 (Raisa Aziz for The Washington Post) | Week 5: Rice, rice babyFor years, I have harbored a seemingly unpopular opinion in shame. But one of the cornerstones of Being Online is the broadcasting of your deeply held (if faulty) beliefs with unshakeable pride, so *straps on helmet, elbow pads, knee pads* here goes nothing. Rice is just okay. Really. It's not that great. When it comes to cooking grains at home, I'm of two philosophies: The grain — which in many households is unremarkable white rice — should either be 1) boiled together with a dish's other ingredients to absorb their flavors or 2) cooked plainly in advance, and ultimately fried. Welcome to Rice Philosophy 101, in which we will do both of these things and actually make eating grains an enjoyable experience. The greatest example of the first approach is a Cuban classic and, scientifically, the ultimate comfort dish: arroz con pollo. Truly great rice is rice that's boiled with rendered chicken fat, stock, beer, tomato sauce and saffron. If you disagree, please do not hesitate to fight me online. As far as all those other grains are concerned, I've learned to love only a few. Farro is always invited to a party I'm hosting. Oh jeez, Quinoa, I'm so sorry, your invite must've gotten lost in the mail! Brown rice, let's not pretend like we were ever friends in the first place. Farro is the perfect fit for Grain Approach No. 2. While the stuff works well thrown into a salad, it reaches its truest potential when first tossed and toasted in oil. The best part about both philosophies? They are tailor-made for prepping long before you're ready to eat. Loving Meal Plan of Action so far? Click here and send it to three friends.  | This week's game plan |  (V - vegetarian) | Arroz con Pollo
This dish is love. It's like being swaddled by a warm blanket of bright, saffron-tinted yellow rice that tastes like chicken. Sambal-Fried Farro (V)
Skip the takeout fried rice and make this spiced-up interpretation at home. Stuffed Poblanos With Avocado Crema
When you get sick of that practically bottomless pot of flavorful rice (if that's even possible), tuck the last bit into peppers.  | Your shopping list | Alright stop, collaborate and click this link for an easy-to-save shopping list that includes ingredients for all three recipes.  | Sunday tasks |  (Raisa Aziz for The Washington Post) | Make the Arroz con PolloArroz con pollo is actually better the next day. That's why I'm making an exception to my unwritten rule and going full-throttle batch-cooking on a Sunday. The reasons I was so averse to the idea of making a big meal to divide among five perfectly matched Tupperware containers are 1) I don't even own two containers of the same size and 2) a lot of made-ahead, portioned-out dishes just don't reheat well. That's not the case here. Storing the dish in a large, oven-safe glass container in the fridge will make for easy reheating. If you live for crispy chicken skin, you can finish things off by re-searing the thighs skin sides down in a cast-iron skillet for a minute or two after you've warmed things through. As far as specialty ingredients go, saffron — a spice that's popular in Spanish and Middle Eastern cooking — imparts an unmistakable color and flavor. A little tomato sauce will color our rice slightly, but that coveted yellow hue can't happen without those luxurious threads. Skip it, and you'll have one of those "Something's missing, but I can't place what" moments. You don't want that. Affordable options are available; you can get a small vial of saffron threads at Trader Joe's for $5.99. A little goes a long way (for this recipe, you'll want to use what I'm going to call a "baby pinch"), so once you have it on hand you can experiment with adding it to other rice dishes, vegetables and even sweet treats. Ingredients4 servings, so plenty for leftover interpretations
Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 55 minutes. 4 bone-in, skin- on chicken thighs
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lime, cut in half
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1 green bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped (between 1 and 1½ cups)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
⅓ cup sliced manzanilla olives (green, stuffed with pimentos)
½ cup All-Purpose Tomato Sauce (oh yeah, there is some left in the freezer, isn't there!) or crushed tomatoes
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
12 ounces light beer (as in pale!)
