I’ll confess I hadn’t eaten any Annie Chun’s products in a while, but I remembered them fondly. And trustingly.

I was looking for soups to get me through the end of the winter – soups that, for a change, I wasn’t going to cook for myself. I’d already done a ton of broths and hearty soups and, well, you know … I wanted a break.

Picked up two Annie Chun’s. They looked yummy. And I’d just recently read such a good review of the Chun ingredients online. It seemed they were one of the very few commercial product lines that were reliably vegan, tasty, and contained no preservatives.

The advertisement inside my Peanut Sesame Noodle Bowl package seemed to support that. Of course, it was ACTUALLY promoting the “Rice Express” line … and it said, “Fresh-Steamed .. Gluten Free … Vegan … 100% All Natural … No Preservatives … Microwaveable.”

Well, you know what they say about assuming. I had assumed, from what I’d read online, that if an Annie Chun’s product didn’t SAY it contained animal products on the outside of the package, it didn’t.
Wrong. But here’s how I discovered my error:

Heated up the soup. It was unbearably salty. I couldn’t believe that THIS was Annie Chun’s. Oh, yes, it was tasty, in an extremely salty peanut-sesame-sauce kind of way. And I’m not unalterably opposed to salt – in fact, I cook with it regularly. I just try to keep it down to a reasonable minimum.

The soup was barely edible. I kept eating, thinking my taste buds must be wrong. This was a product line I thought I knew and liked. After I finished most of it, I decided the buds were right. I fished the packaging out of the recycling bin and read the ingredients. The first three “All Natural” ingredients were wheat flour, tapioca starch, and salt, in that order.

That would explain the sodium overwhelm. I kept reading: Wheat gluten was next. Well, it hadn’t been advertised on the package as gluten-free, of course – it’s kind of an udon noodle thing, and that means wheat noodles. Fine with that.

But the next ingredient was … lactic acid. Whoa? Lactic acid?

Wikipedia: “Lactic acid, also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in various biochemical processes …”

Hmmm. Dairy. So … I guess if it doesn’t SAY “vegan” on the front cover, we should expect to find animal products in the Annie Chun’s. How exactly you would KNOW that without ripping open the cardboard wraparound, basically destroying the packaging, I don’t know.

Oh, and BTW, as I read on, there was also salt mentioned two more times. I’m looking for a new DYI prepackaged fast-food entry into the larder for those don’t-feel-like-cooking times. Any suggestions?

Me? I said, somewhat startled. Yes, he said, I’m no good at it. So I did, not without some trepidation, since – as mentioned – I’ve eaten any number of flawless meals from his kitchen.

The rice was perfect.

I did what I’ve learned to do over the years. It starts with ignoring the directions on whatever package of rice you have in front of you.

It ends with nice, fluffy rice, on the dry side.

It does not apply to instant or quick-cooking varieties. For that, you’re on your own. Just follow the directions.

I’m talking here about what, for clarity’s sake, we’ll call CONVENTIONAL rice.

For conventional rice, I prefer basmati. But whatever you are cooking – white rice,  brown, short-grain or long – the type of rice determines cooking time.

For conventional rice, 1 cup uncooked rice makes 3 cups cooked. Adjust accordingly to get the right number of servings. (Allow at least 1/2 cup cooked rice per serving.)

Let’s say, for this time around, that you’re cooking white basmati rice. Put rice and water in pot at a ratio of 1 ½ cups water per cup of rice. Add ½ tsp. salt per cup of rice. Bring to a boil, reduce to low heat and cover. In about 8-10 minutes, check the rice. Do it sooner if you hear sputtering sounds, that means the water’s gone.

Check the rice: Look to see if any water still covers the grains. If the water is gone, take a grain and bite. (If there’s still water covering the rice, put the lid back on for another couple of minutes.) If when you bite, the rice is not yet cooked, add ½ cup water. Bring to boil, turn off heat completely, and cover tightly.

