Rosemary Fried Rice

      There are many ways to prepare rice. You may steam, boil or fry it. This recipe infuses the strong aromatic flavor of the rosemary herb to basmati rice, making it pleasing to the eye and tantalizing to the taste buds.

Ingredients.

2 cups of Basmati Rice

4 ½ cups of water

1 Red Onion

Vegetable oil

½ teaspoon of salt

5-10 rosemary leaves

Let’s Cook!

 In a kettle, boil 5 cups of water. Measure two cups of Basmati rice into a clean bowl and wash the rice. It is sufficient to give the rice at least two thorough washes. Slice the onion by cutting it in half, placing the flat side on the chopping board and slicing from the top side of the onion to the bottom, lengthwise. This will give you nice long half rings that will make the dish look pleasant too. Pluck a few rosemary leaves (not too many as rosemary is strong in both aroma and flavor) and clean. If the leaves are small, I prefer to use them whole but if they are large, I reduce their number and cut them in half. Again this is just to ensure that the rosemary doesn’t overpower your meal.

In a large saucepan, heat your vegetable oil until hot. Ensuring that the oil is hot helps to seal in the flavor of the onion. Put the onion in the saucepan and stir gently, separating the rings of the onion. Sprinkle the ½ teaspoon of salt over the onion and stir. Reduce the heat and watch closely because we want the onions to be golden brown and it very easy to go from golden brown to burnt! When the onion is golden brown you will detect a delicious sweet unique aroma that will also infuse into the rice. You may now pour the rice into the saucepan and stir. Ensure that the rice is completely coated in the oil and onion until you begin to feel it begin to stick to the pan. When you see this, measure and pour in the 4 ½ cups of hot water. Continue stirring to ensure that the rice is no longer sticking to the pan. Take the rosemary and drop into the water in the saucepan with the rice. Let the water boil for about five minutes and then cover the saucepan.

Depending on the amount of rice and the preparation, rice takes about twenty to thirty minutes to cook. However, I find that the best way is to observe. This is largely because there are different types of rice grain too. Once you can no longer see water on top of the rice, reduce the heat. This should be after about 15 minutes or so. When you next lift the lid (8-10 minutes after reducing the heat) and begin to hear popping sounds, you are almost done. At this point, do not cover the saucepan again. Leave to cook for another five minutes or so to allow any excess steam to get out. This ensures that the rice does not become sticky but instead separates grain from grain.

By this time your kitchen will be filled with the lovely aroma of rosemary and fried onion. The rice in the saucepan with have a slight brown tinge caused by the golden brown onions. The rosemary and onions will be resting on top of the saucepan, looking splendid! Your rosemary fried rice is ready to serve. You will love it!

Cold Bursting Herb Tea

Its flu season again and we anticipate a lot of sniffles, scratchy throats and the odd irritating cough. Obviously, the best way to avoid getting sick is to stay warm, always wash your hands or get a flu shot. Now, because we don’t want to be continually medicated, we try to nip this in the bud! 

This spicy ginger tea will soothe and warm you from the inside out, and reduce the duration in which you might be feeling under the weather. And that’s what we are rooting for.

Here is what you will need:

·         Tea Leaves

·         Ginger

·         Lemon

·         Turmeric

·         Honey

·         Cinnamon

Let’s Brew!

Place three cups of water in a sauce pan and heat. While the water is heating, add tea leaves to taste. Then add half a tea spoon of ginger, a quarter tea spoon of turmeric and a pinch of cinnamon.

Add the rind of a quarter lemon. Bring to boil and let it simmer for about five to eight minutes.

Remove the tea from the stove and pick out the lemon rind using a sieve/ strainer. If you used shop bought ginger, turmeric and cinnamon, do not completely strain out the tea. If you used the natural form of the ingredients, you might want to strain the tea completely to remove the chunks.

Squeeze lemon juice (to taste) into the tea. Finally, add honey (to taste) and enjoy sipping your tea!

Notes.

Lemon is rich in vitamin C which helps to keep colds at bay and reduce the duration of the cold in case you already have one.

Turmeric has natural antibiotic properties and is one of the best anti-inflammatory herbs around.

Cinnamon is rich in anti-oxidants and has a warming flavor.

Ginger has been used for millennia to ease congestion caused by a cold and relieve throat irritation.

Honey contains folate and vitamin C which also help to soothe the throat, which often get irritated from coughing.

Preparing the Basic Vegetable Stock

In my last blog post, I made reference to using vegetable stock. I would like to show you how you can prepare your own vegetable stock and store it in the refrigerator for use at a later date.

Vegetable stock helps to thicken the sauce or gravy of the dish that you are preparing. It also adds vital nutrients to the dish from vegetables that may not be visible.

Ingredients

·         Carrots

·         Onions

·         Parsley (Stalk and Leaves)

·         1 Bay leaf

·         Thyme

There are other optional ingredients that you can add, such as;

·         Potatoes

·         Tomatoes

·         Mushroom stems

·         Leeks

Since we are making a basic vegetable stock, we shall stick to the initial ingredients. It is also important to mention that we shall not be adding ginger or garlic because we assume that you shall already have used them and any other spices in your initial cooking process. However, if you are making a specific stock for a particular dish, then you may include them. We shall also not be adding salt for the same reason.

Let’s cook!

Wash of any visible dirt from the vegetables and then give them a rough chop. You may choose to leave the skins on (some people recommend it for the onion!) but it is entirely up to you.

Put the vegetables in a large saucepan large enough to accommodate them and hold a few extra inches of water. Make sure you can easily stir the vegetables. The less water you have means you will have a concentrated stock, whilst the more water you have will give you a lighter-flavored stock.

Cover the saucepan and bring to a boil. Now reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 1 hour.

After one hour, strain the mixture to separate the vegetables from the stock. Leave to cool completely. You may now store your stock in the fridge. It is advisable to store the stock in separate containers that allow you to use only what you need per dish. 

Note.

The reason why we have added herbs to the stock is because Bay leaf gives a nice earthy flavor while thyme adds a nice woody note. Also, if you would like to add more flavor to you stock, you may opt to roast the vegetables slightly in the oven.