Tag: rice

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Veggie

Fried Rice

one and a half slices recipes local delicious food

Quintessential Fried Rice

Fried rice: the perfect solo or double date weeknight shutdown when there is leftover (white, long-grained) rice in the fridge.

This hits. Pretty much any night. The post is old but the recipe is updated.

what you need

2-3 eggs, whisked

1 tablespoon butter

2 carrots, peeled and diced tiny

1 cup frozen peas (take them out during prep, let them thaw)

1/2 yellow onion, diced tiny

2-4 cups cooked, leftover, long-grain white rice (like a basmati or a jasmine). For best results, use day-old rice. You actually need the rice to be dry for this recipe.

1/2 cup green onions, sliced thinly, with some extra for topping

1 knob of fresh ginger, grated

2 cloves of garlic, grated

1 small knob of fresh turmeric, grated

freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon toasted or regular sesame oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce or Tamari + a bit more for cooking 

2 teaspoons chili oil and/or 1-2 tiny diced red Thai chilies 

2 teaspoons of rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sesame seeds 

1 bunch of green onions, washed and chopped

(optional) prepared/leftover protein such as chicken, steak, or tofu. Personally, I am happy with eggs + veg.

🌶️🔥🥢

how to make it

Here is how we are going to approach this. And hopefully you have a wok, but if you don’t, a regular old large frying pan will work just fine.

First, scramble your eggs in the tablespoon of butter and set aside. Leave them on the softer side and break up the curds into smaller pieces.

Next, dice all your veg and set it out so it’s ready to go. I recommend three piles:

  1. Carrots, onions
  2. Garlic, ginger, turmeric, black pepper, chilies and chili oil 
  3. Green onion, green peas, sesame seeds

The creation of this is going to move quickly so best have everything set out.

Heat up a few tablespoons of your favorite cooking oil in your wok. For me, that is avocado oil (no seed oils in this house). Get it really fucking hot. And turn on the stovetop vent.

1 tablespoon of tamari + the carrots and onions. Two minutes.

Follow with the garlic, ginger, turmeric, black pepper, chilies, and chili oil + 1 tablespoon of tamari. One Minute. (Stir it a lot). 

Move the veg to the sides of the wok, add another tablespoon of cooking oil, and add the leftover rice. Spread it out and stir it up a bit, optimizing for maximum rice contact with the wok. To the top of the rice, add 1 more tablespoon of tamari, the sesame oil, and the rice vinegar. Stir it all up and now let it sit for two minutes. Stir. Two more minutes. Stir. A little smoke is okay. 

// If you are using a protein, throw it in now, stir. One more minute. Just warm it up. 

Last step. Add the green onion, green peas, sesame seeds, and scramble egg. Stir it up. Then take it off the heat.

You’re done. You made it. 20 minutes tops. With no seed oils. Now go eat that shit with chopsticks and sake. 
More Rice
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Omni

Moroccan Tagine

one and a half slices local simple recipes food

Moroccan Tagine

I have been SO excited to release this post!!! Why? Because this is your new weeknight dinner. It will impress your family, fill your stomach, warm your heart, and make your house smell like North African spices. I started making tagine [pronounced tah-jeen with a soft ‘j’] years ago when I first moved to DC and came across a tagine (distinction below) in World Market. I was instantly and aesthetically intrigued, and purchased the thing on the spot not having a clue what I would do with it. Well… figured that one out. A tagine is the OG slow cooker.  And whatever you put inside – lamb, chicken, chickpeas, rabbit, potatoes – you will taste the spicy exoticism. If you don’t have a tagine, no worries. You can make it in a Dutch oven, stovetop or, yes, in a slow cooker. And before you think this is just chicken slow roasted in tomato sauce… keep reading…

For reference, the clay pot pictured above (the vessel) is a tagine. What is pictured below it is the deliciousness you are about to create in said vessel, which also happens to be called tagine. Both the pot AND the dish are called “tagine.” A tagine (the vessel) is a clay or ceramic pot. A tagine (the food) is a stew. Both of these items are native to North Africa (think Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia), but this cooking style is traditionally Berber and has its counterparts in both Cypriot and Ottoman cuisine.  In Cypriot cuisine, it is called the tavas and in Ottoman (present-day Turkish) cuisine, it is called testi.

