Lazy weekday

Green Veggie Risotto and Crepes with Blackberries

I had a wonderful weekend with my friend Kay-wen from Cornell. I played host and we attended our friend Amy’s lovely wedding. Kay-wen has been asking me to cook for her ever since I fooled her into cooking for me in freshman year during spring break. Today we had all day to waste before she had to leave for LA at 6, so we paged through my Martha Stewart, Cooks Illustrated, Real Simple, and Everyday Food magazines and lots of my cook books to look for something to make. We decided to make this “healthy” risotto. At the grocery store I also bought some blackberries and heavy cream for dessert – crepes.

My number one comfort food has always been noodle soups. But in recent years risotto has slowly made its way closer to the top of my list. Made poorly, it becomes a mambo-jumbo of badly westernized Chinese congee. Made well, it sparks up my senses and nourishes my tired body. I guess a lot of people substitute ingredients when they are hard to find. But it is important to adhere to the recipe when it is made for the first time. Recipes are usually tried and true. Only when the cook is familiar with the roles of each ingredient or cooking step can he safely change it. Using Asian rice in risotto is just wrong. You wouldn’t use Thai Jasmine rice to make sushi, would you? And remember to use lots of butter, because Julia Child has said it many times – butter is good!