A Few Variations on Rice

Rice was always a very plain dish, Minute Rice with a touch of butter, in our family meal and as a consequence I didn’t really like rice. It was a different story when we ordered Asian food – loved fried rice because it was interesting.
In the last 7.5 years working at Linwood House it has been an honour to meet guests from all over the world. I am grateful for the cooking tips they have shared so that creating dishes from their cultures are more authentic.
Just adding a few fragrant spices makes all the difference to rice. Instead of bland plain rice you have opened your senses to the aroma, textures and colours of this addition to your meal. Of course...eating is all about the senses so that you savour, eat slowly, inhale the aromas and let it linger a bit longer in your mouth! These are all simple touches we can put into our meal preparation that elevate the quality and enjoyment without adding a lot of effort or expense.
My staple rice in the cupboard in jasmine rice and arborio rice

Coconut Rice. This is a great flavour with Thai or Indian food.
Just add a tin of coconut milk along with the water as you make your rice. Add a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of cinnamon as well. If you add a pinch of turmeric it will be a beautiful yellow gold colour. Great fragrance!
Fragrant Rice. This rice totally changed my view on rice – and every time D would make it I thoroughly enjoyed it.
-Saute garlic and onions in a bit of olive oil. Then add your washed rice and stir until it is fully coated. Add your liquid that is either chicken or vegetable broth and a touch of salt if desired. Through in a cinnamon stick and a couple of bay leaves and cook until done. Add finely chopped red peppers and some fresh chopped parsley.
The colours and fragrance of this rice are just amazing!
Saffron Risotto. When I lived in Italy my friend A-M made the most wonderful food and risotto was one of the things she showed me how to do when we were at a summer house in Nerano. Always use butter to make this dish, use hot broth, white wine and my secret ingredient is balsamic vinegar. Cast iron pots are the best for cooking this in and my bright red one goes with me when I cook this dish at other locations.
I love this rice with steaming mussels, chorizo, sauted fresh spot prawns and chicken – my version of paella.
It also goes well with lamb chops that are marinated in lemon rind, lemon juice, chopped rosemary and thyme, olive oil, garlic and red wine. Then just grill the chops and serve over a bed of this bright risotto.
-Sauté ½ cup of finely chopped onions in 2 generous tablespoons of butter for about 5 – 7 minutes. Then add 2 cups arborio rice and stir to completely coat the rice in the butter. Stir until the rice becomes ever so slightly golden.
-Have 6 cups of broth heated and ready to add slowly to the rice as well as one cup of white wine. Also have a few threads of saffron added to the hot chicken broth.
-Ladle the broth, ½ cup at a time into the rice and continually stir. When the liquid is absorbed add another ½ cup of broth. Repeat this process, interspersing the wine addition, until all the liquid has been added. It will still be a bit soupy in texture, but the saffron should make it a strong yellow colour.
-I always add a touch of salt next as well as about 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. Add another dash of butter, cover and let cook on a low heat for about ½ hour. I have baked this at 350 in the oven in the covered pot and it works just as well.
-When you are ready to serve this add about ½ cup of grated pecorino or parmesan cheese as well as freshly chopped parsley, salt and pepper if desired.
Fried Rice. The secret to this Asian dish, according to my friend from Beijing, is to sauté green onions in a touch of regular oil and a dash of sesame oil. Then add the cooked rice. Put a touch of white wine into your egg when you mix it up and then pour it into the rice. You can add whatever vegetables you like. I also like to add some grated ginger to the pan when I am sautéing the green onions in the oil mix.
Morrocan Flavours – I have used this way of preparing rice along with Lebanese Kibbi Balls (flavourful meat balls that have bulgar wheat in them.
-Saute some chopped onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil. Add your rice and then your broth. Then add a touch of salt, a pinch of cinnamon, a little nutmeg, cumin and curry powder. Cook as per the instructions on the package until done.
-Just before you serve it add some crumbled feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, chopped cilantro and some raisins. Cover it again and let it sit for 5 minutes or so.
-Don’t forget to inhale the fragrances as you serve this out! Hopefully this aroma will already be wafting through the house and sending its own invitation for dinner.

There are so many more ideas out there on preparing rice but this is just a couple of ways that might give you one new idea or two to add to your meal plans for tonight! Let your senses be open as you taste, smell, feel, know the sound of and the see the colours of the food you on your counter that will be your meal.