In the traditional Berber implementation, a fire is made in a hole in the ground, the clay pot nestled inside, buried, and left for many hours. Upon return, the meat and vegetables inside have become a hearty stew and the meat is super tender (see? slow cooker…). In traditional Ottoman cuisine, the clay pot is made and preliminarily fired before the meat and vegetables are added. Then the clay pot is sealed (with more clay) and placed in the fire for several hours like a kiln. To extract the food, the pot is broken (often tableside for showmanship), and its contents poured onto a bed of rice. The streets of Turkey brought me this Ottoman delight in 2014, well after I tasted Moroccan and Algerian flavors in 2011. One of the best meals I have ever had in my life was rabbit plum couscous (made in a tagine) in central Morocco (the blue city, to be precise). While the cooking methods are similar, the tastes can vary drastically due to the spices! An exemplar Moroccan spice blend is pictured below. Cloves, fennel, anise, fenugreek, caraway, cardamom, turmeric, and saffron could just as easily find their way into the mix. As we move further east from the Berber origins, Lebanese (deep red) or Turkish (purple) Sumac may make an appearance. 

This has always been a personal fascination of mine… how culinary traditions jump borders. For example, German schnitzel is Argentinian Milanesa is American Country Fried Steak (well, almost). Similarly, almost every Eastern European country, to include Greece and Turkey, has its own version of borek (baked, fried, cheese-filled, spinach-filled, meat-filled… recipe coming eventually). Borek is not too dissimilar from the Latin empanada (which varies drastically from country to country –  baked, fried, with potatoes/peas/carrots, with egg/olives/raisins, with cheese, without cheese). 

Given the diversity of this dish and its multicultural origins, it is like almost everything I make – flexible. You can make it your own. You can also eat it on Monday with chicken, on Wednesday with lamb, and go vegan on Saturday – versatile. I’ve provided a base ingredient list and a base recipe below, with instructions for how to make it stovetop or in the oven. If you love it as much as I do, a simple tagine isn’t hard to come by. No, it isn’t technically required… but neither are sprinkles. For testing purposes, however, your Dutch oven or a large stovetop pan will suffice. Truth be told, I typically make it stovetop unless it’s for presentation. The quickest, weeknight version is made in the oven. Don’t be alarmed by the length of the ingredients list – it is mostly spices that you already have in your pantry.

You can serve this over rice or over couscous, or even just with the stewed potatoes all mashed up if you wanted to. 

what you need

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (2 cups for the stovetop version; 1 cup for the oven version)

1 cup dry couscous or rice

4 chicken pieces (drumsticks or thighs work best, but breasts cut into chunks work as well). You can also use rabbit meat, chunks of lamb loin, or a can of chickpeas for a vegan option.

fresh cilantro, coriander, or parsley

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground turmeric 

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more if you prefer your tagine super spicy)

2 tablespoons ghee or olive oil

1-2 tablespoons honey

1/2 onion, thickly diced

1 whole, small lemon, washed and cut into wedges with seeds removed

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 can crushed or diced tomatoes

1/4 cup golden raisins or diced dried apricots

1/4 cup sliced almonds, cashews, or pine nuts, roasted

(optional) 1/4 cup green peas

(optional) 1/2 cup green olives, pitted and sliced in half

(optional) 2-3 large carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

(optional) 1 16oz can of chickpeas

My favorite: I prefer a chicken drumstick tagine made stovetop with golden raisins and lemon wedges, with or without the chickpeas, topped with toasted almonds. The golden raisins, lemon, and almonds are what make the dish. 

how to make it (stovetop method - recommended for best flavor)

Mix the dry spices together and set aside (cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and cayenne pepper).

