Beans and Rice

Beans and rice are a great combination, both nutritionally and for taste. There is a world of flavors you can have with these two ingredients. Sometimes we make slightly sweetened beans to have for breakfast. This dish, however, may not make the best early morning dish. It calls for the sultry and rich black beans, plus a tangy twist provided by balsamic vinegar. Add a little avocado to calm everything down and you end up with a dish that we eat as a meal in itself. It doesn't last long in our house.

Cuban Beans and Rice

Ingredients

2 T lemon juice

2 T olive oil

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 t ground cumin

1 t salt

¼ t pepper

3 c cooked rice

1 15-oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 c dried black beans cooked

2 medium tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped

2 T fresh parsley, chopped

1 firm-ripe avocado

Steps

1. In a large bowl, mix lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir in the rice, beans, tomatoes, and parsley.

2. Cut the avocado in half, pop out the pit, and carefully scoop out the insides. Cut into dice and gently stir into the bean and rice mixture.

3. Serve chilled, room temperature, or heated up.

Fried Rice with Mushrooms

We love fried rice, and there are about a million things you could do to it. This is number 34,227: rice with a heavy dose of mushrooms. Originally, this recipe began life as rice pancakes, but when the pancakes refused to maintain their shape, tada! Fried rice! (This same phenomena is how my omelets mysteriously turn into scrambled eggs.) But despite the culinary catastrophe, the rice turned out darn good, and in the end much easier to make than fussy pancakes.

Fried Rice with Mushrooms

Ingredients

5 t olive oil, divided

5 c mushrooms, thinly sliced

½ c onion, finely chopped

½ c red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 garlic, minced

1 T fresh thyme, or 1 t dried thyme

¾ t salt

¼ t pepper

1 c vegetable broth

1 t arrowroot or cornstarch

3 c cooked brown rice

Steps

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onions, and bell pepper. Cook for 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has cooked off, stirring occasionally.

2. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the thyme, salt, and pepper. Remove 1 cup of the mixture and set aside.

3. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the broth and arrowroot. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Set aside but keep warm.

4. In another pan, add the remaining tablespoon of oil and heat over medium-high heat. Dump in the rice and reserved mushroom mixture. Stir fry until desired doneness. Serve hot with mushroom sauce.

Brown Rice Porridge

Lately I have been trying to avoid processed cereals. For years I have eschewed the super-sugar bombs put out by General Mills, Kelloggs, and the like, but now I am also staying away from the "healthier" cereals simply because they are still a processed food and cost a lot of money. This leaves a gaping hole in my breakfast routine that I am filling with more hot, whole grains. Oatmeal is a good example, but I also enjoy grits and buckwheat. Rice is a very common breakfast food in the Orient (it is a common food in every meal!), so it is slowly working its way into my regimen.

This recipe shows one way you could enjoy rice for breakfast. It needs to be prepared the night before, but it is super easy. By the time you get to the kitchen the next morning, you will be greeted by a hot pot of yummy rice porridge. You could literally put anything in this you want; this is just a starter recipe to get you going.

Brown Rice Porridge

Ingredients

1 c brown rice

3 T honey, maple syrup, or brown sugar

1 T unsalted butter

1/2 t salt

1/2 t cinnamon

1 apple, unpeeled and finely chopped

1/2 c dried cranberries

1/2 c walnuts or almonds, chopped

4 c water

Steps

1. Spray a crock pot with oil. Place all ingredients in cooker and mix well.

2. Cover and cook on low 8 hours. Stir before serving.