brown rice

All posts tagged brown rice

Spiced Brown Rice with Caramelized Onions and Lentils

Published May 10, 2011 by Vegan Derby Cat Party

Okay, this is the second time I’ve made this dish, only this time with a lot more oomph! The first time I made it, I had intended to make a similar Veganomicon dish, but didn’t care for the flavor profile. This time I used the same spices I jazzed it up with before, but took it up a notch. It takes about an hour total, but most of the time is inactive, so it’s a pretty simple dish. It’s also a good way to use up onions, because it takes 3 big ones! I used yummy sweet yellow onions. I also used regular brown/green lentils here for heartiness. You can use red ones; just know they will mush into the dish as you cook them and be sort of indetectable. I like the different textures together here.

Spiced Brown Rice with Caramelized Onions and Lentils

3 large onions, halved and  thinly sliced into half moons
olive oil for misting
salt

1 c. brown rice
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. curry powder
0.5 tsp cinnamon
pinch of ground ginger
pinch of cayenne, optional
salt & pepper

1 c. lentils

This makes 4 servings, or 2 good dinner servings and a big lunch portion! ; )

Directions:

1. . Pre-heat oven to 400*F. Prepare and spray baking pans with olive oil. Add onions to pans, spraying with more olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 30-45 minutes. After this time you can drop the heat down to 200*F, and let them cook until the rice and lentils are ready.

2. Bring 4 cups of water or broth to a boil in a medium pot. Add all spices, and add brown rice. Drop heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Bring back up to a boil and add lentils. Cover and simmer for 30 more minutes. At this point, most of the liquid should be absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Fluff and fold in caramelized onions.


Sweet Rice & Tofu Scramble

Published February 6, 2011 by Vegan Derby Cat Party

When I was brainstorming breakfast (brunch!) yesterday afternoon in bed ; ), I first thought of tofu scramble and biscuits. Then I reconsidered the biscuits. I have half a recipe of cheddar biscuit dough in the freezer, so I put that in the fridge to thaw for another midday meal. I decided that it would be nice to pair up with a whole grain, and brown rice seemed like a nice sweet choice on it’s own. I added a lil bit of sugar, some pumpkin seeds, raisins and spices to make it subtly sweet and a nice contrast to the savory scramble du jour. It turned out quite well : ) So well in fact that I made a slightly bigger batch this morning, only using blackstrap molasses for sweetness, hoping to take some to work this week for a nice nourishing breakfast.

Sweet Rice

3/4 c. short grain brown rice
1 1/2 c. water
2 tsp. sweetener of choice (sugar, agave, maple syrup, blackstrap molasses)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
2 tbsp. raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 c. raisins

Directions:

1. In a 2 quart dutch oven or pot with a tight fitting lid put rice, water, spices and sugar to boil. Once boiling, stir in pumpkin seeds and raisins and drop to low to simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Check rice, cook for an additional 5-10 minutes if necessary, depending on your stove. Most of the water should be absorbed. Then let it sit covered for an additional 5 minutes.

2. If you like you can pack the rice into a ramekin or teacup and then invert it on the plate for a cute presentation.

The tofu scramble I made was a variation of this, made with leftover green onions, adding some spinach, and substituting braggs for the soy sauce.

Tofu Scramble

olive oil for spraying skillet
4  green onions, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 c.  frozen stoplight pepper strips
1/4 c. chopped frozen spinach
1 package of tofu (i used firm, you can use firm or extra-firm regular or silken tofu)
1/2 tsp. Bragg’s liquid aminos (or shoyu or tamari or soy sauce)
1 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. paprika
salt & pepper, to taste (i used sea salt with sea vegetables & ground pepper)
cayenne pepper, optional

1/4 c. nutritional yeast

Ketchup & Hotsauce, optional

Directions:

1. Spray a skillet with olive oil and raise to medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for until slightly softened, about 4 mintues. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add bell peppers and and spinach, and cook for an additional 3-5 mintues, or until heated through.

2. Add tofu and all other ingredients except nutritional yeast. Stir until well combined and heated through, about 5 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and stir in nutritional yeast.

how to cook brown rice (and make hummus & bbq seitan)

Published July 31, 2010 by Vegan Derby Cat Party

i’m having a hungry day.

i just came out of the kitchen after making myself a snack, and prepared dinner, without really planning to. i made my apple cider vinegar hummus, brown rice and bbq seitan. now the seitan is a total pre-packaged cheat. i not only used bottled sauce, but also pre-made seitan. i’ll include how i threw it together below, and i’m also posting a how-to for brown rice, because people always seem to be scared of its preparation.

the best thing to do when you’re making brown rice with your meal is get your brown rice going, and only then go on to prepare your meal. that way it all finishes at about the same time. that’s what i did here. by the time i got the seitan in the oven, i just left them both on the timer i had going for the rice. (about 20 minutes were left.)

