The Ultimate Rice Cooker (47 page)
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic only
CYCLE: Porridge
YIELD: Serves 3 to 4
1¼ cups stone-ground fine- or medium-grind yellow cornmeal
4 cups water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Cold milk and brown sugar, for serving
1. Place the cornmeal, water, butter, vanilla, and salt in the rice cooker bowl; stir gently to combine. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle.
2. At the end of the cycle, if the mush looks too thick, stir in more water in ¼-cup increments and let steam on the Keep Warm cycle. Stir every 15 to 20 minutes to avoid lumping. This cereal will hold on Keep Warm for 1 to 2 hours. Spoon into bowls and serve hot, with the milk and brown sugar.
sweet breakfast grits with fresh fruit
When you see the word
grits
, it is easy to assume it means cracked hominy grits made from cornmeal, but in reality
grits
can refer to any coarsely cracked grain, including millet, corn, oats, or barley. Grits can be in a fine, medium, or coarse grind; the finer the grind, the faster it cooks. Here old-fashioned grits ground from corn are cooked in milk and are perfect for the breakfast table. The stone-ground grits will have much more flavor than the quick-cooking variety, but we give both here due to availability.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic only
CYCLE: Porridge
YIELD: Serves 3
¾ cup stone-ground or quick-cooking yellow or white grits
2½ cups milk
3 to 4 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Hulled and sliced fresh strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, or peeled, pitted, and sliced peaches, sprinkled with a teaspoon or two of sugar, for topping
1. Place the grits, milk, honey, and salt in the rice cooker bowl; stir gently to combine. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle.
2. At the end of the cycle, the cereal will be thick and creamy, and will hold on Keep Warm for 1 to 2 hours. Spoon into bowls and serve hot, topped with the fruit.
In a conversation with California rancho cooking expert Jacquie McMahan, the talk turned to
arroz de crema
, rice pudding, a favorite in Mexican cuisine. Jacquie remembered leftover rice being cooked in milk for breakfast. Her version did not have the egg, so you can leave it out, if you wish. This dish works perfectly in the rice cooker on the Porridge cycle.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic only
CYCLE: Porridge
YIELD: Serves 3 to 4
3 cups cooked white or brown rice
3½ cups milk
1 large egg, beaten (optional)
2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup chopped dried apricots or golden raisins
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 or 4 small pats unsalted butter, for serving
Freshly grated nutmeg, for sprinkling
1. Place the rice, milk, egg (if using), sugar, dried fruit, and cinnamon in the rice cooker bowl; stir gently to combine. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle.
2. At the end of the cycle, the cereal will be thick and creamy. Serve immediately. Spoon into bowls and top with a small pat of butter and a few gratings of nutmeg.
This is a creamy breakfast rice pudding that is perfectly addictive. It can also be made with long-grain brown rice, but the white rice is the creamiest and most nurturing. Serve with pure maple syrup or sliced or chopped fresh or canned fruit, such as bananas, berries, or peaches.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic only
CYCLE: Porridge
YIELD: Serves 3 to 4
2 cups cooked white rice
2½ cups milk
¼ cup heavy cream or milk
¼ cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup dried tart cherries, dried cranberries, or raisins
⅓ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of fine sea salt
1. The night before serving, combine the rice, milk, cream, maple syrup, dried fruit, spices, and salt in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until morning.
2. In the morning, coat the rice cooker bowl with butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray. Pour the soaked rice mixture into the rice bowl; stir gently to combine. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle.
3. At the end of the cycle, the cereal will be thick and creamy; let it steam on Keep Warm for 10 minutes. Spoon into bowls and serve immediately.
CUSTOM CEREAL BLENDS
Given a jar of old-fashioned granola as a gift, we learned to appreciate the subtle art of impeccable ingredients streamlined to an individual palate. Homemade granola quickly became a pantry staple and a favorite ingredient in hot cereals along with oats, or just eaten cold with milk. You can store your mixtures in quart or half-gallon spring-top jars (they look nice on the counter) or plastic buckets with airtight lids for inside the cupboard. Beyond breakfast cereals, use your custom cereal blend as an ingredient in yeast breads, as a streusel topping for coffee cakes, in muffins, or in a crumb pie crust.
This is a cracked grain blend we use to make a great hot morning cereal. All the grains are readily available at natural food stores.
