Part 3 (1/2)

saffron rice with cherries: Add cup coa.r.s.ely chopped pitted sweet cherries (unsweetened, fresh or thawed frozen) to the rice in step 2. Hold on Keep Warm for up to 1 hour. Add cup coa.r.s.ely chopped pitted sweet cherries (unsweetened, fresh or thawed frozen) to the rice in step 2. Hold on Keep Warm for up to 1 hour.

lemon rice Beth's mom makes this fresh-tasting rice to serve with chicken sautes and grilled prawns. It is a favorite.

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;fuzzy logic or on/offCYCLE: RegularYIELD: Serves 3 to 41 cup long-grain white rice, such as basmati or Carolina1 cups chicken stockPinch of salt1 large clove garlic2 teaspoons grated lemon zest2 tablespoons unsalted b.u.t.ter2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves 1. If using basmati rice, place the rice in a fine strainer or bowl, rinse with cold water twice, and drain twice.

2. Place the rice in the rice cooker bowl. Add the stock and salt, stir just to combine, then place the garlic in the center on top of the rice. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.

3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, add the lemon zest, b.u.t.ter, and parsley; stir to combine. Close the cover and let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for 1 to 2 hours. Before serving, remove the garlic and discard. Serve hot.

asian multigrain rice In Chinese specialty markets you can find an easy-to-use, inexpensive, and delicious grain blend that adds a sweetish, nutty flavor, fiber, and nutrition to your plain rice. It also adds color; the cooked grain blend will be tinted a light lavender. Greenmax Fine Multi Grains are imported from Taiwan. Look in the rice section for a small plastic bag containing a wide variety of grains, including two kinds of barley, four kinds of rice, buckwheat groats, fox-nuts, whole millet, wheat, and oats. As you can imagine, this blend is quite a.s.sertively flavored. We like it best combined with regular white rice to mute the flavors. Be sure to soak the mixture for an hour before cooking to soften the whole grains.

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;fuzzy logic or on/offCYCLE: RegularYIELD: Serves 4 to 61 cups (2 rice cooker cups) j.a.panese-style short- or medium-grain white rice cup (1 rice cooker cup) multigrain blend3 cups water 1. Wash the rice. Place the rice in a bowl (or use the bowl of your rice cooker) and fill the bowl about half-full with cold tap water. Swirl the rice in the water with your hand. Carefully pour off most of the water, holding one cupped hand under the stream to catch any grains of rice that are carried away with the water. Holding the bowl steady with one hand, use the other to rub and squeeze the wet rice, turning the bowl as you go, so that all the rice is ”scrubbed.” The small amount of water in the bowl will turn chalky white. Now, run cold water into the bowl, give the rice a quick swish, and carefully drain off the water as before. Repeat the scrubbing and pouring-off process two more times. By the third time, the water you pour off will be nearly clear.

2. Place the rice and multigrain blend in the rice cooker bowl. Add the water; swirl to combine. Let the grains soak for 1 hour.

3. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the grains steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the grains with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for 1 to 2 hours. Serve hot.

julia's aromatic basmati rice From excellent cook and new friend Julia Scannel, here is her quick weekday-night fluffy rice, which she learned when working on a book of recipes, Cooking with the Spices of India Cooking with the Spices of India (Culinary Alchemy, 1995). The whole spices add a gentle scent and subtle flavor to the rice, especially apparent in the rice close to the spices. You will need to go to a specialty grocery to purchase the whole green cardamom pods, a member of the ginger family, which are different than the bleached white ones that are used in Scan dinavian cuisine. The spices are left whole during serving, but are not eaten. Serve with yogurt-marinated tandoori chicken and chutney. (Culinary Alchemy, 1995). The whole spices add a gentle scent and subtle flavor to the rice, especially apparent in the rice close to the spices. You will need to go to a specialty grocery to purchase the whole green cardamom pods, a member of the ginger family, which are different than the bleached white ones that are used in Scan dinavian cuisine. The spices are left whole during serving, but are not eaten. Serve with yogurt-marinated tandoori chicken and chutney.

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;fuzzy logic or on/offCYCLE: RegularYIELD: Serves 31 cup white basmati rice1 cups water teaspoon saltOne 4-inch stick cinnamon3 green cardamom pods 1. Place the rice in a fine strainer or bowl, rinse with cold water, and drain.

