Today, I had some extra cooking time, and so I decided to make an improvised dish of what was around the kitchen. Sometimes this works out beautifully, and sometimes it is simply a learning experience. Today’s experiment worked out very well.

Brown Rice and corn with pureed tomatoes.

I have had a large bag of rice looming for a while in the cupboard, and because it takes so long (45 minutes) to cook, I tend not to use it unless I have some idle time to check it as it cooks. Burnt rice is never good eats. I ought to re-invest in a small rice cooker to set my mind at ease, but cooking over low heat and checking every 10 minutes or so assures well cooked, but not burnt rice.

In the fridge I had one half of a large (28oz) can of pureed tomatoes, and I usually keep one open after making a pizza or having a warm sandwich. I have not done that in a little while, and so it was time to make use of it, before it went bad.

In the freezer was a bag of frozen corn kernels. I’ve had a lot of fresh corn on the cob lately, being in the middle of east coast corn farming in the middle of summer, and so the bag has been little used.

I have heard of the Puerto Rican dish of yellow rice and beans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arroz_con_maiz) I decided to throw these ingredients together with some herbs & spices to make a simple variation of this, and here’s the result:

Recipe for brown rice, corn & pureed tomatoes.

Cooking time: 40 minutes. A serving of a quarter cup cooked is about 150 calories. Makes about 5 cups.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups corn kernels
• 2 cups water with 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup brown rice
• 2 cups pureed tomatoes
• Seasoning to taste, as you wish. I use a savory spice blend of paprika, salt, pepper, parsley, curry, cayenne pepper, and powdered garlic.

Cooking instructions:

Place tomatoes and corn in a saucepan, and cook over medium low heat for length of time for cooking rice.

Place salted water and rice in a covered saucepan and cook over high heat until boiling, about 4 minutes, then reduce to a very low simmer (boiling should still occur) for 40 minutes. Check rice in 10 minute intervals for burning or sticking, but try to leave the lid on to maintain pressure.

When rice is cooked (taste in minutes 30, 35, 40 to check texture) add tomatoes and corn to rice and mix well. Do not worry about excess water in the rice if the rice is done. Mix and enjoy!

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