Warm brown rice, tomatoes, and basil
While we here in California can still enjoy the remaining vestiges of summer at our farmers' markets, it's different at Motown's (aka the Motor City) first hospital-based farmers' market.
Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, and Aretha Franklin were all born within a square mile of this market. How could good things not happen there?
Kimberly Harrison and Kathleen Moloney of St. John's Health System sent a note recently about their new market. They made this happen in only a few months from the time of their first conversation with us at Kaiser Permanente.
"I wanted to report to you that this week marks the fifth and final week of our first farmers' market at one of our hospitals, Riverview on East Jefferson. It has been really well received. (In week 4, however, the farmers did not come because of snowstorms. I bet you don't miss that about Michigan.)"
The pictures showed some tables stocked with bounty from rural Michigan in the big city. We can help this to happen in many big cities.
Further west, pick up some tomatoes, basil, and brown rice for this very simple side dish. It uses the champagne vinegar you made the effort to find for earlier recipes I have shared.
Enjoy the complex carbohydrates, but most of all, enjoy some of the last local tomatoes and basil until next Spring.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown rice
- 2 1/4 cup water
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes or 2 heirlooms, quartered or diced
- Small handful fresh basil, slivered
- 4 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions
- Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid.
- Stir in the rice, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Remove from heat and leave covered for 5 to 10 minutes (the rice you buy may have different instructions).
- Whisk the sugar, olive oil, salt, and pepper into the champagne vinegar.
- Stir the tomatoes, basil, and vinaigrette into the warm brown rice.