2 cups chicken broth
1¼ cups uncooked long-grain white rice, rinsed
A baby pinch of saffron threads StepsSeason both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, then hit them with a lime squeeze. Let them sit for a couple minutes while you prep the rest of your ingredients. Heat a Dutch oven or a heavy-bottomed, ovenproof saucepan over medium heat and drizzle in the oil. Let's brown the chicken, skin sides down first, 8 minutes on each side. Make sure that skin is nice and crispy, then move the thighs over to a plate. You'll see a little treat at the bottom of the pot. Gang, that's rendered chicken fat — currency around these parts. Don't dump it. Instead, dump the onion, bell pepper and garlic into it and cook until the veggies have softened and the onion is slightly translucent, about 5 minutes. Follow that with the olives, tomato sauce, cumin and a bay leaf and cook, stirring every now and then, for 3 minutes. Crack open that beer. Okay, make that two if you actually want to drink some. Pour one can into the pot and sip on the other, because you're worth it. Add the chicken broth, rice, saffron threads and 1 teaspoon kosher salt while you're at it and stir. Bring all that to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Tuck in those crisped chicken thighs skin sides up, partially cover and cook low and slow until the rice has absorbed nearly all the liquid, 25 to 30 minutes. Let everything cool down in the pot, then ditch the bay leaf. Inspired by a recipe from "Memories of a Cuban Kitchen," by Mary Urrutia Randelman and Joan Schwartz (Wiley, 1996). Cook a batch of plain ol' farroWhile your Arroz is simmering, you might as well get a jump on the Sambal-Fried Farro With Greens, too. You should cook farro like you would pasta — that is, in a big pot of boiling, salted water. You want to cook it till al dente, which sounds confusing until you realize al dente just means however chewy or firm you like your grains. Don't hesitate to spoon a couple grains out and taste for texture. I buy Italian farro and cook it in rapidly boiling water for 10 to 12 minutes. For this week's recipes, you'll need 2 cups of cooked farro (about ⅔ to 1 cup uncooked). Drain it, transfer it to a container and let it cool before storing it in the fridge for up to a week.  | Recipes |  (Raisa Aziz for The Washington Post) | Sambal-Fried Farro With GreensDay-old (or even several-days-old) grains will always make for better fried grains because they have had ample time to dry out. Skip the fresh stuff when making fried rice/grains — it won't toast as well and you'll be left with a soggy, not-so-fried meal. You've already made a batch or two of farro (or any grain, really) ahead, so this spicy spin on the takeout classic will be in your bowl in no time. Swap in your favorite greens and feel free to amp up the heat with another dash or two of sambal oelek, an Indonesian chili paste that runs circles around Sriracha. Ingredients2 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes. Cook time: 10 to 15 minutes. 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
Kosher salt
6 scallions, dark greens separated from white and light greens, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped
2 cups cooked farro, from your Sunday Task
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sambal oelek
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
6 lacinato kale leaves, stemmed and coarsely chopped
Toasted sesame seeds StepsHeat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crack open the eggs and fry them for 4 minutes, until the whites are set and slightly bubbled and the edges look like crispy, delicious doilies. Season them with salt and slide 'em on over to a plate. Before you even think about heating up the rest of the vegetable oil, make sure all your sauces and veggies are portioned out and readily available. Life comes at you fast and so does stir-frying.  | Quick tip | Save yourself the mad scramble once you get rolling and have everything neatly set out; you may have heard this referred to as mise en place on your favorite cooking competition show. Heat the remaining vegetable oil over medium-high heat in the same skillet. In go the white and light green parts of the scallions as well as the garlic. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until things start to slightly soften and brown a bit. Mix in the cooked farro, then spread it in a thin layer, pressing it into the pan. Leave it alone for about 2 minutes so the bottom of it gets crisp. Add the sambal oelek, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar*, and mix so every grain of farro is blessed. (*Yes, sugar! You know how takeout fried rice has that subtle sweetness? It's not some super-secret ingredient. It might just be plain old sugar.) Add the kale; continue to push everything around with a wooden spoon just until the greens wilt, for another minute or two. Divide the fried farro between bowls and top with a fried egg, the reserved scallion greens and a few shakes of sesame seeds. Crush it. Inspired by a recipe from Healthyish.com.  (Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post) | Leftovers: Stuffed Poblanos With Avocado Crema1 to 2 servings You've got a good bit of perfectly seasoned rice on your hands. What to do, what to do? Stuff it in some poblano peppers, maybe serve them with an avocado crema, that's what. Let's cut 2 to 3 poblano peppers (depending on size) in half lengthwise and discard the ribs and seeds. Line 'em up on a foil-lined baking sheet, then char them briefly under the broiler. Stuff each half with some leftover Arroz and top that filling with shredded cheese (I like Monterey Jack). Roast them in a 375-degree oven until the peppers are soft and the cheese is melty. While they're going in the oven, make a little Avocado Crema to serve on the side, with a mash of chopped cilantro leaves, minced jalapeño, a grated clove or two of garlic, the flesh of 1 ripe 'cado, some plain yogurt, fresh lime juice, a tiny pinch of ground cayenne pepper and some kosher salt. Make it grain. We're giving out a Voraciously tote bag to one MPOA reader each week. Will it be you? Make sure you're tagging your Meal Plan of Action dish photos on Instagram with #eatvoraciously for a chance to win one. Have a question? Message us on Instagram or email us voraciously@washpost.com. You can find me at @tanyasic on Twitter and Instagram, and be sure you're following us at @eatvoraciously for all that good Food Content. Week 6 sneak peek: Chickpeas 'n' blessings. | 
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