Rice
Rice is the staple of this diet. It is easy to digest and cook and is also inexpensive. There are many different types of rice, good for different purposes. The recipes in this book use just long-grain white rice, brown rice, and a wild-and-brown rice mixture. Do not use pre-flavored rice! Cook rice according to the package directions. Add salt and/or herbs if you desire.
White rice is good for recuperating. Consider Basmati rice, wild rice, and brown rice for their flavor.
2 to 2 ½ cups water
1 cup uncooked rice
Pinch of salt
In a medium pot, boil water. Add rice and salt. Stir and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes. Do not stir, but check water level occasionally and add more if rice is dry.
Variations: (1)Wash a leek, discard green part, and cut remainder into 8 pieces. Cut a carrot into 8 pieces. Coarsely chop a small bunch of parsley. Add leek, carrot, and parsley to rice before covering. (2)To make porridge, use 6 to 8 cups of water per cup of rice and simmer for 2 hours.
Basic Pilaf
Makes 2 servings.
Olive oil
1 small onion (optional)
1 carrot (optional)
1 stalk celery (optional)
¾ cup uncooked brown or white rice
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups broth or water
½ teaspoon thyme, rosemary, tarragon, or basil (optional)
Chop up vegetables. Rub a nonstick pan with olive oil, and heat on medium heat. Add vegetables and stir to brown slightly, about 10 minutes. Add rice, salt, broth, and herbs. Cover tightly and bring to a low boil. Continue to simmer on top of stove, or move to a 350° oven, and cook until rice is tender, about 1 hour for brown rice, 20 minutes for white. If necessary to prevent scorching, add more broth or water.You can easily increase the number of servings this recipes makes by adding more ingredients; just make sure to use twice as much liquid as rice.
The following are some variations on the basic pilaf:
Main Dish Pilaf
After cooking, stir small pieces of meat or fish into the pilaf or lay larger pieces of meat on top of pilaf. Serve with asparagus.
Spinach Pilaf
Double basic pilaf recipe, omitting carrot and celery. Chop contents of a 10-ounce package of washed fresh spinach, removing any tough stems. Sauté with onion—if your pan is large enough to hold spinach, which will shrink as it cooks. If pan is not large enough, steam spinach for a few minutes before adding it to other ingredients. Alternatively, thaw a 10-ounce package of frozen chopped spinach and add rice and broth. Season with nutmeg.
Onion Pilaf
Make basic pilaf, but omit chopped vegetables. Thickly slice one large or two medium onions. Sauté until onions separate into rings, adding olive oil if necessary. Stir in white rice and water.
Cover tightly and simmer 30 minutes or more.
Wild Rice and Herbs
Makes 4 servings.
1 cup uncooked wild rice
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/3 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon olive or sesame oil
Black pepper to taste
Rinse wild rice thoroughly. In a medium saucepan, bring rice, chicken broth, and salt to a full boil. Then simmer for 45 to 50 minutes until rice is tender but not soft. Place rice in a bowl after draining water. Add parsley, chives, thyme, and oil. Season with black pepper. Hint: Try doubling this recipe so that you can eat it all week.
Millet
1 cup millet
1 cup water
salt (pinch)
Rinse millet in cold water and strain. Bring water to boil and then stir in the grain slowly. Add salt if desired. Let the water come to a boil again, and turn down stove to simmer. Cover and cook until the water has been absorbed. Option: To make millet porridge, which is an easily digested breakfast, use 1 cup of millet to 6 to 8 cups of water and simmer for 2 hours.
Buckwheat (Soba) Noodles with Ginger
3 quarts water
6 ounce dried buckwheat noodles
Salt (pinch)
1 to 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger root
2 teaspoons sesame oil (or less to taste)
Bring water to a boil and add buckwheat noodles and salt. Cook noodles 2 to 4 minutes until al dente, then drain in a colander. To make dressing, mix grated ginger and sesame oil. Add noodles to dressing and toss well. Serve warm.
Quinoa
2 cups water
1 cup uncooked quinoa
Bring water to a boil. Rinse quinoa thoroughly and add to water.
Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until all water is absorbed (10 to 15 minutes). Quinoa is done when all grains have turned from opaque to translucent, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving. As an alternative, you can toast quinoa before boiling it by placing it in a wok or skillet and stirring continuously for about 10 minutes until quinoa has a slight fragrance and turns a deeper color. Then add toasted quinoa to boiling water, cover, and simmer until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.