YIELD: About 5 cups (ten 1-cup cooked servings)
1 cup steel-cut oats
1 cup cracked wheat
1 cup cracked rye
1 cup barley grits
½ cup Cream of Buckwheat cereal
1 cup minced dried apple
¾ cup dried tart cherries, dried cranberries, or dried currants
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients; mix well. Store in a covered container or plastic bag at room temperature.
YIELD: About 5 cups (ten 1-cup cooked servings)
1 cup rolled (old-fashioned) oats (not quick-cooking)
1 cup wheat flakes
1 cup rye flakes
1 cup barley flakes
1 cup minced dried apple
1 tablespoon apple pie spice
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients; mix well. Store in a covered container or plastic bag at room temperature.
your own old-fashioned granola
This is Beth’s friend Dan Snow’s famous granola. He got the recipe from a friend he met at a pottery workshop, who brought it to a potluck buffet. The group all ate big bowls doused with cold milk for dessert. After that, it was often a welcome and coveted gift in an old wide-mouth peanut butter jar. Luckily, Beth got the recipe from him, handwritten and stuck to the side of the kitchen shelf with a thumbtack, and is now giving it to you. The secret to making excellent granola is to use very fresh, high-quality rolled oats and brans. This recipe makes a big batch, so store it in an airtight plastic container or jars.
YIELD: About 14 cups
DRY INGREDIENTS
6 cups (1 pound) rolled (old-fashioned) oats (not quick-cooking)
1½ cups shelled sunflower seeds
1 cup (¼ pound) wheat bran
1 cup (¼ pound) wheat germ
1 cup (¼ pound) oat bran
1 cup instant nonfat dry milk
1 cup almonds or other nuts, chopped or slivered
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
⅓ cup sesame seeds
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
WET INGREDIENTS
1 cup mild honey
1 cup cold-pressed canola oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
1½ cups raisins, dried currants, or dried cherries
1¼ cups dried apricots or other favorite dried fruit, such as figs, chopped
1. Preheat the oven to 250°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir well. In a medium-size bowl, combine the wet ingredients and beat with a small whisk. Combine the wet and dry ingredients; stir until evenly moistened.
3. Spread the mixture evenly over the baking sheets. Bake on the center rack, stirring every 20 to 25 minutes with a spatula for even toasting, until pale golden and dry, about 1 hour. When done, the granola will slide off the spatula and be a very light color. Do not let it brown, as the granola continues to cook while cooling and will become too strongly flavored.
4. While hot, stir the raisins and apricots into the granola on the baking sheets and place the sheets on wire racks to cool completely. The mixture will become crisp as it cools. Transfer to a tightly covered container and store in the refrigerator indefinitely.
triple-oat granola with dried cranberries
This is a dark amber, deep-flavored, lowfat cereal. It is as good hot as it is cold.
YIELD: About 9 cups
DRY INGREDIENTS
3 cups (½ pound) rolled (old-fashioned) oats (not quick-cooking)
3 cups (½ pound) quick-cooking Irish oats
1 cup shelled sunflower seeds
½ cup oat bran
WET INGREDIENTS
½ cup mild honey
½ cup pure maple syrup
¾ cup water
¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ cup cold-pressed canola oil
1 cup (¼ pound) honey-toasted wheat germ
1½ cups dried cranberries
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. In a small saucepan, combine all the wet ingredients and bring to a gentle boil. Pour the hot mixture over the grains and stir well.
3. Spread the granola evenly over the baking sheets (you will have to bake this in batches). Bake on the center rack, stirring every 10 minutes, until evenly golden in color, about 30 minutes.
4. While hot, stir the wheat germ and cranberries into the granola on the baking sheets and place the sheets on wire racks to cool completely. Transfer to a tightly covered container and store in the refrigerator indefinitely.
RICE PORRIDGE
The Porridge cycle on your rice cooker was invented for a food that many in the United States have never even heard of, much less eaten: rice porridge, a staple in much of Asia. It’s served for breakfast, for snacks, and as an easy-to-digest and restorative food for the sick, whether they are seriously ill or just dealing with a passing case of the blahs. Called
okai
or
okayu
by the Japanese and
shi-fan
,
congee
(the second syllable is pronounced the same as in “gee whiz”), or
jook
(pronounced juk) by the Chinese, rice porridge takes myriad forms. At its most basic, it is simply rice cooked in lots of water until it forms an oatmeal-like mass. It can be served absolutely plain, a shimmering, pure white bowl of creamy comfort. Even the salt is optional. From there, the symphony of creativity begins.