Divine rice for 2

So this weekend marks our 1 year wedding anniversary. Yay! I wanted to share one of our favorite meals today in celebration. I decided that the best name for this recipe is Divine Rice.

Why 'divine'? Because it is impossibly good and so easy to make. It is also gluten-free, vegan, soy-free, nut-free and insanely delicious. Lately we make a pot of it almost daily, using different types of rice or quinoa as the base.

I alluded to this rice recipe in a recent post where I shared my homemade vegan broth. Though the rice in that picture was made with my broth, this rice is not. Why? Because broth takes awhile and I don't always have time or patience to make it. We loved the first batch of this rice so much that I made the recipe simpler (broth-free) so we could enjoy this rice anytime with little to no effort.

I love this recipe for a few reasons. One is that it makes the house smell amazing. Another is that its all made in one pot in about 40 minutes with little to no maintenance. It helps that we both like to make it for each other when one of us has had a long day. There's nothing better than walking in the front door to the surprising smell of dinner and knowing you don't need to make anything!

We each make this rice a little differently, and continue to shake it up with new spices and additions from night to night. For instance my husband loads his version with turmeric -- which I enjoy but tickles my throat a lot so I prefer to leave it out. I add sage and evoo to mine to make it more savory, but he leaves them out of his versions.

Because life is full of personal preferences and no-size-fits-all, I am sharing both our basic versions of this recipe with you today. I hope that you will try them both, as they are equally good -- just a little different from each other. A fact I remind myself of often when we rub each other the wrong way.

Divine Rice
(His Version)

paleo, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, vegan

Makes 2 dinner sized servings

Just over 1 cup mixed rice or quinoa (dry) (when using rice we use a mix of red that jasmine, brown basmati, and cal-rose) (When using quinoa I prefer white quinoa for this recipe)
1 ¾ cups filtered water
⅓ cup shaken coconut milk
1-2 tbsp virgin coconut oil
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
3 bay leaves (do not leave out!)
½ red onion, diced fine
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2-3 large carrots, rinsed well and coarsely chopped
2 leaves from a leek, cleaned and chopped
¼ base of a leek, cleaned and chopped small
squeeze of lime
2 dashes coconut aminos or coarse sea salt

OPTIONAL: He likes to throw in some frozen peas sometimes at the end when he adds the coconut milk.

Heat half the coconut oil over medium heat in a soup pot with a tight fitting lid. Add the onions, garlic, leeks, carrots and saute gently until fragrant. Add the dry spices and saute. Rinse the rice well, rubbing it against the strainer as you rinse in cold water. Add the rice and everything EXCEPT the coconut cream, lime juice and coconut aminos to the pot. Stir well. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, uncovered. Once boiling, cover and continue to boil 1 minute. Reduce heat to fairly low and let cook for about 30 minutes, until liquid absorbs and rice is tender with a slight al dente bite to it.

Uncover, add coconut milk, stir well and taste. Add coconut aminos, kelp and lime juice and stir. Taste. Add extra of any of the three to suit your taste. Cover and turn heat up to simmer for 3 minutes or so. Taste. If you like the creaminess of the rice, serve immediately. If you don’t think it’s creamy enough, add extra coconut milk and stir through to incorporate. Serve.

Divine Rice
(Danielle’s Version)
paleo, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, vegan

Makes 2 dinner sized servings

Just over 1 cup mixed rice or quinoa (dry) (when using rice we use a mix of red that jasmine, brown basmati, and cal-rose) (When using quinoa I prefer white quinoa for this recipe)
2 cups filtered water
2-3 tbsp cream from can full fat coconut milk, or 3-4 tbsp shaken coconut milk
2 tsp virgin coconut oil
1-2 tsp evoo
1 tbsp ground sage
1 capsule beta carotene (for color)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp kelp flakes or 2 dashes coarse sea salt
3 bay leaves (do not leave out!)
¼ red onion, diced fine
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2-3 large carrots, rinsed well and coarsely chopped
2 leaves from a leek, cleaned and chopped
¼ base of a leek, cleaned and chopped small
juice of ½ lime
dash coconut aminos (optional)
OPTIONAL: 1-2 tsp cumin, ground

Rinse the rice well, rubbing it against the strainer as you rinse in cold water. Add to a soup pot with a tight fitting lid. Add everything EXCEPT the kelp flakes, lime juice and coconut aminos to the pot. Stir well. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, uncovered. Once boiling, cover and continue to boil 1 minute. Reduce heat to fairly low and let cook for about 30-40 minutes, until liquid absorbs and rice is tender with a slight al dente bite to it.

Turn heat off. Uncover, stir well and taste. Add coconut aminos, kelp and lime juice and stir. Taste. Add extra of any of the three to suit your taste. If you like the creaminess of the rice, serve immediately. If you don’t think it’s creamy enough, add extra coconut cream and stir through to incorporate.

Optional Steps:

I like to serve my rice in a deep bowl and add extra veggies and stir through. I usually add half a zucchini, chopped, and some raw kale, chopped fine. I also like to add a bit of chia seeds at the end and stir them through before I eat the rice.

Duze

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