Baked Brown Basmati Rice

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups brown rice, medium or short grain
2 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Place the rice into a 8-inch square glass baking pan

Bring the water, butter and salt just to a boil in a saucepan.  Once the water boils, pour it over the rice, stir to combine and cover the dish tightly with heavy-duty aluminum.  Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, remove the cover and fluff the rice with a fork.  Serve immediately.

NOTES:

For once, nothing.  I follow the directions exactly.  It's come out perfectly every single time.

Sniffle Stew

Sniffle Stew:

1 pound chopped kale or collards
3 cups broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup sunbutter, peanut butter or almond butter
1/4 cup diced uncrystallized ginger or 1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 generous tablespoon garam masala or curry powder
1 squeeze lemon
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Steam or boil kale four to five minutes

2)  Simmer the broth, tomatoes, nut butter, ginger, kale and spices on low for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld, stirring occasionally

3) Add drained garbanzo beans.  Simmer a minute or two more, and add salt and pepper if desired.

NOTES:

* I used ruffle leaf kale.  I think you could substitute so many different vegetables in this dish.  I think collards might have an overpowering flavor for some.  I also added a few  miniature fingerling potatoes, chopped,  from Whole Foods.  Very tiny.

* I used vegetable broth.

*  I used almond butter

*  I used curry powder, from Whole Foods

*  I used peeled, grated ginger.

* I served this "stew" over basmati rice.

* I put a tiny bit of oil in a dutch oven, and I added a bit of the broth to sautee the kale and potatoes.  After about ten minutes, I added the can of diced tomatoes  (drained) and the can of garbanzo beans (drained).  Right behind that I added the curry powder, almond butter,  ginger and lemon juice (about a tablespoonful.)  I let the stew simmer for a good 30 minutes. I was worried about the heaping tablespoon of curry, but it was not overpowering.

Shrimp In Sriracha Sauce With Basmati Rice

1/3 cup Sriracha (a Thai hot sauce)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 handful cilantro, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds large shrimp (16 to 20 count), deveined


Mix together the Sriracha, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, cilantro, and sugar. Season aggressively with salt and pepper. Put in a 1-gallon plastic bag, add the shrimp, and mix together in the bag. Marinate in the fridge for 2 to 4 hours or longer.

Heat a grill. Skewer the shrimp (4 to 6 shrimp per skewer) and grill until pink and delicious, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove the shrimp from the grill, slide the shrimp from the skewer using a fork, and pile on a serving platter.

Sprinkle with finely chopped cilantro, and throw a few toothpicks in a few shrimp.

Serve with Basmati rice on the side.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Notes:

I made this the first time with only one pound of shrimp. I thawed them in hot water, pulled the tails and patted off the water.

I halved the Sriacha sauce, which is wonderful, but still a little hotter than I would want on a normal basis. If I make this again, I would cut the sauce to tablespoons or teaspoons.

The sugar and olive oil make a wonderful chemical binder that makes the sauce really adhere to the shrimp and lacquers over them.

I did not grill the shrimp, but stir-fried them. I am sure grilling is wonderful.

I used dried cilantro because it's all I had. I think you should strive to use fresh.

For one pound of shrimp, I used one garlic clove. I think with even two pounds one clove would do it. It was a good-sized clove.