In about 10 minutes, check again. If rice is still not cooked, repeat the process, adding ½ cup water, bringing to boil, turning off.

The reason for turning off the heat while the water is at the boil near the end of the process is to allow the rice to finish cooking by steaming, which makes it lighter and fluffier.

It’s fine to add more water and continue cooking instead of turning off the heat, but then you have to monitor the rice so that you don’t burn it. Just listen sharp!

Adding the salt up front speeds the process.

Do NOT, under any circumstances, stir the rice until it is done. This only impedes the cooking process, and as long as there is enough water, the rice will neither stick nor burn.

Brown rice, short-grain rice and some other types may require more water to start, up to two cups water per cup of rice. Again, you’ll soon figure out what your preferred type requires.

The advantage to this process over the package directions – which may sometimes work, but often not – is that once you figure out your preferred rice’s cooking time, you will cook it confidently every time.

The trick to a good fried tofu is, frankly, enough oil and not too much stirring. You have to get the tofu browned on the first side before turning. A wok can work, but sometimes a really wide flat fry pan is best. Just resist the temptation to turn right away.

Coating the tofu with a little olive oil first cuts down on the overall amount of oil needed.

Ingredients:

1 lb. firm tofu, any brand, in one-inch cubes

½ c. olive oil or roasted sesame oil

1 tsp. oregano or other dried herb if available

1 large carrot, nituked or julienned (see NOTE, below)

1 small onion, sliced vertically (see Note)

(1/2 green and/or sweet red pepper, cut in strips)

(other veggies as desired/available: sliced mushrooms, broccoli, cabbage strips, zucchini slices, whatever)

(cooked beans if available/desired)

2 T. to ¼ c. tamari / soy sauce

¼ c. water

2 cups cooked rice (see NOTE for instructions)

Cut the tofu in strips, then cross-cut to cube it. Toss in ¼ cup of the oil, reserving the rest for cooking. Add any desired herb or other dry seasoning (curry powder, cumin, etc.)

Heat a couple of tablespoons (about half the remaining oil) in your pan or wok. Test for readiness w/ a drop of water; if it pops, the oil is ready. Saute on high heat about 2 minutes and turn. Add cut-up veggies, saving the softer ones (mushrooms, zucchini if used) until the onions are translucent or golden/lightly browned. Cook on medium heat 2 minutes, stirring gently. Add tamari or soy sauce and water. Turn heat low and cover. Cook another 2 minutes or simply turn the heat off and let stand until ready to serve.

Serve over cooked rice. Serves 2-4.

NOTE:  Thinly cut veggies cook faster and taste better. To “nituke” or “julienne” a carrot or other vegetable, turn it on its side and slice it horizontally in thin but not flabby slices. It helps if you make the cuts diagonal so that the flat slices are kind of oval-shaped; it’s easier to get the thin but sturdy slices that way. Then turn those slices and stack them. Cut these oval slices lengthwise, to form slender little strips with rectangular edges.

You can do the  same with zucchinis, jicama and any other odd-shaped veggie. For peppers, I recommend just cutting them in bite-sized strips. All veggies should be washed before cutting. I usually don’t scrape or peel any except onions and garlic, unless the skin is really tough.

For onions, peel and cut in half vertically; then slice vertically to create slender half-moon slices. For mushrooms, wash, pat dry and trim off stem end. Slice vertically.

They are, and juicy too … so while looking for ways to beat the heat, add thinly sliced cukes, perhaps along with tomatoes and lettuce, to any savory sandwich.

Make a meal of a pita pocket stuffed with cukes, tomatoes, lettuce and hummus or feta.

And speaking of feta, throw together a simple Greek salad with garden lettuce, cherry or grape tomatoes, pitted black olives, feta and sliced or chunked cucumbers with a little oil, oregano and balsamic vinegar. It’s a meal in minutes, sans cooking, as temperatures soar.