Prepare the protein. Heat olive oil or ghee over high heat in Dutch oven or large pan on the stove. Brown the chicken on all sides, about three minutes on each side, and sprinkle with salt. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Add onions to the pan and sauté until softened, about 1 minute. Add sliced garlic and grated fresh ginger and cook another 30 seconds, taking care not to burn the garlic. 

Make the tagine. Reduce heat to low and add tomatoes, chicken broth, honey, drained chickpeas (if using), green olives (if using), lemon wedges, and golden raisins to the pan. Stir in the spices and bring to an extremely low simmer. Nestle the chicken back into the stew, cover, and cook on the lowest possible setting for 1 1/2-2 hours, or until chicken becomes extremely tender. Check the stew once every 30 minutes or so, stirring occasionally to ensure there is enough liquid and nothing is burning. If the liquid dissipates, you can add about 1/2 cup of water. About 45 minutes out, throw in the carrots so they stay a bit firmer. You can do this with half of the lemon slices as well if you choose. 

Notes on cooking time: 1 hour is plenty sufficient for chicken breast or rabbit, but this dish is more delicious with bone-in chicken drumsticks or thighs.  These will do better with a 2-3 hour cooking time to ensure it is extremely tender. Lamb will benefit from the 2-3 hour cooking time as well. I will be posting a second rabbit couscous recipe down the road with a different set of ingredients.

Serve. While the tagine is cooking, make the rice or couscous according to instructions on the package, and roast the nuts in the oven as well. When the stew is ready, spoon rice or couscous into a bowl and spoon the tagine over top. Garnish with a lemon wedge, fresh cilantro or parsley leaves, and toasted nuts. 

how to make it (Dutch oven or tagine method - recommended for speed)

Preheat oven to 350 or 200 (see notes below). Mix the dry spices together and set aside (cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and cayenne pepper). 

Make the tagine. Place chunked meat in tagine or Dutch oven and nestle vegetables (carrots, chickpeas (if using), onions, and lemon around the meat). Top with sliced garlic, grated ginger, golden raisins, and green olives (if using). Sprinkle with spice mixture. Pour 1 cup of chicken broth and can of diced tomatoes over the mixture, secure the lid, and place in the oven.

Notes on cooking time: If you are making a quick weeknight meal and are using diced chicken or rabbit breast, you can get away with cooking this on 350 for 1 hour. If you have the time, aim for 2-3 hours on 200, checking once at the 1 1/2 hour mark to ensure there is still enough liquid. 

Serve. While the tagine is cooking, make the rice or couscous according to instructions on the package, and roast the nuts in the oven as well (or quickly under the broiler when the tagine comes out). When the stew is ready, spoon rice or couscous into a bowl and spoon the tagine over top. Garnish with a lemon wedge, fresh cilantro or parsley, and toasted nuts (almonds work especially well).

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Categories
Veggie

Black Bean Bowls

oneandahalfslices black bean bowls homemade grilled corn mexican
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Homemade Black Beans & Bowls

oneandahalfslices black bean bowls homemade grilled corn mexican

Man, I gotta say, bowls have to be the biggest culinary hack for weeknight dinner. They are so easy there is a whole line of mainstream, not-quite-fast-food restaurants built around their creation: Cava, Chipotle, Sweet Green… the list goes on. If they are simple enough for mainstream restaurants to churn out at the core of their business model, they are certainly simple enough for you to make at home on a weeknight. These Mexicali bowls are one of my standbys. The recipe I’m going to give you is for homemade black beans which, after you make them once, you’ll never buy another can of black beans again. The format is similar to the Anson Mills Red Island Sea Peas recipe. Then I’ll leave a few bowl assembly hints for you at the bottom.

Pro tip: get a grill.

