Glorified Rice

I have loved rice since I was a young child. I remember eating it as a meal in itself, in a bowl, hot from the stove covered with milk and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar on top; or on special occasions, made into Glorified Rice with whipped cream and pineapple…. Yum, yum!!

When our children were growing up, I cooked with brown basmati rice, thinking it was the most nutritious. Recently, I have switched back to white basmati rice or white jasmine rice after reading the current research on rice. Tests on brown rice (and some products made with brown rice) have found arsenic in rice that has been grown in contaminated soils polluted with harmful toxins in pesticides and herbicides applied to the soil over the years. Rice is more susceptible to arsenic because it is grown in water making the arsenic more easily absorbed into the roots and stored in the grains. I buy organic rice and incorporate it into our menu on a limited basis.

Our recipe below had directions for cooking the rice on the stove top. If you have an Instant Pot, you can use this recipe for Perfect Rice in the Instant Pot.

Glorified  Rice

1-1/2 cups white basmati or jasmine rice
3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup diced pineapple

Strawberries, halved, optional garnish

Rinse rice. Place rice, water and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes without removing cover or stirring during this time. Remove from heat. Gently fluff rice with a fork. Cover and steam 5 minutes on the counter to finish cooking. Rinse in cold water and drain. In a medium bowl, whip cream with a mixer until soft peaks form, add honey and vanilla. In a large bowl, fold whipped cream and pineapple into cold rice. Refrigerate. Garnish with strawberry halves before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings