rice

One might not equate the word "paella" with "easy mealtime fix," but this recipe from former Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl will dispel your notions of this Valencian dish being too complicated to make at home.

Eschew unconventional ingredients like rabbits and snails or labor-heavy shellfish like lobster and crab for already-shelled shrimp and quick-cooking clams. Take advantage of frozen peas and rudimentary equipment like a Dutch oven — both things home cooks often already have on hand.
To make the meal simple enough for a weeknight or relaxed Sunday night, keep reading.

Check out this creamy, comforting breakfast shared by thehungrytexan:

Atole de Arroz is one of my all time favorite breakfasts, it's perfect to warm you up on a chilly morning!

Do you have an image of something delicious that you recently made or enjoyed? Be sure to upload it in the Savory Sights group in our YumSugar Community!

This weekend I'm inviting friends over for a Fall-themed vegetarian dinner. I'm serving a decadent meat-free meal that starts with a cheese plate and moves onto vegetarian potpies topped with homemade sweet potato biscuits. Naturally a menu like this calls for a stellar finish — preferably a dessert that can made mostly in advance. That's why I plan on trying this recipe for pumpkin rice pudding. It's seasonal and creamy, but not too heavy or rich. Also, rice pudding isn't something that I make often, thus it will feel more like a special occasion treat. To check out the simple recipe, keep reading.

I've never met a cuisine I didn't like, and ethnic dives are among my most regular haunts. But I recently have come to terms with the fact that I've never made any of the sought-after dishes at the top of my list: North India's saag paneer, Korea's bibimbap, Cuban tostones con mojo. Then, when I learned that most of you are just as interested in adobo and banchan as I was, I decided it was time to tread through previously uncharted kitchen territory.

So, in a new series, I'll be exploring new dishes from around the globe, beginning first with a wildly underappreciated dish: chicken adobo. The term adobo can mean many things, but in the Philippines, a Southeast Asian country that's heavily influenced by Spanish and Chinese cultures, it refers to the process of stewing chicken or pork in a vinegar- and soy-based sauce. I can't get enough of the succulent result, which has an intoxicating sweet-and-sour aroma, and the sauce, which is phenomenal with rice. Make a new chicken dish when you read on.

The Give It Up community challenge may be officially over, but it's making a lasting impact for some FitSugar readers; Lauren is giving up rice for quinoa!

Yesterday, I read an article in the New York Times about making a vegetarian stir-fry with quinoa replacing the rice. It just so happens I was planning on a veggie stir fry for dinner and also had a little bit of red quinoa already in my pantry. The stir-fry I made was pretty basic with onions, carrots, celery, broccoli, yellow squash, bell pepper, soy beans and bok choy (I had a lot of veggies that needed to be used)! So while I cooked up the veggies, I prepared the red quinoa which takes less time than brown rice. The dinner was delicious and simple, not only does the quinoa add a nutty texture but also great crunchy texture too. I think quinoa stir-fry in my house will become a staple! Have you ever replaced rice with quinoa?

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If you're in the mood for curry, but don't have the time to make the spicy sauce from scratch, you're in luck! This yummy curried rice dish uses curry powder for a shortcut and is jazzed up with plump shrimp.

Feel free to sub out the carrots with whatever veggies you have on hand and add some peppers if you want to up the hot factor. For the hearty, no-fuss recipe keep reading.

We know that brown rice has got the whole-grain goods that make it healthier than white rice. Earlier in the Summer I shared how I've been incorporating more brown rice into my meals instead of just white. A reader shared that she was having a problem making the perfect pot.

"I've tried mixing the two, but it seems like brown rice needs longer to cook and is always crunchier than the white rice when my rice cooker says it's "finished" cooking. Any suggestions for that?" – Anonymous

I've definitely been in the same boat. There's nothing worse than a mouthful of too-crunchy grains to go with your delicious stir fry. Whether you are mixing or going all the way, here are some methods I've been using over the Summer to make my brown rice more moist.

• Soak your brown rice for a few minutes (15-30 minutes) before you rinse and incorporate the white grains. This softens the husk and cuts down on cooking time.
• Add more water than you would when cooking only white rice. But remember that if you add too much water you'll end up with mushy/crunchy rice! I don't go over the 2:1 ratio.
• Add a teaspoon of salt to the water. This raises the boiling point temperature so the water doesn't evaporate too quickly.
• Use this recipe's steaming method by draining your cooked brown rice and returning it to a covered pot.
• Try baking it, like YumSugar did, with a little butter and salt.

How do you make your brown rice the best? Share in the comments below.

Source: Flickr User erin.kkr

When I went home to my parents' house in Houston, I was reminded of an old trick that my mom and dad use.

The Gulf Coast is a humid place, and moisture can cause undesirable effects in the kitchen, among them the tendency of salt crystals to clump together.

To prevent this, add a half teaspoon of uncooked rice grains to a shaker or tie raw grains in a cheesecloth bundle and house in a salt cellar. Rice has a porous structure, so it will absorb this extra moisture and prevent salt from caking.

How do you deal with the issue of humidity in the kitchen?

Source: Flickr User quinn.anya