#summervibes

🌽🥑🌶️

what you need

For the black beans:

5 cups raw black beans, soaked in water overnight

2 jalapenos or other hot peppers, minced

1 yellow onion or two shallots, minced

half an orange

salt and pepper to taste

1 vegetable bouillon cube

3 cloves of garlic, minced

Suggestions for the bowls:

1 cup of brown rice, cooked according to package

1 cup of homemade black beans, cooked according to this recipe

half an avocado, sliced

one cob of grilled corn, cut off the cob

one bell pepper, raw or grilled

half a roma tomato, or, use some homemade salsa and/or guacamole

half a jalapeno pepper, sliced thinly

fresh cilantro and/or parsley

(optional) protein of choice, chicken or steak, done your way on the grill

(optional) cotija cheese

how to make it

Beans. Soak your black beans overnight in water. The next day, drain them, strain them, and prepare them for cooking.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers, and garlic, and sauté a minute or two until soft. 

Add the beans to the sauce pan along with 5 cups of water, the vegetable bouillon cube, and salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze the half orange into the beans then place the expressed half orange face down in the beans, cover, and simmer for two to three hours or until beans are tender. If the liquid is not evaporating, you can simmer the beans uncovered for the final hour.

Bowls.  Bowls are more assembly than anything else which is what makes them so fantastic. Start with your cup of rice, then your cup of beans, then the world – or in this case, the bowl – is your oyster. Add your protein, your pepper –  grilled or raw, your tomato or salsa, your avocado or guac, your grilled corn, and garnish with fresh herb and cheese of choice. You’ve got yourself a weeknight dinner. You’re welcome.

Oh, don’t forget the lime wedge!

Like these bowls? Try the Turkish Kebab bowls next (coming soon!)

Bean Prep
Fall Cocktail - Lost Plane
Grilled Things
Finished Bowl
Endless Weeknight Dinner Ideas
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Omni Veggie

Rice Pilaf

OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Customizable Rice Pilaf

This highly customizable rice pilaf rounds out my rice trifecta – Customizable Fried Rice, Indian Biryani Rice, and this one. This is by far the most customizable of the three. You can make it how you want it – side dish, main course, protein of choice, strictly vegetarian. You can choose a Moroccan, Mediterranean, or Latin flavor profile with the spices that you select. My favorite is a chicken-centric, Moroccan-esque varietal. All you have to do is follow a simple process: 1) Base, 2) Spices, 3) Veggies, 4) Rice, 5) Broth, 6) Garnish, and it’s ready in 30.  

how to make it

(the bolded ingredients make my stand-by, Moroccan profile rice pilaf pictured above)

1) BASE. This is where you establish the flavor profile of your pilaf. Start by heating 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large pan. Then add 3/4 cup of any of the following along with salt and pepper, and sauté ~2-4 minutes. 

  • Diced Vidalia or Spanish onion
  • Minced ginger root
  • Minced shallot
  • Diced carrot
  • Diced celery
  • Diced fennel 

2) SPICES. This is where you build the flavor profile of your pilaf. You don’t want to drown the rice in spices like you might a curry; rather, lightly fragrance the rice with 1-3 spices of your choosing. Add 1 scant tablespoon of spices total, choosing from the following:

  • Lemon zest
  • Cinnamon
  • Cayenne
  • Oregano
  • Mint
  • Turmeric
  • Coriander
  • Cumin
  • Saffron

3) VEGGIES. This is where you can give your rice a little extra, if you desire. Throwing in some small broccoli florets, green peas, snap peas, or diced bell pepper here can give your rice a little more body. For my Moroccan pilaf, I add a handful of Golden Raisins or sometimes a diced apple. Give your mixture a good stir and another 60 seconds over medium-high heat

4) RICE. Now add 1 cup of rice of choice, dry. Jasmine rice or basmati rice tend to work best to absorb the flavors, but I’ve also made it with long-grained brown rice. Stir the grains until coated and sauté an additional ~2-3 minutes. If the mixture is starting to burn or looking a little dry, you can add another dash of olive oil or toasted sesame oil. 

