Recipe: Mussel & Arugula Brown Rice Salad

I purchased a bottle of cooked mussels in oil from my supplier of natural and organic processed products. The mussels come in 3 flavors - garlic, hot & spicy, and plain. All the mussels have a sweetish flavor due to the sugar used in cooking it. I thought it went perfectly with the arugula and Kalinga rice mix which I had in hand to make a quick lunch. I've used brown rice and the rice mix in making this salad and they're both delicious. The nutty rice, sweet mussels and spicy arugula turned out to be a good combination of flavors.

Take equal amounts of torn arugula and cooked brown rice or Kalinga rice (or you may make your own combination of 3 different kinds of rice varieties to make a rice mix). Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and toss. Top with mussels.

A good substitute for the mussels would be a sweet chili or sweet garlic shrimp saute. Hmmm, I'll try that next time...

Recipe: Nasi Lemak (Indonesian Rice)

I made this for an Indonesian luncheon I hosted. It turned out really well. The original recipe did not include coconut oil and called for white rice. I served it with pork curry but this would go well with any grilled food.

1 kilo brown or red rice
1 can coconut milk
2 stalks lemon grass, cleaned and trimmed to fit in pan
2 inch ginger, minced
1 tbsp salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil

Wash the rice. Add the water and the rest of the ingredients, except oil. Cover and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to lowest setting and leave it to cook until rice is tender.

Remove lemongrass stalks. Fluff rice with a fork. Put rice in a bowl and mix in the virgin coconut oil.

* Pour in enough water to cover the rice by 1/2 inch. You may also use all coconut milk in place of water.