Rice is Nice
Four flavorful rice recipes, a turmeric trick & a call for autumn books
Hello friends!
I confessed to you all a few newsletters ago that I’ve started keeping frozen microwavable rice in my freezer. I save it for when I really need it - a quick snack for a kid, a quick side for dinner or a main course for lunchboxes mixed with beans (and leftover meat or grated cheese).
I also make “real” rice regularly. Before kids, I didn’t make rice often. But one of my kiddos loves it, so it has become a frequent side dish at our house.
I almost never cook rice on the stove anymore (except for the delicious orzo rice recipe below). I always use my Instant Pot. Below are three flavorful Instant Pot rice recipes, easy to make but much more interesting than regular old plain rice.
Instant Pot Turmeric Coconut Rice
Instant Pot turmeric coconut rice combines the savory flavor of turmeric, garlic and scallions with creamy coconut milk. You can add chickpeas and kale to make this side dish heartier.
Instant Pot Basmati Rice with Chickpeas & Herbs
Fluffy basmati rice is cooked with a pinch or coriander, cumin, turmeric and cinnamon. Chickpeas are optional.
Instant Pot Brown Rice with Quinoa
This is a fluffy combination of brown rice and quinoa. White quinoa will almost completely disappear into the brown rice. Red quinoa will remain visible and change the flavor of the rice slightly. I like to serve this blend of rice & quinoa with saucy meals and stews that are spooned over rice. It can also be used for rice bowls or as filling for burritos.
Orzo Rice (stove top)
The orzo rice of my childhood was boxed Rice-a-Roni. You too? This homemade version is blend of toasted orzo pasta and basmati rice simmered on the stove top into a buttery pilaf. Really good, really perfect comfort food!
A Secret Turmeric Trick
The pretty yellow rice color in three of these recipes comes from just a pinch of powdered turmeric. Adding 1/4 teaspoon or less of turmeric to a recipe will add bright yellow color without adding any turmeric flavor.
You can use this trick to give chicken soup a golden glow (try Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup). You can also add turmeric to boiling pasta water. I like to do this when I’m boiling orzo to make pasta salad.
Dinner Last Week
I’m always curious about what other families are eating. Aren’t you? Here’s what my crew ate last week.
Monday: Grilled sausage and veggie hot dogs, boiled potatoes with butter and fresh dill, frozen peas
Tuesday: Broiled salmon (recipe from Wellplated.com), boiled corn on the cob, sliced cucumbers, and the last batch of homemade summer pesto with bread. I like broiling salmon because it gets crispy on the top. Also, I often broil the salmon earlier in the day when I have some time, then serve it chilled or at room temperature for dinner.
Wednesday: Very Basic Burrito Bowls. After-school clubs and evening swim practice make Wednesdays really busy at our house. Dinner needs to be super simple and easy for everyone to eat at different times if necessary. I’ve been trying to figure what the perfect Wednesday dinner is, and it might just be burrito bowls. The kids are happy with just rice, grated cheddar cheese and canned black beans in a bowl. I usually add salsa and shredded cabbage. Ground meat or leftover chicken could make the meal heartier.
Thursday: Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka (recipe from The Kitchn), naan from Trader Joe’s
Friday: We went “glamping” at a campground near Santa Barbara for my husband’s birthday. The first night at our picnic table we ate baguette with tomato and mozzarella + cold green beans that had been briefly boiled + a simple pre-made quinoa salad with canned chickpeas, sauteed zucchini and a squeeze of lemon juice. Also, coconut cream pie from the grocery store!
The heat dome broke over the weekend and we reveled in light rain showers and overcast skies at the beach. The cooler weather was such a relief and made for a perfect weekend.
Reading
Please note that book titles in this section are Bookshop.org affiliate links. Your cost for purchasing the book is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to me and help support my work. When ordering from Bookshop.org you’ll also be supporting independent bookstores.
I’m reading Elizabeth Strout’s trilogy of Lucy Barton books all in a row, starting with My Name is Lucy Barton. Strout’s writing packs so much imagery and emotion into seemingly simple sentences. I just love her observations about relationships. I find her books to be both heartwarming and a little bit melancholy. Seems like the right mood for autumn reading.
What are you reading? I’d love recommendations for books that have a nice fall feeling. Maybe a cozy mystery?What are you up to this weekend?
We’ll be eagerly awaiting the delivery of a new couch that we’ve been waiting months for (you know you’re an adult when a couch delivery is the most exciting part of the weekend.)
Our current couch has seen us through 14 or so years of milestones - marriage, a new house, two kids, a cat…it’s really old and grubby. I swear that I can see an indentation on the left cushion where I sat for hundreds of hours nursing two babies.
It feels good to start a new furniture chapter in our lives!
Have a fun and relaxing weekend,
Jenny
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