Back to basics

We eat quite a bit of rice at home – in stir-fries, with curries, with chicken a la King, etc.

And lately I haven’t been enjoying the rice one bit.

Not because it’s rice but because somehow (can I blame this one on the twin pregnancy??) I’d forgotten how to cook rice properly.

And now I have to confess…

Hi, I’m Marcia and I can’t follow a recipe.

I promise I set out with really good intentions but before I’m three steps in, I somehow think I can do it better and before you know it, I’ve done a “version” of whatever the recipe is.

I will say that when I bake, I do follow the recipe exactly as I once heard Nigella say, “baking is like chemistry and you have to do things exactly so”. Or words to that effect 😉

Anyway, back to the rice.

So last week, I literally had to steel myself to follow the directions on the pack to cook the rice I’d bought.

Do you know what happened?

The rice turned out PERFECTLY!

And I thoroughly enjoyed my chicken curry.

As I was cooking I thought about how this is so much like life.

We think we know everything and yet our lives run so much more smoothly when we get back to basics. Even though it’s a bit boring.

  • making a menu plan
  • planning our weeks and days
  • making to-do lists
  • going to gym (!)
  • taking vitamins and eating healthy
  • setting out our clothes the night before
  • etc, etc.

How good are you at getting back to basics? Or at following a recipe? 🙂

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Comments

  1. yes I think that when I make a schedule sometimes but find it really then puts me back on track!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. Soooooo true! Life is so much easier when I follow my routines, have a plan to know what I want/must accomplish that day and take care of myself by having some time off! Thanks for the reminder! 😉

  3. I consider cooking rice in a pot my nemesis. I can follow the direction to the letter and I usually end up with a burnt and gloppy mess. I tried the microwave directions and managed to burn the plastic wrap they told me to put on top leaving my microwave in need of intense cleaning weekly until the smell of burnt plastic was gone.

    So I switched to using my steamer. It doesn’t do just rice, it also does meat and veggies so I’m happy to give it some shelf space. It comes in really handy when I have big gatherings, I don’t have to give up a burner to cook a bit of water to steam veggies.

    Rice is my arch enemy. 😉

  4. Yay! Perfect rice! I hate to admit it, but I am rebellious when it comes to recipes… I think I will be reading my rice bag the next time around. I am certain my hubby will appreciate that.

  5. OMG! I found this site on Bing. this is really great stuff! I have saved. I will be back!

  6. Rice is hard to make properly. I do the Brazilian method, which is more or less as follows:

    – heat 2 tbsp olive oil on med/low heat
    – peel 2-3 garlic cloves and smash/pierce them, and put them in the oil
    – let garlic sautee a few minutes until golden, but not burned, then take the garlic out of the pot
    – wash desired amount of rice, drain, then put the dry kernels into the garlic-infused oil
    – stir frequently, put up the heat if necessary, and wait until the rice looks golden and somewhat transparent
    – add water (2x the measure of rice) and salt to taste (1 tsp per cup of dry rice is my guide)
    – put the lid on, turn down the heat, and DON’T TOUCH THE LID OR STIR THE RICE.
    – Wait about 30-40m, until the water has all evaporated. You can then taste a tiny bit of the rice to see if it needs to be more tender. If so, add some water and put that lid back on. Repeat until rice is perfect.

    Sounds easy, huh? 🙂 Took me ages to be able to make rice properly.

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