For a refreshing side dish to a meal of grilled veggies (think eggplant, onion, peppers, tomatoes and squash brushed with oil) or  grilled fish or chicken, try

Pressed cucumber salad

Ingredients:

4 small or medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin (about ¼ inch)

4 scallions, chopped

Salt

Rice vinegar

Paprika

(Mint)

The cukes achieve the soft-but-still-crunchy texture of this recipe by being pressed for at least several hours, so this is a dish to be made in advance, perhaps in the cool of morning or the night before – and it takes just minutes to set it up. Nature does the rest.

Layer cukes and scallions in a pickle press OR a round dish, preferably with straight sides. (I use the dish method; a soufflé dish works well.) Sprinkle each layer VERY lightly with salt. Then tighten the pickle press OR – my method – place a flat plate directly atop the mixture, face down. Weigh it down with a half-gallon container of water (pitcher, jar, bottle).

NOTE: The essential thing is for the plate to clear the sides of the dish and for the container to sit squarely on the plate, so that the pressure from the weight lands on the cuke mixture.

Let it sit for at least 2-3 hours. Overnight is fine too. Remove weight and drain the mixture. If desired, rinse quickly to remove excess salt. Place in a serving bowl, toss lightly with vinegar, and garnish with paprika, and mint if desired.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Forget conventional dinners. Eat fruit instead. Specifically, eat CHUNKS of melon, pineapple, mangoes, peaches and nectarines – big juicy ones – and berries. Skip the apples, bananas and pears for now. You want the fruit with the highest water content literally dripping off the chunks.

Forget fruit skins too, and if you’re really under the (hot) weather, go ahead and buy the pre-packaged containers. No skins, why? Because what you really want is the most (juicy, delicious) liquid for the least amount of work, including chewing!

Fresh fruit is one of the best hydrators on the planet. You can’t drink enough water on these hot days, and the juicier fruits consist of more than 90 percent water. Rejuvenation Lounge (http://thehealthylivinglounge.com/2009/01/28/10-tips-to-grab-on-the-run-for-staying-hydrated/) points out that the first part of our bodies to become dehydrated is the BRAIN. Not good, eh?

So make a complete dinner out of wet, luscious seasonal fruits, eaten while lounging in the coolest spot you can find – porch with breeze, interior with AC, next to a pool, river, lake, ocean – and spear those chunks, with fork or toothpick, out of a big bowl garnished with mint. You’ll feel your temperature drop!

Minimal washing up afterward too.

On a recent 105-degree evening (heat index 117), we made dinner out of cantaloupe, strawberries, pineapple, grapes and peaches. The melon and pineapple were pre-cut, an indulgence that my fried brain eagerly embraced. All I had to do was rinse the berries and cut up the peaches, from a local tree.

A baguette and some good local cheese would be a nice addition if you’re craving a little protein or just a fuller meal. And depending on your tastes, some chilled wine could turn the evening into a festive French picnic.

For us, all that was missing was the checked tablecloth. We didn’t even care! Just the pleasure of feeling the fruit slide down our parched throats was bliss enough.

Hydration tips

1:  As the Rejuvenation Lounge says, “Eat your water.” Grapes and oranges can be as high as 98%  water content, melons too. Fruits also supply unrefined sugar and electrolytes.

2:  Keep water handy. Carry a water bottle. Keep water by your bed at night. Add a slice of lemon or a stalk of mint for variety.

3. Think thirsty: Just a 2 percent drop in body fluids can trigger fuzzy thinking. Lack of water is the top reason for fatigue during the day.  Remember, our bodies are over three-fourths “sea water”: we need the fluid and minerals to digest, absorb and transport all the nutrients we consume.

4. Skip sodas, and go easy on caffeine. Both can interfere with absorption, and carbonated drinks can actually leach minerals out of your body – at a time when you need them more than ever to counteract their loss in hot weather.

5. Back to fruits: See No. 1. They’re a great source of minerals as well as fluid.

THE CRUST:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Blend 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour and ½ cup oil. You can do the blending with your fingers or with a cake beater on lowest speed. Add enough water to create a cohesive dough. Ice water is best, and probably not more than a half cup – add it slowly. Roll out on a floured board to make one 9-inch crust and carefully lift it into a pie pan.