5) BROTH. This is the part that sets rice pilaf apart from normal rice – it is cooked in broth. Add 1 1/2 cups of broth – chicken, vegetable, homemade, or Knorr, your choice. Throwing in a splash of white wine is also acceptable and perhaps a little more salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a light simmer, cover, and cook for ~15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Then remove the rice from the heat, cover with a clean dish towel, and replace the lid, letting the rice rest for 10 minutes (this is key to making your rice fluffy not sticky!). 

6) GARNISH. This is the best part of the entire pilaf. It’s where you add freshness and crunch to the beautifully rich flavor profile you’ve just created. Choose one thing green and one thing crunchy from the options below:

  • Minced chives
  • Fresh parsley
  • Fresh cilantro
  • Fresh mint
  • Toasted almonds
  • Toasted pistachios 
  • Toasted pine nuts (also a favorite)
  • Toasted hazelnuts (also a favorite)
  • Toasted cashews (also a favorite)
  • Toasted pecans
  • Marinated, baked, chunked chicken or protein of choice

Fold in your garnish, fluff up this rice, and serve. The Moroccan style tends to pair well with a lemon wedge to squeeze on top for that added brightness. It may look like a lot but these six simple steps, once mastered, yield a full-bodied, hearty rice pilaf that can serve as a side dish or an entire meal. Of all three OneandahalfSlices rice dishes, this is by far my fav!
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Other Rice Things

Fried Rice

July 24, 2025 4 Comments

A quintessential fried rice recipe. AKA what to do with leftover rice, weeknight style. This hits. Make it spicy. 🌶️ Get some sake. Fuck it, go to Japan.

Go To Post »

Moroccan Tagine

September 21, 2024 4 Comments

I have been SO excited to release this post!!! Why? Because this is your new weeknight dinner. It will impress your family, fill your stomach, warm your heart, and make your house smell like North African spices. I started making tagine years ago when I first moved to DC and came across a tagine in World Market. I was instantly and aesthetically intrigued, and purchased the thing on the spot not having a clue what I would do with it. Well… figured that one out. A tagine is the OG slow cooker.  And whatever you put inside – lamb, chicken, chickpeas, rabbit, potatoes – you will taste the spicy exoticism. If you don’t have a tagine, no worries. You can make it in a Dutch oven, stovetop or, yes, in a slow cooker. And before you think this is just chicken slow roasted in tomato sauce… keep reading…

Go To Post »
oneandahalfslices black bean bowls homemade grilled corn mexican

Black Bean Bowls

October 15, 2022 3 Comments

Man, I gotta say, bowls have to be the biggest culinary hack for weeknight dinner. These Mexicali bowls are one of my standbys. The recipe I’m going to give you is for homemade black beans which, after you make them once, you’ll never buy another can of black beans again. Then I’ll leave a few bowl assembly hints for you at the bottom. #summervibes

Go To Post »
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Veggie

Biryani Rice

OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Vegetable Biryani

one and a half slices biryani indian rice recipe simple

I made biryani a couple of times to master the technique, but don’t let the seemingly involved instructions deter you. I’ve made it simple, and if you’re a fan of Indian food – biryani, in particular – you totally got this! This is a vegetable version which I feel works best when it prominently features cauliflower, but you can easily make steak or chicken biryani as well. This biryani rounds out my trifecta of main course rice dishes, to include my Mongolian Beef Fried Rice recipe and super flexible Chicken Rice Pilaf recipe (which has yet to make its way to the blogosphere… coming soon). Anyway, get out your spices and give this hearty, spicy, beauty a try. If you’re really feeling committed to a full Indian/Pakistan spread, pair this alongside my classic Chicken Korma Curry (30 minute curry video version found here).  

