VEGETABLE RICE SALAD

In planning for a larger group of friends coming for supper, I like to make some dishes ahead of time, or at least do some of the prepping ahead of the actual day. Since it is summer an option is to make a number of salads with whatever kind of protein you may be serving. I decided to make a rice salad as one of the side dishes. I cooked the rice in a rice cooker a day before the supper, stored it in the fridge once it cooled and then put it together a few hours ahead of supper. I used white basmati rice as I didn't want to use a sticky rice and I like the flavour of basmati.

I made a big batch of rice for the base and you could easily halve this recipe. I didn't load it with vegetables as I was making several other kinds of salads. It has a nice flavour without being overpowering.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups of cooled, cooked white or brown rice
2 carrots, peeled and finely grated
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
small knob of fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp maple syrup or another sugar
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

You can make the rice a day or two before you need the salad. Place the rice in a large serving bowl. Mix the dressing in a small container. Add the dressing to the rice and mix well. Add the rest of the vegetables to the rice and mix well. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. Leftovers will keep for several days. Serves 8.

CHINESE STYLE SAUTÉED VEGETABLES AND RICE

When cooking rice I usually make enough for several meals.  I had about two and a half cups of brown basmati cooked rice in a container in the fridge and decided to use most of it to make a meal for two people.  I made a healthy version of chinese style vegetable fried rice.  I used one and a half cups of the rice for this dish and froze the remaining cup in a freezer bag.  I will likely use it in the future to add to the weekly soups I make.  

In making this dish, I sautéed a variety of vegetables with the rice and included two eggs and a small amount of cashews for protein.  I didn't add any leftover cooked meat but that is an option to do.  The meal was good and both the DH and I enjoyed it.

DIRECTIONS:

2 tbsp oil
1 garlic clove, minced
6 to 8 baby carrots, chopped into small pieces
2 green onions, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
2 mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
1 cup cabbage, chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
2 eggs, beaten in a small bowl
8 dry roasted cashews or almonds, chopped
1 to 2 tbsp low salt soy sauce

Heat a wok on medium high heat.  Before it gets too hot, add 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic and carrots.  Saute for two minutes and add the onion and celery.  Using a wooden spoon move the vegetables around so that they don't stick to the bottom of the wok.  Add the mushrooms, cabbage and peas and saute for about four minutes.  Add the rice and mix it throughout the vegetable mixture.  

Make a well in the wok by pushing the vegetables and rice up the sides.   Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the bottom of the wok and add the beaten eggs.  Mix the eggs around the bottom of the wok to quickly cook them and then combine them with the vegetables and rice.  Add the cashews.  Add the soy sauce around the edges of the food and then mix it all together.  Serves 2 as the main meal.

RICE, BLACK BEANS AND VEGETABLES

Instead of making the weekly big pot of soup for lunches, I decided to make a pot of rice, beans and vegetables.  I like black beans and combining them with rice and vegetables makes a nice meal.  For rice I used brown basmati rice as I wanted to use a rice that is not sticky.   I didn't have fresh cilantro in the fridge but would have added it so I included it in the ingredients.  This can also be served as a side dish but I will eat it as part of my main meal for lunches.  A cup and a half of this dish will cover both my protein and carb intake for lunch.

Vegetables sautéing in the big frying pan.

Cooking for the last few minutes in the pan.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium size onion, chopped
1- 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 red or other coloured pepper, diced
1 1/4 cups brown rice, uncooked
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups water or chicken broth
1 can (19 ozs, 540 ml) of drained black beans
3 - 4 fresh tomatoes, chopped
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp ground cumin

DIRECTIONS:

Using a large frying pan, heat the oil on a high temperature.  Add the onions, garlic, celery and pepper, reduce the heat to medium, and sauté for five minutes.  Add the rice and water and cook on low heat until the rice is cooked (30 minutes).  Add the beans, chopped tomatoes and spices and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.  Serves 4 to 5 as part of a main meal.

RICE COOKER - ZOJIRUSHI

To cook rice, I have been using a few different methods.  I stopped using the pot on the stove to cook rice some time ago.  I didn't have luck or timing in making sure the rice didn't boil over or that it would stick to the bottom of the pot.  I started to use either a rice cooker or the oven.  The rice cooker was the basic cooker with the glass lid and steam hole.  There would be a mess around the counter where the cooker sat as when the rice was cooking away in the nonstick bowl, the steam and the liquid would be spewing out the stem hole and sometimes around the glass lid.  And when the rice would be finished, there would be a rice crust on the bottom of the cooking bowl.  The oven method was easy, no overflow of steam, liquid or rice and no rice crust on the bottom of the corel casserole dish that I used to cook the rice.  But heating an oven and using it to just cook rice seemed a little much.  

