Brown rice stories

I'm going to date myself now. In 1975 I was a student at San Diego State, and remember joining a coop at the beginning of the organic food movement. Shopping at a coop was also a protest against
"The Man." Meaning: bankers, businessmen, cops, narcs, and I guess mainstream grocery store owners. Anyone or anything that stood for capitalism or authority. We felt radical going to coop meetings, and virtuous buying bulk food out of an empty storefront once a week. You brought your containers and helped yourself from barrels or the garden tables, weighed and priced (mostly honestly) your own stuff, and then took it to a volunteer cashier who made change out of a tin box. Then you lugged home things you didn't quite know what to do with, like 5 pounds of brown rice and a 2 foot zucchini. I'm sure we ate many chewy vegetarian dinners, but who cared? There was plenty of company because in those freewheeling days someone was always dropping by with a stash or jug of Spanada wine, if you were lucky.

Like many trends in California then, the food coop was also ahead of its time. I bought my first brown rice and tasted my first string cheese at the coop, and thought it was wonderful. Now we are spoiled with the variety of food available everywhere. To make a long story short, I still cook brown rice and hopefully better than I did in the 70's. Because it takes at least an hour to cook, I always make extra for the freezer. It's handy to take out small packets to saute with vegetables for a side dish. Last week I mixed leftover brown rice and canned black beans (rinsed) with peppers, onions, cumin, garlic, etc. It was hearty enough for a nice vegetarian supper with tortillas and salsa.

And here's a trip down memory lane-- a Spanada wine commercial from 1978:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3qzCQZLR-E