Bake 10 minutes. Cool. Add filling and chill for half an hour or more, till the filling has set.

QUICK VERSION: Use a prepared crust – either a conventional pie crust or a graham-cracker crust. Read the label to avoid trans fats.  (Commercial bakers are now turning to palm oil to comply with regulations limiting use of trans fats.)

THE FILLING:

3 cups fresh berries, cleaned and washed

3 cups apple, white grape or other favorite juice (berry, pomegranate)

Pinch of salt

1 bar kanten (agar-agar)

Fill one 9-inch pie crust with the berries, spreading  evenly. Heat the juice with salt and kanten to dissolve, then simmer 5 minutes, stirring.  Pour over the berries, let stand for 10 minutes to cool, and chill for a half hour. Servings: 10 slices.

NOTE: Kanten is a sea vegetable with no calories – great for dieters. Kanten flakes may also be used; ¼ to  1/3 cup equals 1 bar. It’s a common ingredient in macrobiotic cooking, used for thickening, and has also long been used in Western cultures for the same purpose.

The kanten jells when chilled after being dissolved. If you can combine strawberries or red raspberries with blueberries in this open-face pie, the addition of a little whipped cream or vanilla ice cream when serving makes quite a festive red, white, and blue dessert for July Fourth celebrations. Take it to a picnic – just keep it chilled!

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

HOMEMADE PIE CRUST (per serving):

Calories150 Total Fat10g – Saturated Fat5g for palm oil, 0 g for sesame oil – Cholesterol 16mg – Total Carbohydrate14g – Dietary Fiber 2g Sugars – 0 g – Protein 3g Calcium 0g

FILLING, with KANTEN, per serving:

Kanten has zero calories and is very high in fiber (80 percent of its content). It contains significant amounts of minerals including calcium and iron.

For the berries in one slice of  this pie, the nutritional analysis looks like this:

Calories – 25; Total Fat, 0g; Cholesterol, 0g; Total Carbohydrate, 2 g; Dietary Fiber, 3g; Sugars, 1g; Protein 0g; Calcium 0g.

KELLOGG READY-MADE REDUCED FAT GRAHAM CRUST:

You might have caught Lila talking on NPR over the weekend. She was telling the People’s Pharmacy folks about the advantages of flavonoids. Yes, those little phytochemicals that give berries, grapes and red wines their reputation as health enhancers.

But Lila wasn’t talking about red wine. She was focused on berries in their most native form. Fresh is best, she says; frozen is next best. Lila says any heat process destroys the particular value of the flavonoids.

Lila’s presentation at the conference was “The Berry Enigma,” a topic she also recently discussed on the Dr. Oz Show. Researchers see strong links between berries and human health, but they’re puzzled about why. “The actual bioactive compounds in the berries and how they protect human health have remained largely enigmatic,” Lila says on the Plants for Human Health Institute website. She’s the institute’s director.

Enigmatic though they may be, berries are not only healthy but delicious. Strawberry season has just ended in most parts of the United States. Blueberries are still ahead of us. And of course, you can always buy the more expensive fresh berries imported from year-round growing areas. But if you live where they grow wild or domesticated at this time of year, put them on your cereal while the getting is good!

And see the Recipes page for a terrific berry pie that involves little or no cooking.

Excerpts:

Positing that most of our major health issues — including heart disease, cancer and diabetes — can be prevented (and even in some cases reversed) by following a vegetables-and-whole-grains diet, this dense documentary would rather inform than entertain.

While at times fascinating, this trudge through statistics, graphs and grainy film of cholesterol bubbles and arterial plaque may challenge even the most determined viewer.

Luckily, things pick up midway, as Mr. Fulkerson bites into the global consequences of our food choices and the extent of corporate influence on our official nutrition guidelines.