Brown rice is an excellent choice for any diet, but with such a long cooking time, most people avoid using it. A few months ago I found a fully cooked brown rice in the frozen section of the grocery store and was very happy. The package contained four individual packets of rice. Wow! Brown rice, no work, you have to love that! So, now you can find the brown rice, what should you do with it?
I found I really love a rice dish that Ina Garten made over at Food TV. I did change the recipe slightly, Ina calls for champagne or rice wine vinegar in this recipe, I went for the sweeter balsamic. I found the balsamic really highlighted the flavors of the tomatoes and basil well. It’s a very simple recipe and great as a side dish. So here’s the recipe.
Brown Rice, Tomatoes, and Basil
1 cup Texmati brown rice (You can use frozen)
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/4 cup Champagne or rice wine vinegar (I used balsamic vinegar, instead)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon good olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ripe tomatoes, large-diced
1 cup packed basil leaves (1 large bunch), chopped
Bring 2 1/4 cups water to a boil and add the rice and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Return to a boil, cover, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the rice is tender and all the water is absorbed. Transfer the rice to a bowl. ***(Or you can skip this step and use already prepared frozen brown rice in the grocery store)***
Whisk together the vinegar, sugar, olive oil, remaining teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Pour over the rice. Add the tomatoes and basil. Mix well and check the seasonings. Serve at room temperature.
I am sure everyone has a guacamole recipe they really love. I developed this one after trying a couple of other recipes. It’s pretty basic and really tasty with spicy blue corn chips. You can also add some really finally minced garlic or a garlic paste if you like, my husband isn’t a big fan of raw garlic so I omit it. This makes a pretty small batch, you can always increase the ingredients for a bigger group. My mom just loves this stuff!
Here it is:
- 2 ripe Hass avocados - diced (look at notes for the way to remove an avocado from it’s skin)
- one quarter to one half of a small red onion finely diced
- one jalapeno - seeded and finely diced
- 1 large red or yellow tomato diced
- Juice of one lime
- Salt and Peper to taste
Start with the avocados - run your knife around the center of the avocado down to the pit. Once you have cut around the avocado gently twist the two sections in opposite directions. When you open the avocado you will notice a large pit - gently wack the pit with the blade of a sharp knife and remove. To remove the avocado flesh from the skin use a tablespoon. Scoop out the flesh and dice. Repeat with second avocado. Once you have the avocados diced put them in a bowl with the juice of the lime. (This will keep the avocado flesh from browning) Add the diced jalapeno, onion, and tomato and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you like a really spicy guacamole you can add extra jalapeno or a dash of hot sauce. Serve with chips.
One of my favorite recipes during the summer months when corn is fresh is this lemon pasta dish, it’s not too bad with frozen corn the rest of the year. Leftovers are excellent, although, I suggest dressing only the pasta you are going to eat and storing the rest seperate from the sauce.
This recipe is from The Best of Fine Cooking, Fresh, Spring/Summer 2006
Pasta salad with Spinach, Corn & Red Bell Pepper
For the vinaigrette:
- 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tbls. whole-grain mustard
- 1 Tbls. finely chopped shallot
- 1 1/2 tsp. honey
- 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (the microplane works great for this)
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbls. chopped dill
- 2 Tbls. chopped chives
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
For the salad:
- 1 cup fresh corn kernels (or frozen, although the fresh is a lot better)
- 1/2 lb. cavatappi or other short curved pasta
- 1 Tbls. olive oil
- 3 oz. baby spinach leaves (about 4 cups), well washed and dried
- 1 small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and very thinly sliced
- 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
- 4 oz. (feta cheese, optional, my husband doesn’t care for feta so I don’t include it, although I think it could be really yummy)
Make the vinaigrette: Combine lemon juice, mustard, shallot, honey, and zest in a medium bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes to let the shallot’s flavor mellow. (If you don’t like onion feel free to leave it out, I have had it both ways and it is equally delicious without the onion) Whisk in oil. Stir in herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Make the salad: Bring a large pot of water to boil - cook the corn until crisp tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the corn and rinse under cold water, blot dry.
Bring the water back to a boil and cook pasta. Drain thoroughly and immediately pour out onto a rimmed baking sheet to cool. Toss pasta with the 1 Tbls. of oil to prevent sticking.
In large bowl add the vegetables and pasta. Add enough vinaigrette to moisten the pasta. Add the cheese and some of the red onion. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes. Tasta, add more onion, vinaigrette, salt, or pepper as needed. Serve. Makes four servings.
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