2. Place the rice, water, salt, and spices in the rice cooker bowl; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.

3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for 3 to 4 hours. Serve hot.

raisins and rice Dried fruits, especially raisins, are used extensively in rice dishes. We love the combination of rice, nuts, and plump raisins, especially when everything goes in the pot at once. Fast and simple, with a sweet edge, for dinner.

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;fuzzy logic or on/offCYCLE: RegularYIELD: Serves 3 to 4 cup golden raisins3 tablespoons dry sherry1 cup long-grain white rice or white basmati rice1 cup chicken stock cup water teaspoon salt2 tablespoons unsalted b.u.t.ter, cut into pieces cup chopped unsalted macadamia nuts 1. Combine the raisins and sherry in a small bowl. Let stand on the kitchen counter for 1 hour to macerate.

2. Place the rice, stock, water, salt, and raisin-sherry mixture in the rice cooker bowl; stir just to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.

3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, dot the rice with the b.u.t.ter and sprinkle with the nuts. Close the cover and let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for 1 to 2 hours. Serve hot.

rice with mushrooms Although this recipe is designed for use with mild domestic b.u.t.ton mushrooms (also known as the ”youngsters”), if you are a mushroom lover, feel free to use another type. Look in the produce section of your supermarket or farmer's market for cremini mushrooms, s.h.i.+takes, or chanterelles.

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;fuzzy logic or on/offCYCLE: RegularYIELD: Serves 3 to 41 cup long-grain white rice1 cups chicken or vegetable stock teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning2 tablespoons unsalted b.u.t.ter6 ounces fresh mushrooms, slicedFreshly ground black pepper 1. Coat the rice cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray or a film of vegetable oil. Place the rice in the rice bowl. Add the stock and teaspoon salt; swirl just to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.

2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, prepare the mushrooms. In a medium-size saute pan, melt the b.u.t.ter over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until tender and slightly browned around the edges. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add the mushrooms to the cooked rice. Stir to combine, close the cover, and let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for 1 to 2 hours. Serve hot.

julia's mexican green rice Another great recipe from creative consultant and recipe writer Julia Scannel, learned while she traveled in Mexico to help write Cooking with the Chiles & Spices of Mexico Cooking with the Chiles & Spices of Mexico (Culinary Alchemy, 1996). It's wonderful to serve with enchiladas and chiles rellenos. Cilantro, also known as fresh coriander, is an herb characteristic of Mexican cooking. Don't consider reducing the amount called for here; it is perfect as designed. (Culinary Alchemy, 1996). It's wonderful to serve with enchiladas and chiles rellenos. Cilantro, also known as fresh coriander, is an herb characteristic of Mexican cooking. Don't consider reducing the amount called for here; it is perfect as designed.

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;fuzzy logic or on/offCYCLE: Regular/Brown RiceYIELD: Serves 3 to 41 tablespoon unsalted b.u.t.ter small white onion, chopped1 cup long-grain white rice1 cups water teaspoon salt cup minced fresh cilantro leaves 1. Set the rice cooker for the Quick Cook or regular/Brown Rice cycle. Place the b.u.t.ter in the rice bowl. When melted, add the onion. Cook, stirring a few times, until the onion is translucent and softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the rice, water, salt, and cilantro to the rice cooker bowl. Stir just to combine. Close the cover and reset for the regular/ Brown Rice cycle or let the regular/Brown Rice cycle complete.

3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for up to 1 hour. Serve hot.

roasted brown rice with gomas...o...b..th's friend Mary Cantori roasts all her grains before cooking them to convert some of the starch into more usable food for the body. This is a technique for short-grain brown rice developed by the macrobiotic food gurus Lima and George Oshawa for their regimen of a fat-free diet based on the Zen Buddhist philosophical principles of yin and yang, hot and cold, controlling the delivery of specific types of energy to the body. While this is a diet that has its roots in American counter-cuisine, it has found its way into the kitchens of health-conscious cooks and has become an alternative for people with life-threatening diseases who choose to heal themselves by focusing on food as medicine.

