What You Should Know About Wild Rice
Minnesota cultivated wild rice
puts a clever spin on everyday
food. Discover the versatility, af
fordability, and most important
ly, the healthy benefits of this
wholesome gourmet grain.
Nutritionally speaking, Minne
sota cultivated wild rice is hard
to beat. It contains no fat, sugar,
or cholesterol while providing an
excellent source of dietary fiber,
potassium, and protein.
Here are some often Asked
Questions about wild rice.
Does the volume of wild rice
increase when cooked? 1 cup un
cooked wild rice equals approxi
mately 3-4 cups cooked wild rice
that’s 6 to 8 servings from just
one cup uncooked wild rice!
Is wild rice expensive? At $5
per pound, it’s only about 23
cents per serving!
How long can I keep wild rice?
Uncooked wild rice keeps up to
10 years in an air-tight container.
Cooked wild rice (plain) keeps 1
week refrigerated. Drain well;
store in air-tight container.
How do I prepare wild rice?
Wild rice is easy to prepare! Add
1 cup uncooked cultivated wild
rice to 3-4 cups boiling water. Re
turn to boil; stir. Cover and sim
mer approximately 30-45 min
utes or until kernels just start to
open. Drain any excess liquid.
After cooking with wild rice
you will define your preferred
cook time and water content
texture of cooked wild rice is a
personal preference. For a che
wier texture, cook for less time.
For a tender, fluffier texture,
cook longer.
Can I freeze wild rice? Abso
lutely cooking and freezing
ahead of time turns wild rice into
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a convenience food! Plain will
keep about 6 months in your
freezer. Drain well; store in air
tight containers. To use, thaw in
refrigerator overnight, or micro
wave on “defrost” setting a few
minutes.
Can I use wild rice in sweet
ened recipes? Wild rice has a ten
dency to revert back to hard ker
nels when combined with
sweeteners. Over-cooking and
chopping wild rice helps prevent
this from happening. Sweetened
recipes are best when served
within 24 hours.
Is wild rice nutritious? Yes,
wild rice is nutritious! It’s a high
fiber complex carbohydrate, high
in quality protein and low in fat,
with only 114 calories per half
cup serving.
Here is a recipe using wild rice.
WILD RICE GUMBO
l A cup flour
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 pound beef polska kielbasa,
cut into bite-sized chunks
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, sliced
2 bell peppers (assorted color),
chopped
4 scallions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (14 ounces each) chick
en broth
1 can (14 ounces) beef broth
1 can (28 ounces) diced toma
toes
Vt cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
2 bay leaves
4 cups cooked wild rice
1 pound small raw shrimp,
peeled (approximately 50)
1 tablespoon file powder (op
tional)
salt and pepper, to taste
With
1-2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
(optional)
Preheat large skillet over medi
um heat 2 minutes. Add flour;
stir constantly until dark beige
(approximately 5 minutes
don’t scorch). Immediately trans
fer to plate. In a large saucepan,
cook bacon until starting to crisp;
add kielbasa, onion, celery, pep
pers, scallions, and garlic. Cover;
cook 5 minutes. Uncover.
Cook, stirring occasionally
until vegetables are lightly
browned; stir in flour. Gradually
stir in broth; add tomatoes, pars
ley, Cajun seasoning, and bay
leaves.
Partially cover; simmer 40
minutes. Add wild rice, shrimp,
and file powder; simmer 10 min
utes. Season with salt, pepper,
and hot pepper sauce. Remove
bay leaves before serving. Makes
8-10 servings.
For additional wild rice soup
recipes, send a self-addressed
stamped envelope to Minnesota
Cultivated Wild Rice Council,
Attn: Soup-er Wild Rice Recipes,
4630 Churchill Street, Suite #l,
St. Paul, MN 55126.
Pie Contest
WASHINGTON (Washington
Co.) As part of Ag Days At
The Washington Mall, the Wash
ington County Cattlemen’s Asso
ciation will again sponsor the
Old-Fashion Apple Pie Contest
on March 22.
