Mexican Rice

Mexican rice is simply rice with tomato. Some people add peas and carrots to it, some put in a serrano chile for spice. I make mine with only tomato and garlic. Maybe because that's what I had growing up.

Ingredients:

2 Cups of Rice
About 3 Cups of water
2 Red tomatoes, peeled, seeded and cored
1 clove of garlic, quartered

First peel, seed and core the tomatoes and put them in the blender with some water and, if you like, half the garlic. Liquefy the whole thing. Measure carefully how much liquid you've produced. Rice is simple, but tricky to make. You want 5 cups of fluid for two cups of rice. So add enough water to complete five cups. Most blenders have measures on the sides. if not, use a measuring cup.

Once you have the five cups of liquid, pour them in a pot and bring them to a boil. When the mixture boils, reduce heat to minimum and add the rice and garlic (either the whole clove or half). Let it cook uncovered until the liquid is consumed, then fluff with a fork and serve.

As I said, rice is tricky, especially boiled rather than fried rice. If you use too little liquid, the rice winds up hard. if you use too much, it winds up with the texture of paste. Boiled rice will clump, no way to help that. but you don't want it too turn to mush when you try to un-clump it. So be careful with measurements.

Also make sure all the liquid is consumed. Some of the rice on the bottom may burn. If it does, just scrape it off and throw it away.

Kathy's Lentil and Barley Casserole

I'm not really sure if this qualifies as a casserole, but I like the sound of it.

Again, this is an original recipe. Mostly I took what i found in the fridge, plus lentils. I like how it came out.

Ingredients:

1 Cup lentils
4 Tablespoons Barley
1 Cup of rice cooked to taste (the cup refers to pre-cooked measurement)
1 Clove of garlic, minced
1/2 Onion, chopped
1 Green Bell pepper, diced
4 Strips of turkey bacon, sliced
4 Turkey sausages, sliced
1 Cup soybean sprouts
1/4 Green cabbage, chopped
1/3 Teaspoon ground cummin
1 Teaspoon oregano, crushed
A pinch of fine herbs, crushed
1 Teaspoon vegetable oil (any kind)
1.5 Liters of water

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a pot and add the bacon. Cook for two or three minutes, then add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion begins to turn translucent. Add the rest of the vegetables and the sausages, and cook until the cabbage begins to soften.

Add the water and reduce the heat to minimum. Add the lentils and barley and stir well. When the water begins to warm, add the spices and stir well. Let the water come to a boil, stirring occasionally. Keep boiling until most of the liquid is consumed or the lentils are tender. At this point add the cooked rice and stir well to mix everything together. let the whole thing sit on the flame for a bit longer, then let it cool and serve. You want as little iquid as possible, but if some remains that's not a problem.