How to make brown rice

1 part brown rice
[just under] 2 parts water or broth, or a combination of both
(today i used about 1.5 part broth, and .5 water, and no additional condiments)
salt or some other spices if you’re fancy

Directions:

Choose a pot that makes sense for how much you’re making. (i use my 2qt for all my grains) Put in your rice, pour in your liquid and seasonings, if using. Bring to a boil and let it boil for a minute or two. Drop heat to low to simmer, covered, for at least 45 minutes. I like to check it at the 45 minute mark because on my stove there is only a little moisture left at that point, so i move it off the heat and let it sit, covered, for another 10 minutes to absorb it. You may need to keep going (up to 55 minutes), it really depends on your stove. but check it every few minutes if you do. you don’t want to burn your rice!

easy right?

BBQ seitan

1 package seitan
3 tbsp. BBQ sauce
additional seasonings, to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350*f. In a baking dish, combine seitan and all other ingredients. Toss to coat evenly, and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Bake for 20 minutes.

If you have a BBQ sauce you really like, you can just use that and bake it, no additions necessary.

lentils & brown rice w/caramelized onions

Published July 5, 2010 by Vegan Derby Cat Party

this recipe started out as the veganomicon recipe, but ended up being pretty darn different. her recipe used basmati rice, and was more of a sweet dish. i like things a  little more savory, and used what i had around.  you can use whatever spices you like, really. i was just happy that i actually felt like cooking; it had been a while. i was also inspired to make something with lentils to prove that eating vegan doesn’t mean you have to include soy all day long. i mean, actually, you don’t have to use soy or processed foods at all if you don’t want to. when i make those choices it’s usually because it’s just really convenient. *click here for an updated version of this recipe!*

anyway, this is a little time-consuming, but is not really a lot of work. plus it used the 3 large onions i was worrying would spoil, and has fed me all weekend. score!

ps- you can use any kinda lentils you want. i used red ones, which is why you can’t see them in the end result because they tend to mush when cooked. if you use another color, they’ll hold their shape.

Lentils & Brown rice w/caramelized onions

3 large onions, thinly sliced and separated into rings
olive oil

1 c. brown rice
pinch of cumin
pinch of cinnamon
1.5 tsp. curry powder
salt & pepper
cayenne

1 c. lentils

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400*. Prepare and spray baking pans with olive oil. Add onions to pans, spraying with more olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 30-45 minutes.

2. Bring 4 cups of water or broth to a boil in a medium pot. Add all spices, and add brown rice. Drop heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Bring back up to a boil and add lentils. Cover and simmer for 30 more minutes. At this point, most of the liquid should be absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Fluff and fold in caramelized onions.

Sorry i don’t have a prettier picture! i’ve just been eating it out of the pot all weekend! Enjoy!

the kind diet: brown rice krispie treats

Published May 28, 2010 by Vegan Derby Cat Party

this weekend is going to be a bit crazy; i’m booked everyday. i’ve been meaning to make these, and i even have all the ingredients on the counter, but i may not get a chance to post, so i’ll leave you with a link to the recipe: here

i’ve only made them with peanut butter before, but i think the almond butter variation sounds yummy. especially with raisins subbed for chips. i will say this, i added the chocolate chips too soon last time, and they melted in, almost immediately, so if you want chips, hold off a little while before adding. they still tasted good though : )

you can find these, and other yummies in the kind diet cookbook.

salad, chili, brown rice, ahh…

Published March 23, 2010 by Vegan Derby Cat Party

tonight i’m keeping things nice and simple with a salad, chili and brown rice.

today’s salad will be:

heirloom lettuce, sprouts, walnuts, cranberries and vegan parm.

the chili, canned.

i use the 365 (whole foods) spicy one, heat it up, and put a nice dollop of veganaise on, and mix it in. i know it sounds weird, but it’s totally good, and gives it a wonderful creaminess. the leftover cornbread will be happy to get involved here too.

i ate some with chips & salsa too!

brown rice, oh how i love thee! nothing beats some nice, clean, brown rice. in macrobiotics, brown rice is super important because it is considered the perfect food to bring you into balance. and who doesn’t need some balance? i ran out of it over a week ago, and the last week was kind of crazy, so it’s probably a good idea to make a nice sticky sweet batch… right now!

don’t let brown rice intimidate you either! it’s super simple:

1 part brown rice
2 parts water
pinch of sea salt.

bring to boil, stir, and drop to low to simmer, covered for at least 40 minutes. i like to check on it at 40 minutes and see how it’s doing. see how much water is left in there. this usually coincides with the time where you really begin to smell the rice. then you can monitor it, depending on how you like your rice. i don’t like it too mushy, so i tend to take it off at about 45 minutes, even though my rice bag says 55 minutes. it also depends on your stove, (you may need to add a little more water if the burner runs hot/high) so be sure to check it earlier so you don’t burn it to the bottom of your pot. once you know your stove/burner/preference, it’ll be auto-pilot.

a lot of people get inpatient with the whole 40-55 minutes thing. really, it’s no big deal. put it on right before you do something like: take a shower, watch a show, cook something else, and you’ll see it’s ok. look, you’re even multi-tasking!

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