The finished rice is enticingly nutty and worth the extra step of roasting, which dramatically reduces its inherent starchiness. Serve with a sprinkling of gomasio gomasio, a sesame salt condiment very popular in j.a.panese cuisine. Look for j.a.panese sesame seeds; they are larger and more flavorful. We also like this with a pickled umebos.h.i.+ plum or some pickled ginger for a bit of tang.

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;fuzzy logic or on/offCYCLE: Regular/Brown RiceYIELD: Serves 3 to 4GOMASIO cup unhulled sesame seeds2 teaspoons fine sea salt1 cup short-grain brown rice2 cups cold water 1. Make the gomasio gomasio. Place the sesame seeds in a dry skillet and cook over medium heat until lightly toasted, 2 to 3 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Transfer the seeds to a bowl and let cool. In a blender or using a mortar and pestle, combine the sesame seeds and salt and pulse to grind, or crush until just coa.r.s.ely ground. Store the gomasio gomasio in a covered container at room temperature for up to a week, though it is best made fresh. in a covered container at room temperature for up to a week, though it is best made fresh.

2. Preheat the oven to 375F.

3. Spread the rice out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake on the center rack until just toasty golden, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring the rice around the edges into the center.

4. Place the roasted rice in the rice cooker bowl. Add the water; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular/ Brown Rice cycle.

5. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for 1 to 2 hours. Serve hot, sprinkled with the gomasio gomasio.

brown rice with miso Salty miso, a fermented soybean paste that is thick like peanut b.u.t.ter, adds a nice, healthy dimension to plain brown rice (a little dab will do ya, as it is quite strongly flavored). Miso is a traditional j.a.panese food and there are many types from which to choose, although sometimes finding the one to suit your palate is a challenge. There are the traditional misos, found in j.a.panese groceries, and unpasteurized misos, geared to health food devotees. The mildest misos are white and a creamy yellow-white, suitable for this recipe (the darker the color of the miso, from red to brown, the stronger the flavor). This rice is really good alongside simple steamed or sauteed vegetables. You can use long,medium-, or short-grain brown rice in this recipe. Top with minced fresh Italian parsley, mitsuba mitsuba (a j.a.panese herb found fresh in Asian markets), or green onion tops, and some cubed hot or cold tofu. (a j.a.panese herb found fresh in Asian markets), or green onion tops, and some cubed hot or cold tofu.

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;fuzzy logic or on/offCYCLE: Regular/Brown RiceYIELD: Serves 3 to 41 tablespoons white or yellow miso2 cups water or vegetable stockOne 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeledJuice of small lemon (about 2 teaspoons)1 cup brown rice 1. In a small bowl, mash the miso in cup of the water to dissolve.

2. Place the dissolved miso, the remaining 2 cups water, the ginger, and lemon juice in the rice cooker bowl. Add the rice; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular/Brown Rice cycle.

3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. Remove and discard the ginger before serving. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for 1 to 2 hours. Serve hot.

j.a.panese rice with chestnuts Rice and steamed fresh chestnuts are a cla.s.sic combination in j.a.panese cooking, with the chestnuts being treated more like a starchy vegetable than a nut. Fresh chestnuts are available throughout the fall in j.a.pan and are a bit larger than their American counterparts, but our chestnuts are just as tasty in this rice. Known as kuri gohan kuri gohan, this recipe comes from food writer Hiroko s.h.i.+mbo's book The j.a.panese Kitchen The j.a.panese Kitchen (Harvard Common Press, 2000); it is based on a dish she remembers eating as a child. (Harvard Common Press, 2000); it is based on a dish she remembers eating as a child. Ois.h.i.+ Ois.h.i.+ (delicious)! (delicious)!

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;fuzzy logic or on/offCYCLE: RegularYIELD: Serves 41 cups (2 rice cooker cups) j.a.panese-style medium- or short-grain white rice1 cups water20 to 25 chestnuts in their sh.e.l.ls teaspoon salt1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine)2 tablespoons sake2 tablespoons black sesame seeds teaspoon fine sea salt 1. Wash the rice. Place the rice in a bowl (or use the bowl of your rice cooker) and fill the bowl about half-full with cold tap water. Swirl the rice in the water with your hand. Carefully pour off most of the water, holding one cupped hand under the stream to catch any grains of rice that are carried away with the water. Holding the bowl steady with one hand, use the other to rub and squeeze the wet rice, turning the bowl as you go, so that all the rice is ”scrubbed.” The small amount of water in the bowl will turn chalky white. Now, run cold water into the bowl, give the rice a quick swish, and carefully drain off the water as before. Repeat the scrubbing and pouring-off process two more times. By the third time, the water you pour off will be nearly clear.

