find a Queen song about food. I mean, really, they have a song about everything else. They've even got one about Freddie Mercury's cat (and it took me longer than I care to admit to realize that Delilah was a cat. I thought she was some seriously deranged chick.). But short of going through the lyrics of every single song in Queen's complete discography, I couldn't find one.

But then I remembered a song by one of my very favorite bands in all the land.

Winter's cold is too much to handle,

Pincher crabs that pinch at your sandles.

"Horchata," by Vampire Weekend.

To be completely honest, it was one of the very first things that I thought of when hearing this week's theme, but I resisted it a bit, since I've never had horchata, never mind made it myself.

Okay, they are like down-right scruffy in this video, it's bizarre. Ezra's wearing a t-shirt. I'm not used to him in anything other than a button-down. It's almost obscene. Ezra, put some clothes on. Kids read this.

Did I ever tell you about the time I sort of met the drummer? They were playing at a theater by school, walking distance from where I was living at the time. This was right before the second album released, and that was when they were just starting to get popular, so it was before their tickets became impossible to get. I had vastly overestimated the time it would take me to walk there and ended up getting to the theater super early (I was not first in line though, I was third). I was texting a friend that was meeting me there, and this guy walks by with this huge grin on his face, and he's like, "Hey guys!"

My mind was a total blank. I could not place where I knew him from. Did I have a class with him? Maybe he was one of the guys from my experimental psych class, or maybe he was in the honor society with me. Meanwhile the two girls in front of me got really excited, and my neurons kept misfiring, because now I'm thinking, hey, how come he's walking right past the line... and into the theater... Well, crap. He's the drummer.

That was my one brush with celebrity, guys. I think I handled it swell.

With lips and teeth to ask how my day went,

Boots and fists to pound on the pavement.

Anyway, back to the horchata, what finally decided me on trying it- other than lack of other options, heh- was the fact that I knew absolutely nothing about it. I do love me some research.

So I found that horchata is Mexican drink made primarily with rice. Now I had to try it, because that sounded kind of awesome.

So I soaked 1 cup of uncooked long grain rice and a cinnamon stick over night. Then I blended the rice (minus the cinnamon stick, although I did read one recipe that said to grind the cinnamon straight in with the rice) with 4 cups of water, 1/2 a cup of sugar, and some lime zest (because I read one recipe that did it, and I have a lot of limes in my fridge). But that tasted a little too sweet to me, so I added an extra cup of water. That was much better on the sweetness, but made it really thin and taste just like water with lime and cinnamon. I think, in the back of my mind, I was expecting it to be like rice milk, so I thought it was going to be creamy or something.

I ended up solving that problem by mixing in some evaporated milk. Now it's kind of eggnog-y, and I like it, but the interwebz is pretty divided on whether adding milk is "authentic" or not.

The measurements I used were pretty common across the recipes I was reading, so I was really surprised by how overly sweet the half cup of sugar made it. Again, I've never had real horchata, so maybe it's supposed to be really sweet. Or maybe it's user error- I read some recipes that said to grind the rice first, others that said to soak the rice in hot water, still others that said to boil the rice and cinnamon stick. And there were still other recipes that used almonds or cashews.

This is definitely a recipe I'll be coming back to in order to perfect, but for now, limey eggnog-y horchata is pretty good, too.

Here comes a feeling you thought you'd forgotten,

Chairs to sit and sidewalks to walk on.

Oh, you had it, but oh no you lost it,

Looking back you shouldn't have fought it.

Horchata

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked long grain rice

1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces

5 cups drinking water, divided

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. lime zest

1/4 tsp. salt

1 can evaporated milk (optional)

Directions

Soak the rice and cinnamon stick in 2 cups of water about 3 hours or overnight. Remove the cinnamon stick and add the rice and water to a blender. Blend until the rice is finely ground. Add the remaining water, sugar, zest, and salt, and pulse until well blended. Strain through a cheesecloth into a large pitcher. Stir in the evaporated milk, if desired. Serve chilled, over ice.

Recipe adapted from Food Network and About.com

Are you ready for an orchestra of goodies?

