Amanda says that this whole-grain rice tastes great, looks awesome, and cooks in only twenty minutes.  Himalayan red rice is an ancient short-grain rice grown 8,000 feet up in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan.  Irrigated with 1,000-year old glacier water rich in trace minerals, this exotic rice has a nutty flavor, soft texture and beautiful red russet color.  So sayeth websites that rave about the rice.  And, yes, we stock it in our bulk bins.  A hand-crafted, heirloom rice, grown without pesticides and herbicides.  You’ll like it! (more…)

Wild rice is expensive, but is special and perfect for holidays like Thanksgiving or Chanukkah.  Wild rice is not a grain like other rices, but a seed.  Go figure!  Just like buckwheat is not a grain, but a fruit….  Wild rice kernels are unpolished (so you get every drop of nutrient this seed provides), and the flavor is nutty with a nice chewy texture.  Wild rice gives us copper, fiber, folate, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, vitamin B6 and zinc!

I heard Dr. Green of the Dr. Green’s Rx website speak at Natural Products Expo East and he said, “Potatoes are consistently on the list of most pesticide-contaminated vegetables. In recent USDA testing, the Environmental Working Group found 81% of potatoes still contained pesticides after being washed and peeled, and the average potato had the highest total amount of pesticides of all of the 43 fruits and vegetables tested.”  Of course you can find organically-grown potatoes in our store…. If we can’t get purple potatoes, feel free to substitute russets here.

Serves 4

Put wild rice into boiling water.  Cover pot and simmer for an hour.  Drain if any water remains, but drink liquid, or save for soups, don’t pour down the drain.  In the meantime, steam unpeeled potatoes until easily pierced by a knife.  Do same with this liquid.  Mash potatoes with a fork in a medium bowl.   Add rice.

Place 2 tb oil in a medium pan and sauté onion until soft.  To bowl with rice and potato, add cooked onion, salt, pepper, and eggs.  Mix lightly with fork.  Don’t smush with spoon.  In same sauté pan, add just enough oil to cover the bottom.  Over medium heat, warm oil and then spoon large tablespoons of the potato mixture into the hot pan.  Allow to ‘fry’ for four minutes on one side.  Flip.  Repeat on second side.  Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.  (Yes, you can cook a day ahead and reheat on serving platter in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes and bring to table.)

Can you bake these wild rice and potato cakes?  I like to pat potato mixture into a couple of well-oiled pie plates, brush generously with oil, bake until lightly browned around the edges.  Cut into wedges, just like for pie, and serve.   Serving for Chanukah?  Bring on applesauce or sour cream

Satisfying trail mix. Try it, you’ll like it! And, of course, the variations are endless. Yes, it’s a little spicy (you can make it to suit your taste buds), but remember that cayenne pepper increases circulation. Nuts like pistachios as part of a balanced diet can lower blood pressure in folks with hypertension. Lots of fiber, protein and good fat in this mix too!

Eating Well Magazine once said, “Contrary to what most of us assume, pistachios are not technically nuts but seeds they grow in bunches on trees. Pistachio trees, native to the Middle East, were introduced to the Mediterranean before being planted in the United States in the mid-1800s. Iran is the world’s largest producer of pistachios, with California coming in second quite a feat considering the state didn’t harvest its first commercial crop until 1976.

The natural green hue of pistachios comes from chlorophyll the same pigment that makes leaves green. Though you can still find red-dyed pistachios, which look festive around the holidays, the dying process was originally used to hide blemishes the seeds incurred from hand picking. Today’s mechanized harvesting methods nearly eliminate the blemishes and thus the need to dye them.”

Makes 2 1/2 cups

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain garbanzo beans and toss in bowl with next four ingredients. Spoon mixture to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until garbanzo beans are golden and crisp, stirring from time to time, about 20 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven. Stir in pistachios, cool mix completely, and serve. If you and yours don’t consume on the spot, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle…. If you have leftovers, store in glass jars in frig or freezer.

*Unless you have way too much time on your hands, don’t shell pistachios for this recipe. We have them already shelled in our nut refrigerator. As far as I’m concerned, already shelled is the only way to go!