Rice Cooking

I made my favorite mujadara in the rice cooker today for my lunch, a nice mix of rice and lentils.  Then I got to thinking that there are certainly other meals I can make in the rice cooker.  And so I poked around on Pinterest and in my Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and found a few that might work for us in the coming weeks, as main meals or sides.

Teriyaki Chicken and Rice

Pre-cooked Chicken, cubed

2 cups rice

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons ketchup

1/4 cup water

In a bowl, mix brown sugar, soy sauce, water and ketchup.  Stir until well blended.  Add water to mixture so that it equals 4 cups.  Pour sauce in rice cooker.  Add chicken and rice.  Set cooker to regular.  

Krista, While He Was Napping
Asparagus and Mushroom Risotto 3/4 lb fresh asparagus 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons minced shallots 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons risotto rice like Arborio 2 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced 3 cups chicken stock To finish: 2 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese salt Snap off ends of asparagus and discard.  If stalks are thick, peel them.  Cut speas on diagonal into 2" pieces. Set the rice cooker for Quick Cook or regular cycle.  Place olive oil and butter in cooker bowl.  When the butter melts, add shallots.  Cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes.  Add rice and stir.  Cook until grains are transparent, except for white spot on each, 3-5 minutes.  Add mushroom and asparagus, stirring a minute or two.  Add stock, stir.  Close cover and reset for Porridge cycle, or regular cycle, and set timer for 20 minutes. When timer sounds, stir.  Rice should be al dente.  Cook longer if it is not. When ready to serve, add butter.  Close the cover to melt.  Add cheese and salt to taste.  Serve immediately. Beth Hensperger, The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook
Risi e Bisi 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon butter 1/2 cup minced shallots or mild onion 1/2 cup minced celery 2 tablespoons dry white wine 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons risotto rice 3 cups stock 1 1/2 cups frozen peas To Finish: 2 teaspoons butter 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese salt Set the rice cooker for Quick Cook or regular cycle.  Place olive oil and butter in cooker bowl.  When the butter melts, add shallots and celery.  Cook, stirring, until softened, about 2-3 minutes.  Add wine and cook for a couple minutes.  Add rice and stir.  Cook until grains are transparent, except for white spot on each, 3-5 minutes.   Add stock and peas, if using fresh mature peas; stir.  Close cover and reset for Porridge cycle, or regular cycle, and set timer for 20 minutes. When timer sounds, stir.  Rice should be al dente.  Cook longer if it is not. When ready to serve, add peas, if you are using frozen or young peas; stir.  Add butter and close the cover to melt for 2-3 minutes.  Stir in cream, cheese, and salt.  Serve immediately. Beth Hensperger, The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook

My Mujadara

I like mujadara, a Middle Eastern (versions can be found from Turkey to Egypt, with the first published recipe in Iraq in the 13th century and most often associated with Lebanon) lentil and rice dish raised to new heights with caramelized onions.  And today I faked my own version because I had cooked lentils I wanted to use up.  Surfing for a recipe, I made up my own in my rice cooker.  The hardest, meaning longest (as Mama says, "Is it hard or is it just work?"), part was the onions, which had to be stirred and watched (and I still gave up before they were dark brown).  But they really give the dish its character.  It made a delicious lunch, with enough leftovers for a few days.

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Mommy Hungry's Rice-Cooker Mujdara


2 cups white rice
2 cups cooked lentils (brown or whatever)
1/4 teaspoons cumin
1 cinnamon stick
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt, divided
pepper
2-4 onions
1-2 tablespoon oil (grapeseed, olive, whatever)

Place rice, lentils, cumin, cinnamon stick, garlic, pepper, and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt in rice cooker.  Add water according to machine temperament (my takes about 2 cups for this; Ar-Ma Hungry's hint is to add enough water to cover the rice plus the thickness of one finger horizontal on top of the rice--it works!).  Set to cook white rice.

Meanwhile, heat oil in skillet.  Add onions, sprinkling 1 teaspoon of salt on top, and cook on medium-low to medium heat.  Watch onions and only stir occasionally in order to let them brown.  If they get to dry, add water.  Cook til brown and sweet, about 45-60 minutes.

When lentil-rice and onions are done, stir together and season to taste.

Mommy Hungry

Long Live the Lentil!

I'm so excited: Mark Bittman, aka The Minimalist, has just written an article about dal, or cooked beans. As you know, I love beans, especially lentils (even if I've given up my blog devoted to legumes)--in fact I have a pot of white beans with kale and rice, and some various spices including garam masala (it was clean out the fridge night) on the stove right now--and I can't wait to try his recipes, one with apples and coconut, the other with cashews (okay, Mama won't like these last two so I'll have to do it on a day she's working, which gives me several dates to choose from in the coming three months).

