Today I've made a spicy Chili con Carne which should be served with rice.
It may seem very easy and carefree to cook rice, but if you want really really 'nice rice', you have to put some effort into it! I'm gonna pass on some tips that I once received from a nice Middle-Eastern woman:
1. Use rice of high quality. I like long-grained rice e.g. Basmati.
2.You need to rinse the rice well before beginning anything else. Measure up how much rice you want to make (3/4 glass = rice for 1 average person) and put it in a large bowl which you fill with cold water.
Use your hand to rinse the rice and the water will become blurry from the starch. Pour out the water and add new cold water. Repeat this until the water is completely clear
3. Boil water in a large pan. Add a lot of salt! (E.g. 3 tablespoons per 1 liter)
4. When the water is boiling, add the rinsed rice and boil on high heat for 3- 4 minutes. If you taste a rice grain at this stage, it should be a little soft but with a hard middle.
5. Pour the rice and the water through a filter.
6. Wash the pan in which you boiled the rice. Add butter and let it melt. Make sure the heat is low and then add the rice to the pan again. If you want, add some more butter on top as well.7. Make sure the heat is not too high, it should be rather low. Leave the rice with a lid on, and after about 10 minutes, the rice should be steaming. If it's not, turn up the heat slightly and if it is steaming really a lot, turn the heat down.
8. Steam it in total for about 30 minutes. Taste it and see if you want it softer or not.
9. Voíla! The rice is now perfectly cooked! The crispy bottom in the pan is the yummiest, so don't throw it away! :D Mix it in the rest of the rice or add it on the side of the plate.This is the way I was taught, and so far, everyone who tried it really likes my rice and compliment me about it! So good luck if you try to make it :)
The Chili con carne turned it really delicious (first time I'm making it) and it was really simple!
500 g minced beef 2 chopped onions
1 chopped red paprica 1 crushed red chili pepper
Crushed tomatoes from a can 1 tablespoon tomato puré
1 teaspoon cinnamon or more pepper & salt
Do: Fry meat and veggies first, then add tomatoes and spices, simmer for 15-20 minutes, taste and add whatever you want more :)
Furthermore! I hope everyone is having a nice V-day! I haven't done anything special, just got back from Amsterdam today after a NICE weekend indeed! I was welcomed by some mail from my wonderful parents and they sent me this cute little set of chocolates ! :)
In the weekend, I went to a biiig "Househould convention 2011" and it's mainly targeting women.. So it was full of things that women like and of course a heck of a LOAD of shopping-crazy women! It was wonderful !
I bought 6 really nice hotel stays at an auction, 2 of which only cost €1 ! :D So this V-day may have not been that special, but Theo and I have a lot of nice hotel stays to look forward to within the near future! :D
This thingy really got my attention and I just had to get one! This is a sneak preview, this is not what it's supposed to look like, I will fix it within the coming week and then I will show the WOW-factor that I was struck by at the convention! :D It's soo pretty ! So from this year and on, I will be part of those crazy women coming to the convention with a huge suitcase and just FILL IT with nice stuff !:D I loved it! I'm gonna save up big time for next year!
I'm a sucker for buying new pretty things.. Oh well, at least I don't spend my money on ugly things :P Yup, shopping pretty things makes me happy and I think I'm not the only girl of this opinion! ;)
- Stef
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