The contest will feature a jun
ior division (up to 21 years of
age) and a senior division (22+
years of age). It is recommended
that the pies be in a non-returna
ble glass pie plate.
Judges will be judging the
pies to be auctioned to raise
money for the Advanced
Education Support Grant.
The grant is designed to
help defray expenses for
post-secondary education.
Three junior members of the
Washington County Cattle
men’s Association were
awarded scholarships at the
annual banquet in October.
The proceeds from the pie
auction represent the main
funding source for the schol
arship. The WCCA is
proud of its schol
arship program and
the juniors who have
been honored by it
Pie entries will be
received at the Wash
ington County Cattle
men’s booth located in
the center of the
Washington Mall from
noon to 2 p.m., Satur
day, March 22.
Judging will begin
promptly at 2 p.m.
Consuming
Thoughts
by
Fay Strickler
Penn State Extension
Home Economist for
Berks Co.
Most experts agree that in
creasing your intake of fruits and
vegetables may help prevent can
cer, heart disease, and other
chronic disease, yet most Ameri
cans don’t even eat the recom
mended minimum five servings a
day.
Here are seven tips for eating
more fruits and vegetables:
1. Start your day with at least
two fruits, in addition to whole
grain bread, cereal or some other
from of grain. Try citrus fruit or
juice and perhaps a banana or
some cantaloupe, mango or
apple. Eat prunes and raisins for
variety.
2. When planning meals, think
of vegetables and starches as a
main dish instead of the poultry
or meat. For those meat, potato
or rice and green vegetables
meals, add a salad and another
cooked vegetable and cut back on
the meat.
3. Don’t overlook cooked
fruits. Try making a fruit com
pote with apples, peaches or
pears, adding some apple juice
and cinnamon for flavor and
some honey or sugar to taste.
Serve with a low-fat or nonfat yo
gurt or use as a topping for a fro
zen dessert or breakfast cereal.
4. Eat fruits and veggies as
snacks. Always keep carrots,
peppers-, broccoli, cherry toma
toes and fruit on hand. Buy or
make nonfat dips.
5. Keep staples on hand, like
canned kidney beans, chickpeas
and other legumes to salads,
pasta sauces and stews. Stock the
refrigerator with peeled baby car
rots and other read to eat pro
duce.
6. Eat more cruciferous vege
tables like broccoli, cabbage,
Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and
kale, which are high in vitamins
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and minerals and other anticanc
er substances. Try precut cabbage
for homemade cole slaw or steam
it for a side dish. Add these vege
tables to soups, pureed, if you
like. Add these vegetables to sal
ads and stir fry meals.
7. Look for other ways to add
fruits and vegetables to recipes.
Leftover veggies are great for
topping a baked potato. Add
grated carrot to tuna salad or gel
atin salads. Sliced oranges or
grapefruit are great with salad
greens, especially in the winter
when tomatoes are not at their
best. Tomatoes, topped with
bread crumbs and a little cheese,
can be baked along with fish.
Save small quantities of leftover
vegetables in a container in the
freezer and add to soups and
stews for economy and extra nu
trients and fiber.
Here’s a great recipe that com
bines fruit and grains.
SPINACH STRAWBERRY
SALAD
Sesame seeds (about 1 table
spoon)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons sugar
V* cup salad oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
I bunch spinach, cleaned,
stemmed
Minced garlic to taste
1 cup strawberries, sliced or
chunked
Dry mustard to taste
I'A teaspoons fresh dill or 'A
teaspoon dried dill; Toast sesa
me seeds in dry skillet or hot
oven several minutes, tossing
often; let cool. Combine sugar,
vinegar and garlic, dry mustard,
salt and pepper. Whisk in oil in
thin stream. Toss with spinach,
strawberries, dill, and sesame
seeds. Four serving.
■BS