Themes - Gracious and Good, Next Steps
Food/Tech Tie In – Seasoning Rice, Toasting Cumin
The story of rice in my family was often attributed to lore and incredible tales, past down through the generations, most notably through my Uncle Harry, and tied to being descendants of the Gullah community…on my mother’s, father’s, mother’s side. A great grand I never met, but knew to have plenty of, also incredible tales, attached to her-story.
We had rice at least three times a week, always converted, always from a box. There was no rinsing, no sorting, no short, always long, cooked one way, which was fine by me as…it was the only way I had ever had it. One cup of rice to two cups of water, some salt, and little margarine. I was fond of margarine, salt and pepper on mine and could eat it just like that.
One day, it got better. Still in a box, but with a secret flavor packet, the “shall remain nameless brand” that made its way into many a cupboard, to its credit, let us all know…there could be other choices. Rice as we knew it, a carrier of tasteless-ness, until margarine or gravy was added, was but a faint memory. If there truly was a place called Flavortown…we were now as a family, on “that” road.
Fast forward, Here In My Kitchen, I typically have three rice varieties along with other grains in my pantry. They are at the ready to play nice with stocks, and aromatics, including shallots, toasted cumin seeds and coriander, in varying combinations to produce flavors from around the globe. Flavors that extend so far beyond what my little girl self could have imagined, even with the introduction of the “Roni”…whoops, I think I gave it away.
