Rice

Rice Cooked in Milk

~ The Blind Guy Cooks ~ Leave a comment
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Rice cooked in milk will have the consistency of a creamy risotto and the rice will also have the same firm al dente feel of a properly cooked risotto.

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Rice cooked in milk served with a topping of sugar and cinnamon.

My favorite foods are the comfort foods my mother cooked for me when I was a child. These were simple foods, yet the feeling of them in my tummy then and the memories of love now, make them the foods I would give anything to have prepared one more time by my mother. Some were so simple I never bothered to ask my mother how they were made. My mother passed away nearly eight years ago, and with her went many recipes I’ll never have.

I started this blog five years ago for several reasons. One, because I started getting requests from friends to share the recipes of the food I was making. Two, I wanted to use it myself as a personal cook book or as an electronic recipe box where I could have all my recipes in one place. Most importantly though, I started this for my children so they would have the recipes of all their favorite foods after I was gone.

I share this recipe on Good Friday at the end of the Lenten season; Lent ended yesterday on Holy Thursday. My mother made this simple meal often during Lent when I was a child and it was one of my favorites. She would serve the rice with hard boiled eggs. The rice was topped with sugar and cinnamon making it a sweet treat for our evening meal. Rice and eggs seems like an odd combination, but it was actually quite ingenious. Although the meal was simple, it filled you up and was packed with protein.

This recipe is so easy. It is only three ingredients, yet I could never figure out how mom made this feel-good meal. I’ve come to realize that sometimes a recipe isn’t so much what goes in it, but rather the technique used to make it. The trick with this recipe is to add the milk in stages, not all at once.

Here is what I did:

Rice Cooked in Milk

Ingredients

1 cup long grain rice
¼ tsp salt
4 cups whole milk (Approximately)

Directions

Begin by combining 1 cup of milk, rice, and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a low boil/simmer on medium heat stirring frequently. Once boiling, turn heat down to medium – low and cover. Keep a watchful eye on the rice and milk to prevent the milk cooking away and burning. As the rice absorbs the milk, keep adding milk ½ cup at a time until the rice becomes tender. Continue stirring frequently during this time until the rice is done which takes about 35 to 40 minutes. You want a very thick, creamy consistency to the rice and the rice to be tender yet still have a bit of a firm al dente bite.

Let cool a few minutes and then serve with sugar and cinnamon.

Lime Rice Pilaf

~ The Blind Guy Cooks ~ Leave a comment

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This side dish is a great compliment to my Garlic Lime Grilled Pork Tenderloin.

The pilaf method of cooking rice begins on the stovetop and finishes in the oven. However there may be times when this is not practical: you have the oven heated higher than a safe temperature for the rice, you aren’t using the oven for any other reason and don’t want the extra heat in the house, or you simply just don’t have time for that.  (I include the directions for a traditional pilaf at the end of the recipe and do suggest trying it sometime as the rice ends up just a bit firmer and not as sticky.)

You will need to use a saucepan that can safely go from stovetop to oven. Also, be sure to keep a close eye on the pilaf if you are putting it in the oven because it can quickly burn.

Lime Rice Pilaf

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped finely
2 cups long grain white rice
3 ¾ cups vegetable or chicken stock
Grated zest from one lime
Juice from one lime
Kosher salt
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

(Preheat oven to 350°F if using the oven method.)

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender, about 10 minutes.

Add rice and stir to coat. Add stock, lime juice and lime peel. Bring to a boil. (See oven method below if you choose.) Reduce to a simmer, stir, cover, and cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.  

Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and season with salt to taste. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with cilantro.

Oven method

After the rice comes to a boil in the above steps, thoroughly wet a clean kitchen towel, remove saucepan from heat, and then place the towel across the top of the pan. Fit the pan with a lid and then fold the towel corners up over the lid.  Then, transfer the saucepan, towel and all, to the oven and bake 15 minutes.  Remove and rest at room temperature for 15 more minutes without opening the lid.

