Dear Friend,
The simple purity of white rice can be forgotten and left in the absence of appreciation. Rice a side that can be disregarded by the unsuspecting eye. However, it is such a marvelous grain to work with, because it opens the door to creativity. Most people won’t know that you can teach rice to love itself again. How? It’s simple. You dress the grain with ingredients that will remind it just how delicate, versatile, and bold it can be. It can be made simple or forced into a soft symphony composed by layers of choice. Whatever you decide to do with it: let it be a reminder of how you loved yourself today. Today your hands will feed you. Not another’s but yours. That fact will make the day unfold on a special note. It will remind you how beautiful life can be. You will feel confidence as you taste how rewarding it is to nourish yourself.
I want to share a simple recipe with you today. I hope you enjoy it.
Jasmine Coconut White Rice with Sweet Onion & Bell Pepper
Servings: 2-4
Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 15-20 Minutes
Ingredients:
½ a bag of Mahatma Jasmine White Rice Enriched Thai Long Grain (Non-GMO verified)
1 Bell Pepper (color of your choice)
1 Sweet Onion
1 Lime (don’t substitute with lemon)
1 tbsp. Black Pepper
½ tbsp. Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
¼ tbsp. Cayenne Pepper Powder
2 tbsp. Butter (Organic)
1 tbsp. Coconut Oil (Trade Joe’s)
2 Cups of Swanson Chicken Broth (less sodium)
3 Cups of Water
½ a stalk of Spinach (to dress your plate)
Prepare:
You’ll need half of a 16-ounce bag of white rice. In a medium sized pressure cooking pan: carefully drop the rice in and set to low flame. Sauté the rice with two tablespoons of butter. Make sure it evenly spreads into the entire pan of rice.
While that softly almost sizzles, remove the seeds of a bell pepper, and begin slicing it away. I suggest you pick a bell pepper that is your favorite color. Pick a hue that’ll remind you of home. I used green. Drop the bell pepper into the pan and stir it around.
Peel the skin of a sweet onion. Chop one sweet onion into slices (it doesn’t matter how you want to chop). Drop the onions into the pan. You will be delighted how they will taste afterwards when the meal is done.
Next you are going to want to zest an entire lime. Toss the zest into the pan to sauté around with the butter. Then cut and squeeze half of the lime into your pan.
Sprinkle in ¼ of cayenne pepper powder, 1 tbsp. of black pepper, ½ tbsp. of Himalayan pink sea salt, add 2 cups of Swanson Chicken Broth (less sodium), followed by 3 cups of water. Then add 1 tbsp. of Trade Joe’s Organic Coconut Oil (or any brand coconut oil if it is 100% extra virgin).
Set the flame to high. Once the water turns into a full rolling boil set to a medium flame. Cover your pan with its lid. The rice should be ready in about 15 minutes or so. Wash your spinach and break the stems off as the rice cooks. Dress a plate of your choice (I chose red) with spinach and serve your rice on top.
Optional:
You can get one vine ripe tomato and dice it up into a small bowl. Drizzle it with half a lime and pinch in some sea salt. Toss the limed tomatoes right on top of your rice.
You can add shredded mozzarella as well to your dish.
If you do add cheese I highly suggest you get fully cooked microwaveable bacon (or tofu bacon) for you to crush into your plate.
I feel like I must remind people of something important that can radically change their outlook on life. If something consumes too much of your time and it takes you away from engaging with your household (for example the kitchen) … you are living in subtle excess.
Working your way to familiarize with your kitchen, even if it is once a week (or twice a month) will give impact, because the love you give into caring for yourself will continue to be practiced (self-love). In turn, you are rewarded with a slightly higher self-esteem, and the ability to demonstrate love to others by sharing your food. There is nothing more meaningful than that gesture to give to yourself and to others.
We often aren't taught how to hone in the calm that comes from being still in our home. It can be learned though and it is a skill to be admired. Most of one's self-growth and self-improvement can't be accomplished among the voyage of shuffling in & out of relationships (relationships between family, friends, career, or a lover).
It is accomplished by practicing moments where you can be alone. Have a quiet space to become realigned with yourself. That can be in your kitchen, in your laundry, or in your garden.
What are your goals? What is your dream? Have your values changed? What can you do to slowly work on yourself? Can you work on yourself without the interruption of other people distracting you from focusing on your growth? Are you your best support?
If you can't find a way to love your home, the place of your refuge, no matter how poor or rich it may be, then you will face the challenges of fearing living alone. That fear can consume you into a silence where you can't give permission to take care of yourself (even though you deserve to do so).
Be kind to yourself. Be kind to one another. Cook a meal for yourself today ( try it out if normally you have a loved one that cooks for you). If you ever invite me over to have a plate of rice. I would be so delighted and thankful for you to have taken the time to feed me.
Let me know if you made this recipe of mine. Or if not drop down below your favorite rice recipe. I would love to try it!
Also, friend please note: buy rice from the USA. Or rice that's non-gmo verified or organic. False plastic rice is circulating alarmingly high in China and it has also made its way into Mexico. I learned this from Pablo Gonzae (YouTube) a year ago. You can find his updated video (Spanish) in regards to the matter on there.
Be well until next time, friend.
Sincerely,
© 2017 Raquel Campos