Pre-Cook
Dum
Post-Cook
Ready!

what you need

1 cup long-grain basmati or jasmine rice, pre-soaked for 1 hour or more

3 medium carrots, diced

3/4 cup frozen peas

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets and, if desired, marinated in olive oil, cayenne pepper, and turmeric

1 whole Spanish or yellow onion cut into strips

1 knob fresh ginger root (can use ginger powder)

(optional) 1/2 knob fresh turmeric root

2 cloves of fresh garlic

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt + more for serving

1/2 cup fresh cilantro and/or fresh mint, chopped

3/4-1 cup halved cashews or cashew pieces

3-4 tablespoons ghee (or butter)

1/8 cup whole milk, warmed slightly

1 pinch dried saffron strands, crushed

Spices: 1 cinnamon stick or cinnamon powder, cloves, 1 bay leaf, black pepper, salt, red chili flakes to taste (for spiciness), coriander, cumin, cardamom, mace or nutmeg, turmeric.

how to make it

You are going to need one large, preferably non-stick sauté pot with a lid and some tinfoil for this recipe.

Prep steps: Crush saffron strands and deposit in warmed milk. Set aside until the milk turns a beautiful yellow color, like dying Easter eggs! And soak the rice. 

Boil rice: Set a small pot to boil on the stove flavored with cloves and cardamom. Once boiling, add strained rice and cook until al dente, ~7-8 minutes. Remove from heat, strain rice, mix with 1 tablespoon ghee, and set aside. 

Meanwhile, sauté vegetables: Add 1  tablespoon ghee to pan and caramelize the onions, sautéing on low for ~20-25 minutes. Remove from pan. Add a tad more ghee and throw in those cashews, stirring constantly so they only brown but do not burn. Remove from pan. Now throw in the cauliflower, carrots, and peas with a bit more ghee and sauté ~6-8 minutes until they begin to soften. Remove from pan. Now all your veggies are pre-cooked.

Make the biryani: Place a bit of ghee in the bottom of the pan (no need to wash it out) on low heat. Add the cinnamon stick and all the spices, stirring to keep from burning. As the spices sizzle, grate the garlic cloves, the ginger knob, and the turmeric root (no need to peel) over the mixture with a hand grater like this one. Stir well and, before anything starts to burn but after the spices have opened up, add 1/2 cup of water, scraping any bits up off the bottom of the pan. Add the vegetables back in along with the bay leaf, stirring the entire mixture and salting generously. Cook uncovered on medium heat for ~8 minutes. 

The cashews, mint, and saffron milk should still be resting…

Layer the biryani: Remove mixture from heat and whisk in the yogurt, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Then remove half the mixture from the pan and set aside, spreading the remaining mixture in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle some cilantro/mint and cashews on top before adding about half the rice and pressing down firmly. Add the rest of the vegetables, another layer of cilantro/mint and cashews, and the remaining rice. Your final layer on top should be rice. Press the mixture down firmly and drizzle with saffron milk.

“Dum”: Affix the pan tightly with tinfoil covering the top and place the lid down tightly on the tinfoil. Cook stovetop on lowest possible heat setting for ~25 minutes. 

Serve!: Remove lid and tinfoil, and stir biryani generously, spooning portions into bowls. You did it! See? Not so hard. Homemade vegetable biryani. 

Other Rice Dishes

Fried Rice

July 24, 2025 4 Comments

A quintessential fried rice recipe. AKA what to do with leftover rice, weeknight style. This hits. Make it spicy. 🌶️ Get some sake. Fuck it, go to Japan.

Go To Post »

Moroccan Tagine

September 21, 2024 4 Comments

I have been SO excited to release this post!!! Why? Because this is your new weeknight dinner. It will impress your family, fill your stomach, warm your heart, and make your house smell like North African spices. I started making tagine years ago when I first moved to DC and came across a tagine in World Market. I was instantly and aesthetically intrigued, and purchased the thing on the spot not having a clue what I would do with it. Well… figured that one out. A tagine is the OG slow cooker.  And whatever you put inside – lamb, chicken, chickpeas, rabbit, potatoes – you will taste the spicy exoticism. If you don’t have a tagine, no worries. You can make it in a Dutch oven, stovetop or, yes, in a slow cooker. And before you think this is just chicken slow roasted in tomato sauce… keep reading…

Go To Post »
oneandahalfslices black bean bowls homemade grilled corn mexican

Black Bean Bowls

October 15, 2022 3 Comments

Man, I gotta say, bowls have to be the biggest culinary hack for weeknight dinner. These Mexicali bowls are one of my standbys. The recipe I’m going to give you is for homemade black beans which, after you make them once, you’ll never buy another can of black beans again. Then I’ll leave a few bowl assembly hints for you at the bottom. #summervibes

Go To Post »
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Local

Grain, Meal, Rice

OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

#local Grain, Meal, & Rice

It’s no secret that I’m a proponent of local. Local meat, local produce, #getacsa. But what about grains?

