Coconut Rice

I love our rice cooker in the summer. It doesn't heat up the kitchen, and I can load it up and then go putter in the garden while it cooks dinner. It turns itself to warm when the rice is cooked.

The other day I used it to cook basmati rice in coconut milk with a little curry powder. The rice turned a beautiful yellow color. I served it with curried tofu and corn on the cob for a yummy and colorful meal.

Fortunately, we had leftover rice. A couple of days later I used it in simple stir-fried rice. I sautéed onions, garlic and chopped peppers in our wok. I stirred in the cooked rice and some homegrown green beans cut in 1-inch lengths. Then I added a splash of hot water, put the lid on and let it steam — checking and stirring occasionally — until the rice was hot and the beans tender-crisp.

It was a simple one-bowl dinner. I love leftovers.

Here's the recipe for the coconut rice that was the base of the stir-fry. It's really good the first time around too.

Coconut Rice
2 cups long-grain white rice (I used organic texmati)
1 can coconut milk plus enough water to make 2 1/4 cups liquid
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt

Combine all the ingredients in the rice cooker and stir well. Cook until the rice cooker tells you it's done, about 20-30 minutes.

Serves 4