Just A Touch

Just a drop of rain and this tulip goes from elegant to exquisite. It's beauty enticed me out for a closer look.
Just a hint of spice and the aroma and flavour of your food go from ordinary to extra ordinary. The scent will create the anticipation of the meal to come.
Those ingredients we can add to life that move a moment from lovely to vibrant.
Much lies within the touch of love - an ingredient we cannot live without.
The ingredient the Almighty infuses into our being unconditionally.

Adding the Extra To Mashed Potatoes - Comfort Food

One of the comments I often hear is that preparing a meal is tough because it is boring and there is just isn’t enough energy to try new things, or enough time to find new ideas. One of the things I will be offering in my little business is “Personalized Culinary Mentoring” where we will meet together once a week for 4 weeks and go over your menu, the tough parts about meal planning and preparation and try to add a few little tips that can take your cooking up a notch or two. Hopefully it can also infuse some joy and energy back into this sacred task of preparing food to be shared with those you love.

Here are a few ideas on the staple mashed potatoes that might add a bit of interest to this part of your meal.

I would also love to hear what you do to create an interesting twist on this kind of comfort food.

Mashed Potatoes With The ’ Extra’ Ingredients

Potatoes absorb salt quickly so when you put your potatoes on to boil be sure to add at least a teaspoon of sea salt to water when you put them on to cook. Should you ever make something that seems too salty, add a slice of potato to absorb that salt and bring it back to the normal level you want.

The best potatoes for mashing are Yukon Gold or another variety of yellow flesh potatoes. They are less watery, and more mealy therefore give a much better texture for mashed potatoes


Mashed Potatoes with Nutmeg
- this simple spice added to mashed potatoes brings just a hint of something extra but is not easy to define. I just take a pinch of ground nutmeg between my fingers and add it to the already mashed potatoes.

Mashed Potatoes with Garlic and Olive Oil
- when you put your potatoes on to boil, and have added the salt, also add 1 clove of garlic, skin off, for every 4 potatoes. The garlic will cook along with the potatoes and be very tender and mash in beautifully with them. Add your nutmeg, salt and pepper as well as 2 tablespoons of olive oil (this measurement is based on 4 potatoes). I don’t add any cream or butter here making this a dish that is suited to those who wish to avoid any dairy products.

Mashed Potatoes with Onions and Cheddar Cheese
This is something my Irish Grandmother often made during the week with slow cooked meats, as we sat in her little kitchen and kept warm by the fire in the cold rainy winter months in Belfast. Both my Grandmothers were good at cooking comfort food.

- peel and chop your potatoes, put them in the salted water and bring them to a boil
- while they are cooking, finely chop a medium size onion and saute it in 1 - 2 tablespoons of butter. Cook until they are clear which will be about 7-10 minutes in time.
- when the potatoes are tender, drain them and mash them.
- add the cooked onions with all the melted butter as well.
- add salt and pepper to taste as well as your pinch of nutmeg.
- grate about ½ cup of cheddar cheese
- place the mashed potatoes in a greased pyrex dish and then put the grated cheese on top
- place under the broiler until the cheese is nicely melted and turns slighty golden.

Dijon Mashed Potatoes
- prepare your potatoes and boil them as usual
- when you are ready to mash them, add 1 tablespoon of grainy Dijon mustard for every 6 potatoes you have cooked.
- you can add less salt and as much pepper as you like.
- add in 1 - 2 tablespoons of butter depending on your desired taste.
- it is also good to heat up about ¼ cup of cream for every 6 potatoes cooked and added this heated cream to your mixture. Use less butter if you add the heated cream.

Dijon potatoes are great served with lamb or with beef.

Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes
- prepare and cook your potatoes as usual
- add a little heated cream
- crumble 1/3 cup (for 6 potatoes) of blue cheese in and mash together.
- season with salt and white pepper for your taste

These potatoes are especially good with steak or strong flavoured meat and a good full bodied red wine adds to the flavour combinations.

Mashed Potatoes With The Skins On
I got this idea from my sister-in-law who lives in Idaho - potato country!

- since the skin is highly nutritious, this is a good way to cook them when the skins are pale in colour. This doesn’t work as well with older potatoes or dark skinned potatoes.
- wash the potato thoroughly then chop into small pieces and place in your salted water and bring to a boil.
- when potatoes are tender mash as usual. They will be lumpy but that is their rustic look.
- season as you wish.

Personally I like the skin on mashed potatoes prepared with the garlic cloves cooked with them and then mashed in. They taste great with the salt, pepper, nutmeg and butter. I don’t usually add any cream or milk because the beauty of the skin on is also the mealy texture.