Wild Rice is Here!

We got wild rice in the store this week and all I can say is Hooraaaaaay! I was so excited the second I saw the box that I took pictures right away and posted them on our Facebook Page. Yes...I'm a bit of a grain geek, but that's what we like right? Walking geeks of grain? We get our rice from a company called Fall River Wild Rice. If you want to learn more about their rice, you can read about it here.

 The broken variety we got in is a lot less expensive than the full long grain version, but it's flavor is still awesome and just what you would expect in a wild rice. Use up to one cup of the cooked rice in your bread dough for a wonderful contrast of flavor and color. Mill the wild rice in your grain mill for a fine, gluten free flour to add to cookies, cakes and pastries. It will lighten up the final baked good considerably.

Cooking Instructions

Cooking Wild Rice Using the Stovetop Method

Wash 1 cup uncooked wild rice thoroughly. Add to 3 cups boiling water, salted to taste, in a heavy saucepan. Return water to boil and stir. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 50-60 minutes or just until kernals puff open. Uncover and fluff with table fork. Simmer five additional minutes. Drain any excess liquid. For chewier texture cook less time. Yield: 3-4 cups of cooked wild rice. (For additional flavor, try cooking in beef or chicken broth)

Cooking Wild Rice Using the Oven Method

Wash 1 cup uncooked wild rice thoroughly. Combine with 2 cups water in a covered 2-quart casserole. Cover and bake at 350 F for 1 hour. Check wild rice. Ad more water, if needed, and fluff with a fork. Continue baking for 1/2 hour. wild rice should be moist, not dry. Yield: 3-4 cups cooked wild rice. (For additional flavor, try cooking in beef or chicken broth)

Cooking Wild Rice Using the Microwave Method

Wash 1 cup uncooked wild rice thoroughly. Combine with 3 cups water in a covered 2-quart glass casserole. Microwave on HIGH for 5 minutes. Microwave on MEDIUM (50 percent power) for 30 minutes. Let stand 10-15 minutes, drain. Yield: 3-4 cups cooked wild rice. (For additional flavor, try cooking in beef or chicken broth)

Fall River Wild Rice Nutritional Information from their website:
Wild rice is highly nutritious.   In fact, thanks to the optimal conditions under which it is grown, Mother Nature has blessed this unusual grain with amazing qualities.  Containing more than 12% protein uncooked, wild rice is significantly more rich in protein than common white rice or most other grains.  It is high in complex carbohydrates and is a good source of fiber.  In contrast, its sodium content is refreshingly low.  Wild rice also offers exquisite flavor.  No wonder it has created such a stir among today's health-conscious consumers!  Wild rice is an important component of a balanced diet.

U.S. Wild Rice Nutrients: Based on 1/2 cup cooked wild rice Amount per Serving:
Calories	320
Calories from fat	10
Total Fat 1g	2%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Trans Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 10mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate 68g	23%
Sugars 1g	0%
Dietary Fiber 6g	24%
Protein	10g
Vitamin A	0%
Vitamin C	0%
Calcium	2%
Iron	10%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

We have it for 5$ a lb, in a 5 lb box. If they sell fast enough, we will order more and keep them in stock.

Homemade Rice-Y-Roni Mix

Once there was a dishwasher I had to work with who was a bit cranky. Nobody else really got along with her. That's how ornery she was. One morning she was in the middle of a tirade about having to wash egg pans. I walked over to talk to her and noticed a piece of rice up her nose. Giggles started to ensue on my part, which made her even more mad, as she didn't think I was taking her drama serious enough. When I stopped giggling, I told her my discovery. I don't know what that has to do with this blog post, except that every time I make rice I think of the dishwasher and wonder if she still has that single grain of rice in her nose. Not that I want anyone else to think of that when they go out to eat. Yikes.Mixes on Monday starts today.  I was down at Preparing Wisely setting up the new food storage recipe of the week display, and thought I'd pop over to the blog and make sure the recipe was here as well.  We hauled out one of the 50 lb bags of long grain white rice (25$) and all the ingredients that one would need to make about 150 of these mixes for their own food storage...and then I realized wow...this is soooo coooool! It really does save a lot of money to make these things at home.   I have so many mix ideas that sometimes I forget how much I really do rely on these homemade convenience foods. I may not always have one up every Monday, but I will try my best to keep things interesting around here. Why do I make my own mixes? For one thing,they are way cheap. I'm kind of famous in my family for my um...frugality. I guess that's a good way of saying I'm cheap. Not that I don't know how to spend money or that we are totally broke, but for all the times we where having problems it became a habit. Now I'd much rather spend the money other places besides my food budget. Plus, and this is a big plus, I know exactly what goes into my mixes. If I make them from all natural ingredients, then there is no question what I'm feeding my family. That being said, I use the Amazing Soup Base of Glory from Preparing Wisely because it is not loaded with MSG and salt and junk. If you us the super cheap stuff, be prepared for a super cheap tasting mix. I bought the big can and it has lasted me forever...and I use it all the time. Just saying...it's worth the investment.  