I Love Lentils: Lentil-Brown Rice Salad

Note: In streamlining my life and online activities, I've deleted my "I Love Lentils" blog and have imported the posts into this blog. Look for future "I Love Lentils" posts here.

I've been experimenting with a cold lentil-brown rice salad, having been inspired both by Mark Bittman (In a post on Bitten, Mark Bittman shares a lentil salad recipe inspired by that of L'Ambassade d'Auvergne, Paris, with bacon and mustard) and by members of my online vegetarian community. Here is what I have so far, though, oddly I like it warm better. I think that means it needs some additional flavor to really stand out when it's cold.

Lentil-Brown Rice Salad

1 cup lentils, rinsed and picked over

2 cups brown rice, cooked

1/2 cup feta

8 oz can black olives

salt, pepper to taste

Cook lentils in boiling water (unsalted) for approximately 10 minutes or until al dente (or to your liking. I like mine with just a little resistance). Drain and rinse. Add rice, feta, and olives while still warm so that feta partially melts. Season with salt and pepper.

Suggestions have been made for a squeeze of lemon and some fresh herbs like parsley but I haven't tried that yet. I had also considered a splash of balsamic vinegar, next time.

My Lentil Stew

I needed dinner last night and didn't know what to cook or even what I wanted.  Lentils are a good start so I threw some in a pot and worked on the kids' dinner while I figured out what to do.  It's a North-African/Italian fusion, based on my favorite recipes for Moroccan-Inspired Chickpea Stew and also for Pasta e Lenticchie.  And if I do say so myself, it came out rather well.

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My Lentil-Chickpea Stew

3/4 cup brown lentils

5 cups water

garlic, 2-3 cloves minced (approximately)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon Penzey's Sweet curry

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Cook lentils in water for about 20 minutes.  Add other ingredients and warm through, about 10 minutes.  Serve with couscous.

Me!

You Have to Have a Thick Skin to Cook for Toddlers

Oh, it is a thankless task to cook for toddlers at times. Today was one of those days. I made pasta with lentils (see below), which I thought they would like--there's pasta, tomatoes, and salt. With those ingredients, who could be bothered by some lentils? Well, I found out. DD didn't want the tomatoes or the lentils and only tolerated the pasta (which is rice pasta because of allergies)--she even learned to say "don't like it." Yippee. Then she asked for "smooshed fruit" (aka Fruitabu). DS liked the pasta with the flavor of the sauce but not any of the actual ingredients of the sauce, which he then smeared on the top, edge, and underside of our thick, butcher-block table (which was better than his sister's technique, which was to try to feed the circling kittens--black cats look funny with lentils on their heads. Oh, the hilarity.). He did have two bowls, though, joining DP when she ate. Ah, the power of persuasion. Then he wanted a fruit snack too.

Final note, as DD was finishing her fruit snack, she noted it was "sticky, like raisins." And then she began to sing . . . . Laurie Berkner's "I'm a Mess."


Pasta e Lenticchie
A recipe from “Molto Mario,” this is a cross between a soup and a pasta. It was one of our favorite dishes before children, but we hadn't had it in awhile. It’s too big a recipe to double effectively, though it freezes well, without the pasta, which can be cooked and added when you want to reheat. Tonight I made it sans red pepper flakes and with rice pasta, serving it more like a sauce with the pasta cooked separately.

5 cups water
3/4 cups lentils
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil1 cup chopped canned plum tomatoes, with some juice
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1/2 pound vermicelli, or small tubular pasta, or pasta mista
2 rounded tablespoons finely cut or snipped parsley
Optional: extra-virgin olive oil and hot red pepper flakes or hot pepper oil, for garnish

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a rolling boil, add the lentils, and cook, covered over medium-high heat, until nearly but not entirely tender, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic, the olive oil, the tomatoes, the salt and the pepper. Reduce the heat, cover and continue to simmer briskly for another 10 minutes, stirring a few times, or until the lentils are fully tender.
If using capellini, break it into 2 to 4-inch pieces and add them to the lentils. Cook, covered, at a steady simmer, stirring several times and scraping the bottom of the pot when you do. Cook until the pasta is just done, stirring more frequently as it gets closer to the point of being cooked. If using a small tubular pasta or pasta mista, cook the pasta at least halfway in plenty of salted boiling water. Drain the pasta, add it to the lentils and simmer to finish cooking the pasta.
When pasta is cooked to taste, remove the pot from the heat, stir in the parsley cover the pot, and let stand about 5 minutes before serving. Serve hot, passing hot pepper oil or the best-quality extra virgin olive oil for drizzling on top.

“Molto Mario” Batali, on the Food Network