Prelude (Beverages):

Calimocho (Red Red Wine Cocktail) from La Cocina de Leslie inspired by Red Red Wine by UB40

Dark & Stormy Cocktail Recipe from An Appealing Plan inspired by Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen

Horchata from Treats & Trinkets inspired by Horchata by Vampire Weekend

Orange Crush from Magnolia Days inspired by Orange Crush by REM

Pineapple Lemonade Slushy with Coconut Water from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz inspired by Lemon Tree by Peter, Paul & Mary

Strawberry Tequila from Shockingly Delicious inspired by Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles

Overture (Appetizers):

Mustard Dill Beer Bread from Curious Cuisiniere inspired by In Heaven There Is No Beer a German Polka

Intermezzo (Entrees & Sides):

Chicken and Bacon Cheddar Waffles from I Run For Wine inspired by Glady’s Knight

Classic Fried Chicken from The Food Army Wife inspired by Chicken Fried by Zac Brown Band

Margarita Chicken from In The Kitchen With KP inspired by Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet

Meatball Duet from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings inspired by On Top of Spaghetti by Tom Glazer

Pan-Seared Halibut with Corn Hash and Asparagus Puree from Crazy Foodie Stunts inspired by Saturday Night Fish Fry by Louis Jordan

Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy BBQ Pulled Pork from Neighborfood inspired by Something Like That by Tim McGraw

Spaghetti and Pork Meatballs from Family Foodie inspired by On Top of Spaghetti by Kidsongs

Teriyaki Burger from Juanita’s Cocina inspired by Cheeseburger in Paradise by Jimmy Buffet

Finale (Desserts):

Banana Cream Pie Bars from Peanut Butter and Peppers inspired by Tra La La Song by The Banana Splits

Banana Pancake Ice Cream with Maple Brittle from Foxes Love Lemons inspired by Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson

Cherry Pie from My Cute Bride inspired by Cherry Pie by Warrant

Cherry Marshmallows from Pies and Plots

Chocolate Cappuccino Cream Puffs from Runner’s Tales inspired by Choux Pastry Heart by Corinne Bailey Rae

Chocolate Chip, Walnut and Caramel Banana Bread Ice Cream Sandwich from Ruffles & Truffles inspired by Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani

Chocolate Covered Caramels from Big Bear’s Wife inspired by At Last by Etta James

Coconut Rum Blondies from Gotta Get Baked inspired by I’ve Got A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts by Danny Kaye

Easy Blueberry Recipe: Fruit Tart from Growing Up Gabel inspired by Blueberry Hill by Fats Domino

Espresso Nib Ice Cream from Vintage Kitchen Notes inspired by Black Coffee by Ella Fitzgerald

Fancy Watermelon Lime Popsicles from Daily Dish Recipes inspired by Watermelon Crawl by Tracy Byrd

Fresh Peach Pie from Killer Bunnies, Inc. inspired by Sweet Sweet Pie by PWEI

Jammin’ Oatmeal Cookies from What Smells So Good? inspired by Jammin’ by Bob Marley

Many Flavors Whipped Cream from Noshing with the Nolands inspired by Whipped Cream and Other Delights by Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass

Peach Basil Pie from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen inspired by Peaches by POTUSA

Pina Colada Poke Cake from Cookin’ Mimi inspired by Two Pina Coladas by Garth Brooks

Peach Donuts with Brown Sugar from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks inspired by Peaches by POTUSA

Peach Strudel with Honey Bourbon Frozen Yogurt from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures inspired by My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music & Wild Honey by U2

Rainbow Pops from The Urban Mrs inspired by Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice

Salted Ripple Chip No-Churn Ice Cream from Cupcakes & Kale Chips inspired by Ice Cream by Sarah McLachlan

Salted Peanut Swirl Peanut Butter Ice Cream from girlichef inspired by Salt Peanuts by The Quintet

Shall We Dance? Fairy Cakes from The Ninja Baker inspired by Shall We Dance from the Japanese Film

Sugar Crusted Zucchini Bread from That Skinny Chick Can Bake inspired by Sugar, Sugar by the Archies

Tangerine Sorbet from Webicurean inspired by Tangerine Speedo by Caviar

Yeasted Banana Bread from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner inspired by I Like Bread and Butter by The New Beats

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm EST. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.

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