An Epicure’s Voyage ~ This series will feature on my travel through the Web World in search of good food and my favorite pit stops. When the thought struck me, the first person who came to my mind was Roxana aka The Green Girl. I had been an admirer of her space for a while now and I must say that I’m a bit addicted to her bakes. She is one of those persons who I admire for being forthright, thoughtful and full of encouragement for her fellow bloggers. I knew she was a very busy person but still readily agreed to do a guest post considering the time I asked was just a week before Christmas time. Hers is one of the spaces where I get to spend a great deal of valuable and quality time marveling at her write ups and cool snaps and I’m sure you all will do too.
Now to the recipe that she had sent me. “My husband is probably one of the pickiest eaters I’ve met. We’re so different when it comes to eating. I’m more of an experimental type of person. When we eat out I, most of the time, choose something I haven’t tried before. When I see a new ingredient at the store I buy a little and try it at home. I pretty much eat all kinds of veggies and fruit. Except artichokes. I don’t like the way they look. Sounds weird, I know.
Hubby on the other hand has a long list of foods he has never tried nor he intends to. Sometimes I hate it, especially when I make a new dish that turns out so good I lick the plate clean. He won’t touch it no matter what I do or say. Sometimes I love it, especially when I don’t feel like cooking a fancy dinner. Hubby is a happy camper if I serve him rice and beans 5-6 nights a week. Add some sliced avocado or some guacamole and dinner is served.
I tried different ways of cooking rice: slow cooking, steaming, cooking it like you’d cook pasta but lately I used to cook the rice in the oven. We agreed this way it turns out the best rice. When Radhika asked me to guest post for her I did not know exactly what to do but after seeing her rice blog hop I knew this dish would be perfect for my post.
Baked Rice and Beans
Ingredients½ cup cooked beans (I used black but any color works just as fine)
2 cups brown rice (long grain rice or basmati can be used instead. Never tried jasmine. Arborio or sweet/sticky rice
would not make a good substitution)
½ tsp. turmeric (optional)
¼ tsp. flaked chili peppers (optional)
~ 1tsp. dried herbs (optional)
1 tsp. salt
pinch of black pepper
4 cups stock or water
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400F. Rinse the rice couple of times until the water comes clean.
In an oven proof dish (preferably a see through one) mix all the ingredients. Place the dish into the oven and cook, uncovered, for about 20-30 minutes. Open the oven and with a wooden spoon or a fork stir the rice making sure the beans are well mixed in. Close the oven and continue baking for another 20-30 minutes or until the liquid is all absorbed.
Take the rice out of the oven and cover with a clean tea towel to prevent it from drying out. Serve while the rice is still hot.
