There are many stories about how and where rice came from. Most believe the roots of rice are in 3,000 BC India, where natives discovered the plant growing in the wild and began to experiment with it. Rice is great for cooking and so much more.
-- Make your own homemade glue using rice: In a saucepan combine 1 cup sticky cooked rice with three-quarter cup of water. Boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Cool and store in fridge.
-- Here's an old trick -- save leftover rice water and use it in the shower as hair conditioner. Leave in hair for 30 minutes. Some people say it dries their hair out but many people have been using rice conditioner for most of their lives.
-- Make a rice bag to keep your feet warm at night. Sew a cotton sack and fill with uncooked white rice. Sew another bag (flannel works well) around the first to act as a pillowcase making sure not to finish one end, so that the case can be washed regularly. Put bag in microwave for 1-2 mins. Great for headaches, aching bones and earaches. Or put the sack in the freezer and lay it on your forehead if a headache should arise.
-- Grind up 1 cup of uncooked rice in a coffee grinder to clean the grinder and sharpen its blades.
-- Leftover water used for washing rice is a good fertilizer for your household plants.
-- Add a few grains of rice to your salt shaker. Rice absorbs moisture more quickly and more efficiently than salt does. Therefore, it prevents salt from caking up in the shaker due to high humidity.
-- For fluffier and great-tasting rice, add a teaspoon of white distilled vinegar to the boiling water before adding rice. Rice will be easier to spoon and less sticky.
-- When cooking rice, add 1 to 2 tsp. of oil, butter or margarine to the water, this helps prevent the water from boiling over. Butter or olive oil keeps the grains from sticking together, while a little salt adds flavour. Another way to add flavour to rice is by adding garlic, lemon juice and grated zest, curry or turmeric to the pot.
-- There are many variations when cooking rice. For a nice flavour, soak three quarter cups of rice in cider before cooking. Or add one can of mushroom soup before baking/cooking rice. Spoon salsa over cooked rice or add uncooked rice to pot before cooking. Or cover cooked rice with beans. Or add peppers to dishes before cooking rice. Or toss rice with salads. Or grate cheese and melt over rice. Or serve rice with scrambled eggs.
-- Rice actually improves with a rest after cooking, which gives you more flexibility for completing the remainder of your meal. For a longer wait, place a slice of dry bread on the rice to keep it fluffy; cover.
-- Leftover rice freezes well. Store in sealable bags.
-- Make rice pudding using leftover rice. Place 2 cups cooked rice in a bowl, add 1-2 cups low-fat Cool Whip, 1 cup raisins and 2 tsp. cinnamon. Mix well and cool in fridge until needed.
-- To clean a pot with baked-on rice, boil vinegar, baking soda and dish soap in a pot for 5 minutes. Let cool and scrub.
Did you know?
-- Rice is the first food a new bride in India offers to her husband and the first food offered to newborn babies.
-- Rice is grown on every continent except Antarctica.
Reena Nerbas is the author of the national bestselling Household Solutions series. Her website is www.householdsolutions.org. You can contact her at Box 429, Blumenort, Man., ROA 0C0.
