Creamy mushroom wild rice

Most people would probably consider this a side dish, but yesterday we had it for supper, along with some homemade coleslaw.

I made a dish similar to this for my grandmother, who has hated mushrooms all her life. After eating this, she realized she does like mushrooms - just not the canned rubbery kind. These use fresh mushrooms. It makes all the difference in the world.

I really enjoy rice. We eat it as often as possible. Not the instant rice, but the kind that takes 40-50 minutes to cook. Don't panic. It's not like you have to do anything while it's cooking. Here's how to make great rice.

I really enjoy using a blend of sweet, red, wild and basmati rice (see photo above). My wild rice container became my "catch all" for assorted rice I didn't have enough of to make a complete batch. I prefer Lundberg brand (available in the bulk bins at Gordy's downtown Chippewa) because it's organic and also pretty affordably priced.

For two of us, I make 1.5 cups of dry rice, which leaves us some for leftovers after we eat dinner. I put it in a colander first thing, because washing the rice is very important. You'll want to do that to wash off excess starch (which makes rice clump together, something you don't want, even if it's sushi rice) and because you don't know if it was ever washed after being harvested.

So, the rice is in the colander. Wash it with running water for atleast three minutes. Move the rice around to get all the grains while you're doing that. Dump it into a saucepan, a medium sized one. Add just shy 3 cups of water to the pan (2 3/4 cups or so).

Set it on the stove, and bring it to a boil. As soon as it boils, turn the stove top setting down to the very lowest, and tightly cover the rice with a piece of tinfoil or a lid that fits the pan. Set your kitchen timer for 45 minutes. DON'T TOUCH IT FOR ATLEAST 45 MINUTES!

While the rice is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Roughly chop an 8 ounce container of mushrooms, and dice a half of a medium onion. Add those to a medium frying pan, along with about a tablespoon of unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons of powdered onion soup mix, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce. (Worcestershire sauce is my favorite, because it has virtually no sodium in it. Unlike soy sauce, which is loaded with sodium. And, the flavor adds a similar savoriness to foods.)

Let that simmer on medium low until the vegetables have cooked down. Stir periodically. Once most of the liquid has evaporated, turn it down to just a little above "low" (on our oven, I turn the dial to about 9 o'clock) setting and let it simmer until the timer goes off for the rice.

Then, when the rice timer goes off, uncover it and fluff gently.

The veggies will have (hopefully) carmelized by this time. Add about 1/2 cup of water to the onions and mushrooms. Blend the liquid by stirring. Turn the stovetop up to around 5 o'clock. Add 1.5 teaspoons of cornstarch to 1/4 cup of cool water. Stir until there are NO chunks! Dump this into the pan of veggies (which are probably boiling by this time) and stir quickly. It should thicken rapidly, and you'll have you topping for the rice.

Serve the onions and mushrooms over the rice and top with just a bit of grated cheese - parmesan works fabulously!

Post-script for Emily and Danielle: For the onion-free version, you can omit the diced onions but if you can handle the savory mild onion flavor, try to use the dry onion soup mix.