Spanish Rice: Another Recipe from my Great Grandmother's Bible

I opened my email this weekend and found in the inbox a letter from my grandmother, my nommie.  This usually means one of two things:  that she is sending me a chain letter of some sort, most of which, I am sorry to say, I do not read...or, she is alerting me to some new 21st century danger in the most simple and effective way possible, "Dear Benny, I heard STDs are on the rise XOXO Nommie."   But...to my pleasant surprise, my Nommie had called to rave about my blog, more specifically my great grandmother's rhubarb bread.  She told me that she had another recipe from my nanny's bible, spanish rice, and would love to make it with me.  So that is what we did today...we made spicy spanish rice.

Ingredients

1 Cup Brown Rice

5-6 Swirls Olive Oil

4 Small Onions

2 Cans diced tomatoes, drained (tomato jalepeno mix was used)

2 Bell Pepper

4 Garlic Cloves, minced

2 Teaspoons Paprika

Salt and Pepper to Taste

2 Cups Waters

Instructions

Chop vegetables.  Heat oil in a pan.  Add rice, onions and garlic.  Heat for 10 minutes.  Add tomatoes, peppers, paprika, salt and pepper.  Add water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, and cover for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Music:  Tony Bennett (Nommie insisted on the music choice)

Biology Cookout

I have shown you guys a bunch of recipes.  Now I wanted to show the people enjoying them.  Here are some assorted pictures from our AP Biology Cookout, a tradition the day before the exam.  I made my chili and barbecue sauce for this special occasion complemented by several pasta salad dishes (courtesy of many a class mom), Dr. Lynch's famous hot wings and several amazing types of desserts (I am trying to obtain a friend's chocolate cookie recipe so that I can post it.  They were, in a word, scrumtulecent)

Music:  Phish - Golgi Apparatus (It's a song, believe me)

Sweet Mamma Jane's BBQ Sauce

For me, sunny Sunday afternoons have always screamed barbecue.  So after finding some burger patties in the fridge, I thought I would make some barbecue burgers, brazed with Mamma Jane's super barbecue sauce.  Here is the recipe for the sauce, use it on anything you wish.  I promise it will be delicious.  The making of this sauce is quite an art.  It is like making soup, constantly tasting and mixing around ingredients.  Most of the measurements were eyeballed and adjusted, but I did my best to quantify a "pinch".

Ingredients

Onion

1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Cup Water

1 1/2 Cup Ketchup

1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

2 Tablespoons worcestershire sauce

Tablespoon of spicy mustard

Tablespoon of dijon mustard

Dash of Tabasco sauce

Minced Garlic to taste

Tablespoon of Parsley

1/8 Teaspoon of Lavender

1/8 Teaspoon of Mustard Seed

Pinch of Lemon Grass

1/4 Teaspoon of Thyme

Kosher Salt to taste

2 Tablespoons of Honey

1/4 Cup Apricot Preserves

1/4 Cup Plum Cherry Preserves

Chopped Basil

**Note:  All spices were put in to taste and you may use whatever preserves you like, if any at all.

Instructions

Chop onion and place in sauce pan.  Sauté chopped Onion in olive oil.  Slowly add the rest of the ingredients listed in the order above while stirring the mixture in medium heat.  Let the mixture cool and blend in a food processor until fine texture.

Music:  Lady Antebellum