I often joke that we have become a society that celebrates mediocrity. I was always raised that in order to be successful you had to work hard, you had to be the best and you had to shine. And that is exactly what I did throughout my life. In high school I worked hard to get good grades, I was class president, I did community service, joined clubs that would help me get into college, wrote for the school paper and tried to play sports. In college I worked my way through school by working and going to school full time. I was bound and determined to graduate with honors, wrote for the school paper, taught step aerobics and worked graveyards for 4 years. And after school my path continued pretty much on the same whirlwind journey. I am proud of my accomplishments, but I also recognized the blood, sweat and tears that it took to get me to where I am today. And I have no regrets and would do it all again in a heart beat.

However, because of my drive, expectations and hyper activity level I do have a hard time understanding this celebration of "meeting standards," that we often see today. I struggle with understanding why every child gets a trophy when they play sports or why people get raises in their jobs for doing the minimum or why there are consolation prizes....you didn't win you should get nothing is what I often want to scream!!! I actually often joke that if we are going to celebrate mediocrity we should truly embrace it by being excited when we get 17th...hence this ribbon that was placed on my desk a few months back helping me to truly celebrate 17th. Seriously if being #1 doesn't really mean anything, why can't we celebrate 17th?



So tonight when I got done cooking I was a little frustrated with my dish because it was mediocre at best. I was like damn I have nothing to write about...but then inspiration hit me...and I thought hell I can totally write about this.  I made Cooking Lights Rice and Peas and guess what? It was just ok.  It wasn't knock your socks off amazing but just like every child who gets a trophy it has potential and it is just a matter of what we all do with that potential and how we nurture it which is important.

I will say this recipe was easy and it could be a nice side dish, but it just wasn't as described. The recipe description made it sound like it was a soupy risotto type of dish but it was kind of more a mushy risotto little number. It started off right as how can you go wrong by sauteing onions in butter. Then you add the arborio rice and cook for 1 minute...still on the right track. Add the vegetable broth, water, salt and pepper and this is where it started to go astray. I think it would have been better with chicken broth to give it more of that salty flavor and I think I would have used all broth instead of water which kind of took away from the flavor. Cook for 20 minutes and then add the Parmesan cheese, peas and parsley. I would have added more Parmesan as I think the nutty flavor of the cheese could have also enhanced this recipe quite nicely. And of course more salt because as you all know I am kind of a salt fiend.



Here is the recipe if you want to try it or play around with it:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup Arborio rice or other short-grain rice
• 2 1/2 cups organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 (16-ounce) package frozen green peas, thawed

Preparation

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until golden. Add rice to pan; sauté 1 minute. Add broth, 2 cups water, salt, and pepper to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cheese, parsley, and peas; cook 2 minutes.