Rice is Nice

This is a nice little summer "salad" and can be made somewhat healthy if you want. Say, if you don't use cheese, or use low fat cheese. The original recipe doesn't use cheese; I used feta, but mozzarella would be good too I think. Also, I used a block of feta and cut it into a chunks instead of using the crumbles. It's a bit more fresh and looks prettier that way. 

I served this on Mother's Day and now Ma wants it on her birthday too. I'm sure it will be even better after the tomatoes sprout in the garden and we don't have to buy them. I used home-grown basil in this and once the tomatoes come up this salad will actually be rather cheap to whip up. Not to mention it's about the easiest thing to make. And now I will share with you the recipe.

Brown Rice Tomatoes and Basil

Barefoot Contessa Family Style (Ina Garten)

Serves 6

1 cup Texmati brown rice

2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1/4 cup champagne or rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon good olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound ripe tomatoes, large-diced

1 cup chopped basil leaves, chopped

Bring 2 1/4 cups water to a boil and add the rice and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Return to a boil, cover, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the rice is tender and all the water is absorbed. Transfer the rice to a bowl.

Whisk together the vinegar, sugar, olive oil, remaining teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Pour over the rice. Add the tomatoes and basil. Mix well and check the seasonings. Serve at room temperature.

*To make a day in advance omit the basil. Add the basil just before serving. 

 

Tea Time

Not to be confused with the football players' tee time. However, this is iced tea, so maybe they'll enjoy it at the driving range. Who knows. Anywho, iced tea can be a spot dull . . . just plain old Lipton tea bags with water and sugar. Maybe some lemon for the adventurous ones. Meh. But, leave it to Ina, to "turn up the volume" and make it a bit more exotic. She uses lemon zinger and red zinger, but honestly you could probably use whatever kind of zinger you want. The apple juice (the Martinelli's is not product placement - it really does make a difference here) sweetens it so you don't need to dump in the sugar, Splenda, Stevia or whatever else you use to make it go down easy.

I served this on Mother's Day to complement the top shelf weather at cocktail hour. I put a couple lemon slices in the tea itself and one on the pitcher's rim for garnish. So, Ma could have her iced tea and cheese, crackers, and olives. I frequent the olive bar at Whole Foods and another local store and find these olives to be far superior to those things in a jar. While not as elaborate as many of my cocktail hours, the olives, served along side brie, gouda, and "entertaining crackers" created a nice little cocktail hour.

Herbal Iced Tea

Barefoot Contessa Family Style (Ina Garten)

Serves 6-8

4 Celestial Seasonings Lemon Zinger tea bags
4 Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tea bags
4 cups pure apple juice

Steep the 8 tea bags in 4 cups of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Discard the tea bags. Combine the tea with the apple juice and refrigerate until cold. Serve over ice.