's Daily Message - RICE AROUND THE WORLD

[Guest guest]

's Daily MessageSundayMarch 19, 2006

RICE AROUND THE WORLD

No matter what part of this country you travel, you can always find some kind of rice dish. We in the south are big rice eaters! There was always a bowl of rice on the table at dinnertime. We would eat the rice with red beans. Many of you have been to my hometown and have feasted on a plate of Louisiana Red Beans and Rice with ham and hot sauce. I still eat beans and rice, but I have gone on to try all new sorts of fascinating rice dishes!

If you go to China, you see just about everyone eating a bowl of rice with some meat or fish and an assortment of vegetables in it. You can prepare that same dish at home! Get your wok or fry pan out, get a teaspoon of sesame oil, and let it heat up. Throw in a few ounces of small cubes of chicken. When they`ve browned, put your snow peas, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, and bamboo shoots in and toss around. Pour in a splash of apple juice and a teaspoon of light soy sauce. Stir some more and serve over rice.

If you go to Spain, you would certainly order paella, a signature seafood and rice dish. Warm up half a teaspoon of vegetable oil and sauté a few onions until soft. Add 3 ounces of cut up shrimp or fish. Add chopped cherry tomatoes and a spice called saffron. This spice is used in many dishes from Spain to India. Spoon over rice and top with chopped scallions.

Every region in Italy serves a delicious rice dish called risotto. This can be a complicated dish, but here`s my quick version. Add 1 tsp. of olive oil to the pan and sauté onions till soft. Add cooked rice and 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Simmer. This is when the rice soaks up all the broth and gets puffy. Add one quarter cup of peas, a few teaspoons of parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, and black pepper. Cook until creamy.

Oh, don`t these sound good? And there are so many more! When you go grocery shopping, spend a few minutes and look at the different kinds of rice. There`s Basmati, the long grain rice from India, and Arborio, the short grain rice from Italy. There will be wild rice given to us by the Indians in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Southern Canada. And then there`s my favorite, brown rice, which is the most nutritious. Once you`ve tasted these dishes, you`ll never go back to Rice-a-Roni again!

Love,

[Guest guest]

My husband & son have been in southern India for almost three weeks now. They are tired of eating rice! Dacia <>< For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9