Can those be local? Do we even produce them here in Virginia? About a year ago, I sifted through my pantry and saw flours from Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur, lentils from the Dakotas, and rice from India or the Lundberg family in California. ‘There have to be mills around here somewhere,’ I thought. And the search was on.

Ritual Fine Foods maintains a list organized by US state for where to source local and organic grains.

Below, you’ll find several mills local to Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas, which is the general area I’m going to go ahead and call “local” for myself. Most of them ship but I set out on a mission to visit each one and replace 90% of the packaged items in my pantry with locally-sourced grains, meals, and rice.

Wade’s Mill. Wade’s Mill is an awesome mill just outside of Charlottesville, VA. It’s been milling local grains since 1750, is open to visitors, and even hosts an annual 5K. The mill offers: grits, cornmeal, corn flour, wheat flour (whole wheat and white), wheat bran, farro and winter wheat, buckwheat flour, rye flour, and spelt flour. 

Migrash Farm in Maryland, milling kosher Chesapeake grain. For us Virginians, this is as truly local as it gets! Migrash is a small operation but the quality of its product is fantastic. It is said of Migrash that “the primary farmer can be contrarian and ornery; others who work there abiding and of refined character.” The harvests appear on the website but, typically, the mill offers: flours made from einkorn, seasonal wheats, rye, and spelt, in addition to rolled oats (for oatmeal!) corn flour, cornmeal, grits, and whole kernels.

Anson Mills is a larger operation out of South Carolina and is featured in many farm-to-table settings (restaurants, B&Bs, etc.) throughout the region, to include at The Biltmore Estate. The mill offerings are diverse: grits, corn, and polenta made from white, yellow, and blue corn; gold and brown rices and rice flours; semolina, pizza flours, bread flours, pastry flours, and whole wheat and white flours; rye flour; rolled oats; farro; gluten-free flour; and season peas (such as red peas!). 

Castle Valley Mill just outside of Philadelphia mills mostly local PA grains. The mill offers: whole and ground emmer, spelt, and rye, grits, cornmeal, and flours.

My CSA, run by Potomac Vegetable Farms, partners with many local operations to offer more products than just produce. Recently, they provisioned dried black beans and crowder peas sourced from The Farm at Sunnyside (@farmerchefcasey). And oh my God, they are the BEST black beans I have ever tasted. 

Which brings me to some gaps in local sourcing. If anyone knows where to find the following items locally in the region, please drop it in the comments section: lentils, beans (of any kind), dried peas (of any kind), petite couscous, steel-cut oats, barley, and quinoa. 

Finally, a couple things to note before seeking out local grains and legumes:

  1. Since they do not contain preservatives, they don’t keep as well or as long as the ones bought in the store. Yes, I invested in some large glass cannisters and, yes, I love them. But this isn’t necessary. Just make sure you have enough cool, dry storage space in your pantry and some room in the freezer as well.
  2. The local flours often require more in recipes, sometimes almost double. For example, when I made pancakes with the local flour, I needed close to four cups as opposed to the two cups of all-purpose flour the recipe called for.

things you can make with rice

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Veggie

Cornbread

cornbread recipe authentic one and a half slices
one and a half slices recipes local delicious food

Basic Skillet Cornbread

cornbread recipe authentic one and a half slices

If you are from the south, you know that the only way to make cornbread is in a skillet. It should be drier than it is wet, breadier than it is cakey, and not overly sweet (but lightly sweetened with fresh honey). It should also be free from whole corn kernels. In my opinion. If you’re looking for that spongy corn cake served in Barbeque restaurants, this is not it. But this is what you need if the black eyed peas are soaking.

what you need

1 1/2 cup fresh ground corn meal

1/2 cup plain flour

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 eggs

2 tablespoons oil (vegetable, safflower, olive)

1 1/4 cup whole milk

how to make it

Utensils: cast iron skillet

Preheat oven to 425 and oil the cast iron skillet. Put it in the oven to heat up a bit.

