I cannot believe how quickly the summer went by! As much as I enjoyed it, I am very thankful to be back at school and our "usual" schedule. I am so ready to begin baking bread again . . . some how we were so busy during the summer that "quick" meals were the norm. Last week was the first time I have had my pressure cooker out in months, which means we haven't had dry beans in a while. I thought I would share with you my dry bean recipe.
For me the quickest, easiest way to prepare beans is in the pressure cooker. No soaking overnight or cooking all day long. I can start supper as late as 4 o'clock.
Simply rinse 2 cups of beans and check for rocks, etc. Place the cooking rack on the bottom of the pot. Add the beans to the pressure cooker with 3 quarts of water. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and one onion peeled and quartered. Place the lid on and slide into lock position. Place the pressure regulator on top, set the pot on the stove top on high. When the regulator begins a regular rhythm, I turn down the heat to medium (the regulator at a steady rocking motion) and start my timer. For black beans - 35 minutes, for pinto beans - 25 minutes. I follow my instruction booklet for the times of different kinds of beans. When the timer goes off, I turn the stove off and let the pressure drop of its own accord. Then I tweek them - see my Black Bean recipe below.
Now I will confess that there have been times when I have been in a hurry (can you imagine - heehee) and I have "encouraged" the pressure to drop faster. Usually that means I set the pot in the sink and run cool water over it until the air vent/cover lock drops. But you cannot beat the pressure cooking method for convenience. I love it!
Black Bean Recipe -
To pot of pressure cooked black beans I add granulated garlic to taste (for me that is a lot!!!), oregano, and about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of Olive oil. I let this simmer until thick. Of course, if I can't wait on the thickening I have also been known to help that along with some cornstarch and water :D Serve over rice.
Frijoles negros as my Grams taught me how to make them - YUMMY!
Showing posts with label brown rice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brown rice. Show all posts
Monday, September 5, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
How to Cook Brown Rice
Sometimes I have a hard time writing about such a basic cooking skill because it seems so, well, so "basic"!! Surely everyone knows how to cook brown rice! But there was a time when I did not know how to cook brown rice and was exasperated at my lousy attempts. So, this is for all of you who are struggling. I do hope it helps!
This first thing you must remember before cooking brown rice is that you need to allow yourself enough time - it will NOT be rushed!! You need 45 minutes to cook brown rice, no less!!! Depending on how quickly (or slowly) it takes your pan of water to come to a boil will determine the other part of the time equation.
The second VERY IMPORTANT thing to remember is YOU MUST NOT take the lid off the pan of rice - NO MATTER WHAT!!! This was where I kept failing . . . I hate not knowing what is going on under that lid. I kept peeking ;D !! Now I cheat because I have pans with glass lids and I can "see" what is going on without taking the lid off. So here is your very simple recipe . . .
Brown Rice -
4 1/2 cups water
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon salt (this is what Sue Gregg says . . . I just salt the water!)
2 cups of brown rice
Bring your salted water to a boil. Pour in your brown rice and stir. Place the tight fitting lid securely on top of pan, turn down your heat to a simmer, and start your 45 minute timer. When the timer goes off, take off the lid, fluff rice with a fork and serve immediately.
Here are a couple of other notes:
1) I do find that the rice cooks better if in a shallow, straight sided pan (saute pan - here is a really neat explanation of all sorts of pans.
2) What if you don't want to cook 2 cups of rice . . . just remember this simple formula - 2 1/4 cups water to 1 cup brown rice. I can tell you this works well for up to 4 cups of rice, beyond that I cannot tell you from experience.
What to do with leftover rice -
This first thing you must remember before cooking brown rice is that you need to allow yourself enough time - it will NOT be rushed!! You need 45 minutes to cook brown rice, no less!!! Depending on how quickly (or slowly) it takes your pan of water to come to a boil will determine the other part of the time equation.
The second VERY IMPORTANT thing to remember is YOU MUST NOT take the lid off the pan of rice - NO MATTER WHAT!!! This was where I kept failing . . . I hate not knowing what is going on under that lid. I kept peeking ;D !! Now I cheat because I have pans with glass lids and I can "see" what is going on without taking the lid off. So here is your very simple recipe . . .
Brown Rice -
4 1/2 cups water
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon salt (this is what Sue Gregg says . . . I just salt the water!)
2 cups of brown rice
Bring your salted water to a boil. Pour in your brown rice and stir. Place the tight fitting lid securely on top of pan, turn down your heat to a simmer, and start your 45 minute timer. When the timer goes off, take off the lid, fluff rice with a fork and serve immediately.
Here are a couple of other notes:
1) I do find that the rice cooks better if in a shallow, straight sided pan (saute pan - here is a really neat explanation of all sorts of pans.
2) What if you don't want to cook 2 cups of rice . . . just remember this simple formula - 2 1/4 cups water to 1 cup brown rice. I can tell you this works well for up to 4 cups of rice, beyond that I cannot tell you from experience.
What to do with leftover rice -
- Make rice pudding - YUMMY!!
- I will very often make scrambled eggs and rice for breakfast - it stretches the eggs :D. Just scramble your eggs as usual and when they are almost done add a little butter and 1 cup or more of rice and stir together until warmed through. Serve immediately!
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