Well, I should have known better. First I took two foods that I have never loved: winter squash and cabbage. I figured, "Oh, I'll cook something with them. A side dish." I ran out of brown rice so I went to a certain very large chain of warehouse "club" stores and I got this huge, massive sack of brown rice. I figured it would be the same as any other bulk brown rice. Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. I should have remembered the last time that I bought rice at this large warehouse chain. I got the most incredibly glutinous rice I have ever seen. It stuck better than glue and had about as much flavor. I did, actually, remember it when I was shopping. I don't remember who did the dissuading, though. It could have been The Spouse, but it could just as easily have been me who said, "Oh, what the heck. How bad can it be?" I didn't think brown rice could stick this badly! There are more disasters to come with the brown rice, don't you worry, but we can save those for another day. Or days. I've certainly got a large enough bin of the stuff to keep you entertained for weeks.
Anyway, for our New Year's Eve dinner I decided that I would cook up the cabbage and the squash and mix them into the rice. This would provide a delicious, nutritious side dish to delight and amaze our acquaintance. And to be quite honest if the guests are to be believed I'm probably the only one who didn't like this. No one commented on the sub-par rice, at least, and people seemed to really enjoy the cabbage and squash. I used celery seeds instead of caraway seeds because that's what I could find - I think I'm out of caraway - and maybe that had something to do with my distaste. Anyway, I suppose this does make a decent side dish if you like cabbage, or caraway.
Cabbage and Squash Rice (serves 8; approx. $0.54/serving)
2 cups long-grain brown rice
4 cups water
1 head Savoy cabbage, shredded
1/2 butternut squash, diced
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons celery seeds
Equipment:
- Medium saucepan with lid
- Large wok with lid
- Combine the rice and the water in the saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and let simmer until the liquid has been completely absorbed by the rice. I prefer to judge this by appearance rather than time - different pans and even different rices cook differently. For that reason I usually use a glass lid when cooking rice. Use whatever works for you, though. I'd guess it generally takes about 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil in the wok.
- Add the squash. Reduce heat to low, cover and let steam about 10 minutes.
- Add the cabbage. Cook with the lid off until the cabbage is tender.
- When the rice is ready, transfer the contents of both pots to the serving vessel. Mix well and serve.