Mix dry ingredients together. Separately, beat the wet ingredients together. Then mix all ingredients and pour into the warm cast iron skillet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. If the top does not brown enough for your liking, feel free to broil for a minute or two.

Note on Local Grains, Meal, & Rice

Check out the Grain, Meal, & Rice post.

Wade's Mill, Virginia
Anson Mills, South Carolina

The Story Behind One(andahalf)Slices

One(andahalf)Slices was originally conceived as a non-fiction book, the subject of which was to posit the First Principles of healthy, holistic living.

(Interlude: First Principles and Fermi Questions are cognitive heuristics that allow us to simplify complex concepts and seemingly intractable problems)

There were going to be four sections in the book corresponding to my four first principles for health: Movement, Hydration, Nutrition, and Rest. The sections were to contain chapters on how to pursue these things in daily life, recipes, thoughts, funny stories, and other things. Fundamentally, I wanted the text to underscore the two things that, in my opinion, are hardest for humans: 1) balance and 2) consistency. 

To treat oneself with indulgence and discipline in equal measure. And to do so consistently.

Nothing earth shattering, right?

Anyway, I kept a running list of chapter ideas in my little black work notebook for a year or two. Even wrote a couple. The idea for the title OneandahalfSlices came to me one day while eating pie with a friend.

After finishing my first slice of pie, the usual debate began in my head: ‘Man, I want another piece. No, you don’t need one. But you’re literally going to finish this entire pie later anyway so might as well. Seriously, a little self control never killed anyone.’ until I settled on the obvious answer… to have another HALF slice of pie.

“I’m going to have half a slice more,” I announced.

“Who has a HALF a slice of pie?” my friend scoffed from the couch, without looking up from her second piece.

And that got me to thinking… who DOES only have half a slice of pie. Or pizza. Or cake. Or cornbread. Well… I do. All the time. In fact, I frequently eat one and a half slices of many things. Because two slices is just too much but one slice is never quite enough. To treat oneself with indulgence and discipline in equal measure and to do so consistently. 

OneandahalfSlices became, in a way, a philosophy. Go to the gym every day and do something without needing to set a personal record, even if that something is just to stretch. Drink plenty of water without denying yourself bourbon, red wine, and coffee. Eat well and cook most of your own food, but every so often, mix corn flakes into Haagen-Dazs strawberry ice cream because there is just no need to take life all that seriously. Sleep in every so often without becoming chronically lazy. 

OneandahalfSlices is more than a title. And this blog is more than a collection of recipes. It’s a continued exploration… with stories unfinished and questions unanswered. Which is why the title is much more suited to something that will evolve as opposed to something that would be forever codified between a cover page and a conclusion.

I’ve tried vegan and vegetarian diets. People have told me repeatedly that the moniker ascribed to my approach to eating is called paleo. But there is a lot I haven’t tried as well. Like hunt my own food and learn how to process meat. Like meet the local farmers and purveyors of Virginia grain and groceries. Those questions will all be asked here and the stories told here as well.

Experiences will be curated, people will be invited, and many different perspectives will be welcomed.

But for those not in need of a philosophy, what you’ll find here are just recipes. Delicious, simple, tried and true, healthy (most of the time) recipes. Because food is much more than what we put in our mouths for energy. It is culture, sustenance, and identity all in one, with history as rich as the flavors that we taste.

#oneandahalfslices

#equalpartsdisciplineandindulgence

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