Creamy Lemon Rice

Oh so good. Goes great with herbed chicken. I adapted this one for a rice cooker.

• Basmati or Jasmine rice
• 1 can of chicken broth
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp butter
• sea salt
• cream
• lemon juice

Prepare rice in rice cooker as usual, but use chicken broth instead of water. Add other ingredients to taste.

Granola Bars

Like granola bars? Hate corn syrup? I'm here for you. These are really really good - and I'm honestly not the trail mix type. They're great and you can change the fruit & nuts to whatever suits you. Great to make before a camping trip. No one will want to eat that crap in the prepackaged individual wrappers when they see you have this action.

• 8oz old-fashioned rolled oats (about 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 oz raw sunflower seeds (about 1/2 cup)
• 3oz sliced almonds (about 1 cup)
• 1 1/2 oz wheat germ (about 1 cup)
• 6oz honey (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 3/4 oz dark brown sugar (about 1/4 cup packed)
• 1oz unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
• 2 tbsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 6 1/2 oz chopped dried fruit (I used a mix of gold raisins, blueberries & cranberries)

Butter a 9x9 glass baking dish & set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan.

Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla & salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.

Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine.

Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

...so I stole the picture. Can you really say you're surprised?

Crazy Spicy Jambalaya

Don't remember where I got this recipe but I made it last May and it's very spicy. I had to have our friend Davie come over and eat it because it was too spicy for us to eat more than one bowl. Still, it was delicious & if you go easy on the cayenne, you can make it milder. Many jambalaya recipes call for okra, and I'm not a fan so I was glad to find one that doesn't call for it.

Again, I took the recipe and altered it because just following a recipe is like doing a paint-by-number. It gets boring ... fast!

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped celery (I think I used a full cup)
• 2 tbsp cayenne pepper (less! less!)
• 1 lb smoked sausage (I used sweet italian), sliced into 1/4 inch slices
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 1/2 head chopped garlic
• 2 cups white rice (or less, mine was a little rice-heavy)
• 4+ cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups frozen shrimp
• 1 cup chopped green onion

First, grab yourself a massive saucepan. Heat the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions, peppers & celery (the creole "holy trinity" as opposed to the french "mirepoix" of carrots, onions & celery).

Season with salt & cayenne (easy on the cayenne!).

Saute the vegetables for about 5 minutes, or until wilted.

Add the sausage & saute for 2 minutes. Add the bay leaves, tomatoes & garlic. Saute another 2 minutes.

Stir in the rice & saute 2 more minutes. Add the stock.

Season with salt & more cayenne (resist! taste first!). Bring liquid to a boil & reduce to a simmer.

Cook the jambalaya for 30 minutes, covered, or until the rice is tender & all liquid has been absorbed.

Stir in the shrimp & green onions. Re-season to taste.

Invite a spicy-food loving friend over in case you overdo it with the cayenne.

Creole Holy Trinity: onions, peppers, celery...

Saffron Rice (Kesar Chaval)

My husband usually looks at ethnic seasonings (read: anything that's not salt & pepper) as creepy and weird. Not when it smells this good! This stuff makes my apartment smell wonderful and spicy (if you like that sort of thing. If you don't, then pop another frozen pizza in the microwave and be done with it).

• 1 cup basmati rice (just buy the 25lb at Costco already!)


• 1/2 tsp saffron threads


• 3 tbsp butter


• one 1-inch stick, cinnamon


• 3 whole cloves (I used 5!)


• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion


• 1 tsp salt


• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom

If you have a rice cooker, just add everything and cook to instructions, stirring occasionally to make sure it's mixed well. Otherwise, just follow the instructions on the bag of rice. You're basically just making rice, the added spices and such don't really change a thing in terms of the process. That's why I like it!

New flavor without having to learn anything. Lovely.