So today I thought I'd share my rice-y-roni. My mix makes 8 cups cooked rice, which is about right for the 6 people in my family. Ace is a big eater. A value size box of commercially made stuff makes 3 cups of cooked rice. For about 20 cents a mix I make a bag that makes the 8 cups. Yes, like I say, I'm cheap. I'd rather buy new shoes than boxes of rice. 

I'll usually make 8-10 mixes at a time, this takes about 20 minutes but is well worth it. It takes us about a month to go through them since we don't eat it every night. In each quart size bag or quart jar I put 2 cups of long grain  rice:

and 1 cup of broken spaghetti noodles or fideo noodles.

Then I put the flavoring ingredients in snack bags (one seasoning packet per mix)

2T bullion (I use msg free low sodium Beef Base of Glory! ) 

2T Dehydrated Onion dry onion, 1T Dehydrated Carrots dry carrots  1/8 tsp celery seed 1T Chef Tess All Purpose Seasoning, 2tsp dry parsley, 1 tsp garlic powder.

Other flavor ideas:

Mexican: Use onion and carrot but for seasoning, use 1T taco seasoning, Or 1 tsp each: garlic, cumin, oregano and chile powder.
Oriental: Use onion carrot and celery seed, but also 1 tsp curry and 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice, 1/2 tsp ginger and 1T garlic powder.

Curry Chicken: Use Chicken Base of Glory!!.chicken bullion, all the original seasoning plus 1tsp saffron 2tsp curry powder.

I write the name of the flavoring mix on the bag along with how much liquid to add to the mix to prepare it.
Simple right?

To prepare you will need:

2 T butter or oil

4 cups water (or stock if you omit the bullion in your seasoning)

In a 2 quart pan with a tight fitting lid, brown the rice and noodles in the oil until noodles are a nice deep brown, but not burned. Add the water and the contents of the seasoning mix. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat to low for 20-25 minutes, until tender.

Last night we grabbed a bag of the curry chicken homemade stuff and cooked it up with one of my favorite freezer meals. Grilled herb chicken with blackberry sage sauce. It was awesome.

There you go.

Serving Size: 2.5 oz
Amount 1 cup cooked rice Per Serving
Calories 250
Calories from Fat 60
Total Fat 6g
Cholesterol 0mg
Total Carbohydrate 50g
Dietary Fiber 3g
Protein 7g

There you go! Happy Food Storage cooking!

Healthy Coconut Rice Breakfast Dish (Troy Adair)

This recipe comes to us from Kara Bagley.  Kara has amazing culinary skills and she posts her wonderfully healthy recipes and insights at her blog Taste is Trump:  http://goodlookingcook.blogspot.com/

When my wife first made Coconut Rice for us I was a bit skeptical about the taste.  I love sweet brown rice in our Asian inspired dishes, but in a breakfast dish???  I wasn't sure I was going to like it.  Plus, I am not a big breakfast eater to begin with.  However, after two heaping bowls of this dish I was happy and satisfied.  I felt great all day and really didn't need much in the way of lunch.

Without further fanfare, here is the recipe:

1 teaspoon Real Salt

3 Cups Sweet Brown Rice

1 Can Coconut Milk

2 Cups Blueberries

Toppings:

Walnuts, coarsely chopped

Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

Pure Maple Syrup

Bring 6 cups water to a boil, add salt and stir in rice.  Bring back to a boil, place lid over pot and then turn down to simmer.  Allow to simmer for 45-50 minutes.  Stir in coconut milk into the rice.  Serve up in bowls and top with blueberries, shredded coconut and maple syrup to taste.