Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Cooking Rice from Scratch, or Cooking Non-Instant Rice













Making non-instant rice is very inexpensive, and takes only 20-25 minutes on my stove top which has electric burners. You need a pot with a tight fitting lid. All you do is add two cups of water for every cup of rice. One cup of rice makes about three cups of fluffy rice, or four small sized servings. I add about a teaspoon of oil, and some seasoning. I use Adobo or garlic salt. Cook on medium heat for about five minutes until it boils up, then reduce to low for another 15 - 20 minutes. Resist the urge to peak into the pot because this makes the rice gummy, so does over cooking it, so you have to experiment with your stove settings to get it just right.


You can add a lot of interesting spices at the beginning to make seasoned rice. I've added turmeric, curry, fresh garlic cloves, chicken stock in lieu of water, you name it. It makes a really nice inexpensive accompaniment to any meal.

If it does come out a little gummy, you can mix it in with some cooked seasoned ground meat. You can't tell it's gummy this way, and then add some cooked veggies for a stir fry type meal.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Quilting with Vintage Handkerchiefs

I got a vintage hankie during my last visit to the thrift store, and I'm building a collection. A friend shared the prettiest idea for a quilt. She made butterfly patterns from the hankies, and stitched them to the front of a handmade quilt.




Butterfly Hankie Quilt

Here's some more wonderful ideas for hankie quilts


I've made small toddler quilts before, and I still have one to finish up. I might try one or two hankies on the toddler quilt.