Recently I was describing my rice cooking experience to a friend of ours.  He promptly provided me with information and rationale on the rice cooker that he has been using for the past ten years.  He said that this was the best cooker and that the quality of the rice made was very different from the basic cooker I have been using.  I was intrigued about the model he recommended - Zojirushi.  I started to do my own research on what is the best rice cooker and I read a number of reviews.  The Zojirushi rice maker did get high marks.  Reading all of the information prompted me to buy a new rice cooker.  

I did buy a Zojirushi rice cooker and I bought a model made in Japan.  There are many different models made by this company.  I bought one that has advanced fuzzy logic technology and is the 5.5 cup capacity.  The technology figures out the time required to cook the rice.  The cooker has multi menu cooking functions for different kinds of rice and also for porridge.  The times will change depending if you are cooking white rice, sweet rice, brown rice and quick rice.   I am looking forward to testing the cooker to make steel cut porridge.  The cooker also has a steamer basket.   The design of the rice cooker is interesting.  It looks like a tub and has a handle that you use to lift and carry it around.

Last night I made basmati rice and I think it was the best rice I have ever made.  The rice was fluffy, each kernel was separate from the others, it was not gummy and there was no mess around the counter.   I am looking forward to try brown rice and sweet rice made in this cooker.  The reviews I read said that this cooker makes excellent brown rice.  Rice does take longer to cook in this style of cooker versus the basic rice cooker.  It took 50 minutes to cook the basmati rice.  I did make a bit of rice in order to have left overs.

Cooked basmati rice.

EGG FRIED RICE

When cooking rice,  I usually make enough servings for a few meals.  I have a fair size rice cooker so it is not onerous to cook the rice.  I also like cooking the rice in the oven in a covered pyrex dish versus cooking it on top of the stove.  Somehow when I cook it on top of the stove, the pot can boil over or somehow the stovetop gets cooked liquid over the elements.

I made the following recipe with 2 cups of rice so I halved the ingredients except for the eggs.  It is too hard to halve 3 eggs.  I used 2 eggs in the recipe.  I used brown rice.  I didn't have fresh ginger so I used dried powdered ginger.  The DH and I liked this dish and I will make it again.

Stirring the ingredients while cooking in a large frying pan.

Ready to be served.

Egg Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp soy sauce

½ tsp red chili flakes

¼ tsp pepper

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp oil and 2 tsp oil

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 large carrot, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 green onions, chopped

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

2/3 cup frozen peas

4 cups cold, cooked long grain brown rice

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, chili flakes and pepper.  Set aside.  Heat on medium high,  the 1 tbsp oil in a wok or large frying pan.   Add the eggs and swirl around so that it spreads out like a pancake.   Cook until it is set and cooked.  Gently remove from the pan and place onto a plate.  Slice into shreds.

Add the 2 tsp of oil to the pan and heat to medium high.  Add the carrots, celery, green onion, ginger, garlic and peas.  Cook for 3 minutes.  Stir in the rice and the soy sauce mixture.  Cook for 3 to 4 minutes breaking up the rice with a spatula until heated through.  Add the egg shreds and cook for another minute or two.  Serves 4 to 6.

Adapted from Alive Magazine, October 2011.

WILD RICE SALAD

I like wild rice but I don't tend to make it as often as I would like.  Cooking wild rice takes longer than white or brown rice.  I also buy it in bulk from some of the local health food stores and it is not preprocessed so the cooking time is longer.  There are so many things that you can add to wild rice in making a salad - nuts, dried fruit, crunchy vegetables and or cooked vegetables such as peas or corn.

The salad is very good and what I like about it is the combination of the nuttiness of the wild rice combined with the almonds, raisins, parsley, cider vinegar and apple juice.  I would recommend this salad.

Cooked wild rice.

Rains and chopped almonds added to rice.

All of the ingredients have been added except for the dressing.