Finally, stir in cilantro and season with salt to taste. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with cilantro.

Brussels Sprout Fried Rice

~ The Blind Guy Cooks ~ Leave a comment
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Need a Meatless Monday meal idea? Vegetarian or vegan and wanting to wake up your taste buds? Looking for alternatives for Lenten meals?  This Brussels Sprouts Fried Rice recipe is packed with flavor. 

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We typically have one meatless meal a week so I am always looking for ideas. One of my go to sources is Isa Chandra Moskowitz on her Post Punk Kitchen website. Her vegan site has given me a lot of inspiration when cooking for my vegetarian daughter.

Here is a very flavor packed fried rice recipe that can be eaten as a side to a larger meal or as a meal like we did. That fact that we love Brussels sprouts makes this a win-win recipe. One could easily add additional protein to this dish by adding a couple scrambled eggs at the very end.

I made a few slight variations to the original recipe found on PPK. Here is what I did:

Brussels Sprouts Fried Rice

Ingredients

4 tablespoons refined coconut oil, divided (or your favorite cooking oil)
12 oz Brussel sprouts, trimmed and quartered
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into thin half-moons
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup fresh basil
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
1 cup finely chopped scallions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
4 cups cooked and cooled jasmine rice (See Note)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Juice from one lime
½ teaspoon agave

Sriracha to serve

Directions

Preheat a large heavy bottomed pan (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. Saute the Brussel sprouts and carrots in 2 tablespoon of oil until Brussel sprouts are lightly charred; about 5 to 10 minutes. Toss in the pine nuts and cook for two minutes, tossing often, until toasted. Transfer everything to a large plate and set aside.

Lower heat to medium. Add ½ tablespoon oil. Saute the basil, cilantro, scallions, garlic and ginger for about a minute. Stir in the red pepper flakes when the herbs are wilted and aromatic. Return heat to medium-high and add remaining oil and rice and cook for about 5 minutes. Toss often to combine.

Lastly, add the Brussels, carrots, and pine nuts back to the pan. Drizzle in the soy sauce, lime juice and agave. Cook for 5 more minutes or so until rice is lightly browned. Taste for salt. Serve with Sriracha.

Note: You must use cold rice in this recipe. Using warm, recently cooked rice will cause it to get mushy and clump together. I suggest making the rice the day before.

Chicken, Broccoli, Rice and Cheese Soup

~ The Blind Guy Cooks ~ Leave a comment

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I love a good challenge. There is a lunch spot called The Prairie Soup Company a co-worker and I frequent that makes some of the best soups and some really amazing sandwiches. The chicken salad is fantastic. It actually reminds me of my mom’s.

One of their specialty soups is a chicken, broccoli, rice, and cheese soup. It is my favorite soup, but the problem is they make it very infrequently and we never know when. That is why at some point every morning either my co-worker or I will call them and ask what the Chef’s Choice soup is.

My co-worker challenged me to duplicate the soup. I am on vacation this week so I have some extra time to try. I think I nailed it. I would love to be able to taste what I came up with and what they make side-by-side. This soup is every bit as good as theirs.
Here is what I did:

Ingredients

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and shredded
1 (6 ounce) package quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet (such as Uncle Ben’s)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup butter
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups broccoli flowerettes
8 oz sharp Cheddar finely shredded

Directions

Combine broth, water and chicken in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Bring to boiling and then stir in rice. Do not add the seasoning packet at this time. Cover and remove from heat.

Combine salt, pepper, and flour in a small bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a medium sized sauce pan and stir in contents of seasoning packet. Heat until butter begins to simmer. Reduce heat to low and then stir in flour mixture creating a roux. Slowly whisk in cream until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook about 3 to 5 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Return chicken, rice, and broth to heat and stir in roux. Add broccoli. Heat to a simmer and then whisk in the shredded cheese. Cook over medium heat about ten to fifteen minutes until heated through.