Post Punk Kitchen Forum

my twin's are having a birthday party and i want to make beet burgers for it. with all the rice hoopla going on, i want to replace it with another grain. think quinoa would be ok? also, do i just toss them on the grill straight from the freezer or thaw a bit?

what is all the rice hoopla going on???

i would replace the rice with a sturdy grain, barley?

IMHO, i would grill them straight from the freezer, i think that would help the beet burger keep its shape and not be all squishy and possible sink through the grill grate, but i'm no expert ;)

I'm curious about this too... I tend to be out of the lop on things...

There was a study that came out saying there was a high level of arsenic in certain rice and rice-based products. Here

thank you. i skimmed it, i'll read all that later. my folks gave us a subscription to CS so maybe that issue, with that article, is on its way to us.

i'm still going to finish eating all the rice in our house that we've already about. sigh, then i'll have to decide what to do about rice.

yeah, we are cutting rice out as much as possible until more info comes out. it is in the soil from pesticides used in the 60's-70's so organic is not safe either-it's in all/most rice. apparently brown rice is the worst offender and the fda's response was just to increase the amount of allowable arsenic in our foods :rollseyes:

i had just assumed it was the same deal as the apple juice thing (general confusion about types of arsenic).. thanks for the link. it appears to be pretty specific to rice grown in the southeastern US. One thing they mention at the end is that thorough rinsing of rice removed 30% of the arsenic content, i think that anyone who doesn't already rinse rice should do so.

for the OP, you could use buckwheat or kasha, or quinoa... or barley, as suggested, or millet.

i'm embarassed to say i've never had millet. it looks like couscous in the pics google is bringing up..... what is its texture/flavor like??

i know, so sad. it is so overwhelming how much humans have damaged our fragile planet.......

the CS article said brown rice was the worst offender because the hull (or whatever it is called, see how scientific i am?!) is still intact and not removed like how it is in white rice. sigh. we don't eat rice on a weekly basis, but it is nice to traditionally serve stir-fry over it, or just have rice and gravy. i guess i'll need to look for some other alternatives.....

it's.... erm.... birdseed?

sorry, it makes it seem so bad. it's one of those things that i used to feel apathetic about til i moved somewhere where i can't get it and now think nostalgically about it.
it's kind of nutty, like quinoa really in terms of texture. not sure it has any stickiness to it though.

total get the nostalgic bit ;) i'll search for millet in the bulk bins at my natural foods store next time i'm there. in april i was diagnosed as allergic to all nuts so i get what you mean, i was more a PB&J gal but now i wax nostalgically about nutella and peanut butter cups and spicy peanut sauce, none of which i ever really ate ;) but since you describe millet as being slightly nutty maybe it will help me get some of that nut flavor i'm nostalgic for ;)