Ready to serve.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup uncooked wild rice
3 cups water
1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds or pecans
1 stalk celery, diced
1 green onion, chopped
1/3 cup raisins, dried apricots, dried apple or dried cranberries
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp apple juice
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Heat the rice and the water in a medium size pot to a boil and then simmer for 55 to 60 minutes.  Drain any excess water.  Let cool.  Place the rice in a bowl and add the celery, green onion, nuts, dried fruit and parsley.  Mix the salad.  In a separate container whisk the oil, vinegar and juice.  Add the dressing to the salad and combine.  Add salt and pepper if desired.  Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.  Serves 4 to 5.

SALMON RICE BOWL

When I cook salmon fillets there are usually leftovers.  An easy recipe to make with the leftover salmon is to saute vegetables, add the salmon and place on top of an individual bowl of rice.  The vegetables can vary depending on what you have in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS:


cooked rice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced ginger
1 stalk of celery, chopped
4 mushrooms, chopped
wedge of cabbage, shredded
1/2 zucchini, chopped
1 cup of snow peas
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
sweet chili sauce (to taste)

DIRECTIONS:
In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil,  add the ginger, celery and mushrooms and saute on medium heat for about 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the rest of the vegetables and continue to saute until the vegetables are softened.  If the vegetables are sticking to the pan while cooking, add a little bit of water.  Then add the soy sauce, sesame oil and sweet chili sauce.

Into individual bowls, place about 1/2 to 1 cup of rice, add the saute vegetables followed by the salmon.  You will probably need to add about 2 ozs or more of salmon according to appetite.  You can also add some more sweet chili sauce or soy sauce if required to the bowl.

BULGAR WHEAT, WILD RICE AND COUSCOUS SALAD

This past summer a friend of mine made this salad for a supper I was hosting.  It is a great salad.  The basis is bulgar wheat, wild rice and couscous with some added vegetables and fruit.  It keeps in the fridge for several days and can be eaten as a side dish or as a main course.  If eating as a main course you might to add some cheese to the salad such as goat cheese or shredded cheddar.

In making this recipe I added some olive oil and lemon juice as the original recipe doesn't call for it.  I also only made half the recipe as it makes a big bowl.  I intend to bring this salad to work for lunches this week.

Building the salad - bulgar wheat, couscous, wild rice and chopped red onion.

Orange pepper, apricot and apple added.

Chopped parsley is next.

Salad ready for sampling.

Bulgar, wild rice and couscous salad

INGREDIENTS: 

1 cup dry couscous 

1 cup dry bulgar wheat

1 cup wild rice  

 ½ red onion finely chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 yellow or orange pepper, chopped

1 to 2 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped

1 cup dry apricots, chopped

1 ½ cups diced firm apple – add some lime or lemon juice to the chopped apple

4 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

Place 1 cup couscous in a bowl with 1 cup (plus a bit) of boiling water. Stir and cover for 10 min.  Add the bulgar wheat to another bowl and add 1 cup boiling water, stir, cover, let stand 1 hour.  Some people like to soak the wild rice for 30 minutes before cooking.  Place the wild rice with 1 ½ cup water in a saucepan, bring to boil, then gently boil for 30 -40 minutes.  Drain if there is still water left over. 

Into a large bowel, add all of the ingredients together and mix well.  Serves 8 to 10 people.

VEGETABLE FRIED RICE

One of the side dishes I like to cook when I have leftover rice is vegetable fried rice.  You can use a variety of vegetables based on preference.  I used onion, yellow pepper, celery and mushrooms.  The directions to make this rice dish is simple and I provided the directions with the photographs.  

Using a non-stick frying pan, on medium heat, add 1 tbsp of oil and saute one onion, five to six chopped mushrooms, half a chopped pepper and one chopped celery stick in. Cook for five minutes.

Use three to four cups of cooked rice. I used brown rice.

Add the rice to the frying pan, reduce the heat to low and cook until the rice starts to brown.

The vegetable rice is ready to eat. I serve with tamari or soya sauce. 

SUSHI RICE SALAD

I have been eating sushi for years.  I tend to eat it at restaurants or buy it ready made.  I will eat both raw and cooked fish.  I do have sushi cook books that provide you with picture how-to instructions from making the rice to rolling the sushi rolls.  It does take some preparation time to make sushi from scratch at home.  In Bonnie Stern’s cookbook “Simply Heartsmart” she provides a recipe for sushi salad that I have adapted and tweaked over the years.  I call my salad a sushi rice salad.

