It's Nice To Play With Rice, And Not With Mice

How great was the weather today?  Perfect, right?  All I wanted to do was get outside and go for a long, loooong walk through the forest preserve.  Luckily, living in kind of the middle of nowhere with several forest preserves within walking or a short driving distance, I'm able to take FULL advantage of that.  Nothing beats a great walk at dawn or dusk for me.  Nothing.  No matter what is going on, a walk will always help calm me down, clear my head, and restore some sense of sanity to my week.  To quote the best American essayist EVER TO LIVE:

In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, all mean egotism vanishes. - Nature


Since my feet were tap dancing closer and closer to the door, I wanted a quick meal of substance.  Something hearty yet healthy.  I went online for some brown rice recipes since I thought something would jump out at me.  I found one that sounded interesting and was written by a *gasp* vegan.  


For the life of me, I can't find the link now but it was pretty simple and I'll try and recall it.  Basically, bring water, a dash of salt, and 2 cups of tomato sauce (I replaced this with garlic and onion pasta sauce, which was the closest thing I could find to tomato sauce in my pantry) to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and the following spices: ground cumin (1 teaspoon), chili powder (1 teaspoon), garlic seasoning (1/4 teaspoon) - for some reason, I thought adding fennel would be a substitute which is most likely completely off but I had to improvise since I didn't have it - and ground coriander (1/4 teaspoon).  I'm pretty sure that's it...like I said, can't find it anywhere anymore.

Here's where my thought process was a little off as well.  See, I didn't buy the minute rice.  I bought the 50 minute rice.  So much for my quick meal.  Additionally, the below picture represents what the kids today call an Epic Fail.

I distinctly remember buying this bag of brown rice BECAUSE it had a built in zip lock.  Looks like I apparently was out of it since I cut the top off and now have trouble closing it with a twist tie.


But it was worth it and I got some work done whilst waiting for the timer to go off.  After about 35 minutes, I turned the heat off and added around 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables and let everything simmer for another 10 minutes.

And there you go, a (relatively) quick and easy meal that's perfect to scarf down before hitting the trails.

I just had to create a new playlist to listen to as well and I'm going to share its magnificence...because I can.


1) It Don't Have to Change - John Legend
2) Rhinestone Eyes - Gorillaz
3) Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap
4) God's Gonna Cut You Down - Johnny Cash
5) Mind Trick - Jamie Cullum
6) Wild Hope - Mandy Moore (don't judge!)
7) Sunday Morning - Maroon 5
8) Mama - My Chemical Romance (okay so this one is a little out of character of the others but it makes me laugh)
9) Bluebird - Sara Bareilles
10) Some Enchanted Evening - Perry Como (what better way to end the walk than feeling as though I'm in a 1940s movie?)


I'm not saying it flows perfectly or even that it's for everyone, but it was my little moment tonight--my walk of one's own...no? That didn't translate well...okay.