I’ve been making variations of this for over thirty years - since the time I lived in San Francisco and was eating fanatically well in order to nurture my first pregnancy.

Two cups of short-grain brown rice
Four cups of water
1 tablespoon salt

Heat the above ingredients until boiling, then stir once with a wooden spoon and cover. Turn the heat down very low. Continue to let this cook for twenty-five or thirty minutes then turn it off but keep it covered so it can steam. Don’t be tempted to look inside for at least ten or fifteen minutes.

While that’s cooking heat a bit of vegetable oil in a skillet and add spices. Typically I’ll add any spices I can find in my cupboard that look like they’ll fit. I smell them to decide if I want them. I always use salt and pepper.

Then chop some onion and garlic and toss that into the pan. Chop some fresh vegetables and toss them in too. I like to use carrots and celery, and whatever else I have on hand that looks good.

Keep stirring and warming these gently on a low to medium heat. If you get impatient like I usually do, add 1/4 cup water and cover the skillet to let the vegetables steam a while. Stir often.

When the vegetables are tender and the rice is cooked, serve by putting the rice on the plate, then veggies on top. If you like cheese, put grated cheddar or monterey jack on top.

This recipe feeds my soul.

Brown Rice Burritos

A way to use leftovers from the recipe above.

Warm up a big flour tortilla. If you have a gas stove just turn on the burner and toss the tortilla onto it… no pan needed. Wait until it wilts a bit then turn it over. Repeat until little air pockets start to rise inside the tortilla.

On the tortilla place some brown rice with your cooked veggies. Add spices, jalapenos, or whatever makes you happy, along with a lot of cheddar cheese. Then wrap it up.

Since I usually get cold rice leftovers out of the fridge I then put this burrito in the microwave and warm it up… or at least I would if it were not for the fact that my microwave broke and my dear boyfriend won’t agree to buying another one - he points out the certain dangers - so now I’m warming these in my cast iron skillet.

My favorite taco sauce is La Victoria Salsa Brava, HOT.

This makes a quick, easy but filling snack so I can get right back into my writing without losing my train of thought too much.

My grandmother made rice pudding for us when I was a child. Back then, we looked forward to it… but I rarely hear about anyone eating it these days. Here’s a simple recipe for delicious rice pudding:

Boil one cup of already-cooked rice with two cups of milk. As soon as it boils, turn down the heat! Then add half a cup of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt. Some people might want to add a beaten egg yolk at this point however I don’t do that. Cook it over a very low flame, stirring constantly so it won’t burn. After it is quite thick, remove it from the heat. At this point egg-users can whip the egg white into a froth and fold it in. Add half a teaspoon of vanilla or lemon juice. If you like, before serving you might want to add some raisins or canned peaches, or some other type of fruit.

I learned to cook rice so many years ago, I don’t know where I got the recipe. However since then I’ve met people who seem to think that rice should be cooked by tossing some in a pan, covering it with water, and boiling the heck out if it.

Yes, the rice will cook that way - but it isn’t the way to cook rice. You can have perfect rice every time by following some simple instructions.

To cook perfect rice every time, simply wash your rice and measure it. You’ll need two parts water for one part rice. In other words, if you’re using 1 cup of rice, use 2 cups of water. If you’re using 6 cups of rice, use 12 cups of water. Simple, isn’t it?

Start by washing the rice. Then drain, and add twice as much water. To that add a bit of sea salt. You may have to experiment with the salt to see how much you want to use. I never measure it but I’m guessing I generally use about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon. You may prefer a different amount.

Put your rice, water and salt in a pot (not aluminum) on the stove and boil it. As soon as it comes to a boil, stir it once with a wooden spoon. Then re-set it to the lowest heat possible and cover it. Then set your time for half-an-hour and when it rings, turn off the heat entirely. DO NOT LOOK AT THE RICE. The rice must remain covered for steaming, for at least ten minutes. Don’t worry - I’ve done this for years and I swear I get perfect rice every time.