The basis of a sushi rice salad is rice, chopped up vegetables, seasoned rice vinegar, nori and ginger.  There are so many variations you can do with this salad – just vegetables or add cooked chicken, shrimp or crab.  I tend to make it with just vegetables.  Why I like this salad is due to the combinations of rice, ginger, seasoned rice vinegar and vegetables.  The salad does not have any oil added to it but I sometimes add a little bit of sesame oil for flavour.  The recipe calls for using sushi rice but you can use other rice.  I use sushi rice because I always have it in the cupboard.  The next time I make it I will try using short grain brown rice to see if there is any difference.  Sushi rice is a Japanese short grain white rice that is quite sticky when cooked.  This recipe also calls for nori which is a sheet of black seaweed and is used to wrap the rice around the fish when making sushi.  Seasoned rice vinegar is made by adding salt and sugar to rice vinegar.  Sometimes seasoned rice vinegar is labeled as sushi vinegar.  I buy seasoned rice vinegar labelled as that or as sushi vinegar.  You can use rice vinegar in this recipe if you don’t have seasoned rice vinegar.

This is the rice that I used to make this recipe.

After the rice is cooked, I put it in a large mixing bowl.  I use a wooden spoon to turn the rice to help cool it off.

The seasoned rice vinegar can also be called sushi seasoning or sushi vinegar.  The vinegar and oil are added to the rice. 

Some of the chopped vegetables that I used in the salad.

I chop the pickled ginger as the pieces are too long otherwise.  If I want the salad to be more tangy, I will also add rice vinegar. 

Nori is sold in packages of 10 or more sheets.

I cut the nori into strips and then bake the nori and sesame seeds in the oven for about 5 to 7 minutes at 325 degrees F.  The small pan I am using is over 30 years old.

I sprinkle the nori and sesame seeds on top of the individual serving bowls.

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ cups of sushi rice or other short grain rice

1 ¾ cups of water

¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 carrots, finely chopped

½ red or orange pepper, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

½ cup edamame beans

2 tbsp fresh dill or 1 tbsp dried dill

small bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

2 tbsp pickled ginger, chopped

2 sheets of nori, preferably toasted, broken up

2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

DIRECTIONS:

Rinse the rice under cold running water or let it sit in a pot of cold water for 20 minutes and then drain.   Place the rice in the saucepan with the water, cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes.  Let the rice cool for about 15 minutes and turn it over every so often to help it cool off.  Add the vinegar and sesame oil and toss gently until it is absorb.  Since the rice is sticky, I use a wooden spoon and try to toss the rice by cutting into it with a wooden spoon.   I sometimes add more than ¼ cup of vinegar if the rice is really sticky and it is difficult to mix.  

Once the rice has cooled down, add all of the remaining ingredients except the nori and sesame seeds and toss well.   If you find that the salad is not tangy enough, add more vinegar, either seasoned or just rice vinegar.  Before serving, sprinkle the nori and the sesame seeds to the individual bowls.

RICE BOWL WITH BEEF

I made a roast beef for supper on Sunday and after two consecutive days of having roast for supper, it was time for a change.  Some people can eat leftovers for days on end while others can only handle one to two days of leftovers.  I fall somewhere in between and it depends on what the leftovers are.  One meal I do make with leftover meat is a rice bowl.  A rice bowl is essentially rice placed on the bottom of a big soup bowl or a pasta bowl and topped with stir fry vegetables and meat.  It can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it.  I try to go for the simple method.  The following pictures provide the ingredients and commentary.

In a large bowl, mix 2 tsp of brown sugar, 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger and 1 minced clove of garlic.  This is a marinade sauce and is good for other cuts of cooked and raw meat.  

Slice the leftover meat into thin strips.  As this had to serve 2 people and I had about 5 to 6 ounces of cooked roast, the focus would be on the vegetables and not the meat.  Mix the meat into the marinade and put into the fridge while you prepare the vegetables.  

Chop an onion, carrot, 1/2 red pepper, one broccoli bunch and a handful of mushrooms. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok and once the oil gets hot, add the onion.  Saute on medium high heat for a few minutes and then add the rest of the vegetables. 

Since there was not going to be a lot of meat in this dish, I decided to add 1/2 cup of edamame beans to the wok.  I buy shelled frozen edamame beans and use them in a variety of recipes. 

Before I started to marinate the meat, I got the rice going.  I have a small rice cooker and use it when I don't need to make heaping quantities of rice.  I cook both basmati white and brown rice and will cook either one depending on time that I have to cook the rice. 

Saute the vegetables for about 5 minutes and then add the meat.  Cook for another few minutes.

Supper is ready!