Brown Rice Virgin

Overtime til 9pm, came back and went for a short run til 10.30pm followed by a fruitless search throughout the entire apartment block for my tortoise which had disappeared. Probably crawled out the main door and got picked up by someone.. Sigh. Hope she's in a good place now.

Exhausted, I simply wanted to jump into bed and surrender to the angels waiting for me in my dreams. Yet with my growling stomach a decibel louder than my alarm clock, i forced myself to cook up something. Actually, i didn't know what the hell i was thinking when i took out the brown rice from the cupboard.

I had never eaten or cooked brown rice before. I didn't even know whether it tasted good or would simply end up a horrid brown-blackish thing i can't scrape out of my saucepan. I didn't really give a damn. Without knowing a single recipe for brown rice or even knowing how to cook it, i took the shot.

First I sauteed some chopped shallots and garlic in olive oil. Once caramelised, i tossed in a cup of brown rice and 3 cups of water. I replaced the lid and let it simmer right up to the point where it looked nice and moist. I tossed in a large dollop of salted butter and stirred it in. Once i dished up my portion on the plate, i grated a chunk of mozzarella cheese over it, threw in a quick salad, black pepper and preserved sliced olives. Done.

I found it to be quite a pleasant dinner although its probably more suited as a light lunch. The rice had a nice starchy and sticky texture that was easy to swallow. The olives added a nice salty touch while the black pepper added the kick i enjoy in any dish. At the very least, its healthy stuff. Especially after my lung busting, leg cramming run. Right now, all i need is sleep. At least 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Good Nite people...