The atmosphere in our house pleasantly shifted with the aromatic perfume of mellow smokiness and savory flavor. It was after I started cooking the forbidden rice. Our palates were whetted and our interests piqued waiting for our bowl of this new rice to be plated.

I'm a big fan of trying new things in the kitchen. Last night our family partook of some homemade coconut miso soup with potatoes, onions and rice fettucini noodles. It was way more than we could eat so the rest had to be put up for later...

Later is today.

We heated up the glorious leftovers while the forbidden rice ever-so-gently percolated on the stove top. As time drew close for us to dine sufficiently, we gathered around the...

This is where my mind went when we started cooking. This forbidden rice smells good enough to make anyone respond in kind with the descriptive, blow by blow details leading up to the meal.

Here's my recipe for the forbidden rice for you to try and make up your own story.

Equipment list
knife
cutting board
3 quart glass top stock pot
tongs
fork

Ingredients
extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion [chopped]
sea salt [coarse grind] to taste
15 oz Forbidden Rice [washed and drained]
water to cover rice by 1 1/8" inch

Step 1. Heat your pot and add your oil, onions, salt and saute until translucent and sweet smelling. [This is the point where the sulfur compounds in the onions chemically convert to sugar.]

Step 2. Add rice stir with tongs and toast until they give off their smokey, nutty aroma.

Step 3. Add water, stir, cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes.

Step 4. Turn off heat, let stand for 10 minutes, fluff with fork, plate and eat.

You are now ready to create your own forbidden rice story.

There are as many variations to cooking with rice as there are rices [and at last count, there were some 20,000+ varieties globally], so don't think you have to stick with any one in particular. I always enjoy working with rice because of its versatility, easy of use and its traditional and cultural appeals.

Some variations you can try are using it in soups and stews, wraps, burritos, porridge, desserts, breads, lasagnas, cakes, puddings, smoothies and shakes and literally etc. It is only limited by your imagination.

By the way... not to leave you hanging... we plated it in a bowl with the leftover coconut miso soup, that we reduced into a stew, dolloped right in the center of it. B-E-A-U-tiful!

As always, it's been my pleasure sharing with you these delectable vegetarian recipes. Until next time...