2. Place the rice in the rice cooker bowl. Add the water, close the cover, and let the rice soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

3. While the rice is soaking, peel the chestnuts. Place the whole chestnuts in their sh.e.l.ls in a large bowl. Completely cover the chestnuts with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes, then drain in a colander. With a paring knife, peel off the brown sh.e.l.l and underlying thin brown skin. Cut each nut into 4 to 6 chunks.

4. Add the salt, mirin, and sake to the rice and its soaking water; swirl to combine. Arrange the raw chestnuts on top of the rice. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.

5. While the rice is cooking, place the sesame seeds in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat. Shake the skillet to prevent burning and toast the seeds for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a suribachi suribachi mortar and pestle and coa.r.s.ely crush the seeds with the sea salt or pulse in a blender until just coa.r.s.ely ground. mortar and pestle and coa.r.s.ely crush the seeds with the sea salt or pulse in a blender until just coa.r.s.ely ground.

6. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Gently but thoroughly stir the rice with a plastic or wooden rice paddle or wooden spoon to distribute the steamed chestnuts. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for up to 1 hour. Serve hot, sprinkled with the sesame salt.

rice with three c's (currants, coconut, and cashews) We're always looking for something else to do with those luscious salted cashews besides snacking. This is a recipe from Beth's friend Julia Scannel. Be sure to use dried currants, not raisins, which are too big. Julia serves this with simple curries and roasted poultry.

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;fuzzy logic or on/offCYCLE: RegularYIELD: Serves 3 to 41 cup white basmati rice1 tablespoon unsalted b.u.t.ter cup diced yellow onion cup unsweetened shredded coconut cup dried currants teaspoon salt1 cups water cup salted roasted cashews, chopped 1. Place the rice in a fine strainer or a bowl. Rinse twice and drain twice. Cover the rice with more cold water and allow it to soak for 15 minutes and drain. Place the drained rice in the rice cooker bowl.

CLICK TO SEE TOASTING SEEDS AND NUTS.

2. In a medium-size saute pan, melt the b.u.t.ter over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook, stirring, until translucent and softened. Transfer the onion to the rice cooker bowl. Add the coconut to the saute pan and toast over medium heat until it just begins to turn golden brown, stirring as needed. Add the coconut to the rice bowl, along with the currants, salt, and water; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.

3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for 2 to 3 hours.

4. When ready to serve, transfer the rice to a serving bowl and stir in the cashews. Serve immediately.

Moroccan brown rice As guests of the Old ways Food Preservation Society of Boston, a group of food writers and restaurateurs traveled en maze to Morocco a few years ago. The result has been an epiphany regarding North African cuisine, so influenced by the French and Arabs, with the food-loving public reaping the benefit of many excellent articles, travelogues, and exceptional recipes from the little-known land of Casablanca fame.

While couscous is the most prevalent starch in Moroccan cuisine, rice is also made. Serve this slightly spiced rice with an array of plain, separately steamed vegetables-green beans, fava or lima beans, carrots, b.u.t.ternut squash, celery, zucchini-and some chickpeas. Preserved lemons are often available in Middle Eastern markets, or you can easily make your own.

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;fuzzy logic or on/offCYCLE: Regular/Brown RiceYIELD: Serves 4 to 51 cups aromatic long-grain brown rice, such as Texmati2 cups water or vegetable stock teaspoon salt teaspoon freshly ground black pepper1 teaspoon ground coriander teaspoon ground cardamom3 tablespoons unsalted b.u.t.ter, cut into pieces cup minced preserved lemon, for garnish 1. Coat the rice cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray or a film of vegetable oil. Place the rice in the rice bowl. Add the water, salt, pepper, coriander, and cardamom; swirl just to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular/Brown Rice cycle.