Go-To Recipe: Yellow Rice with Almonds and Raisins

Okay, I wasn't going to make this a food blog, but today I was inspired to share a really quick and tasty recipe.  I call it yellow rice with almonds and raisins, and that pretty much says it all.  I never measure when I make it (except for getting the rice-to-water ratio right), but here is my attempt.  The rice doesn't have to be yellow, but I do it for two reasons.  First, I like the color. Second, I use turmeric to color the rice, and that's supposed to be healthy for you, so why not? The recipe scales very well, so you can make however much you want.  Also, you can play around with substitutions, like pine nuts instead of almonds, or dried cranberries instead of raisins.  But the almond-raisin combo is my favorite.

Here is what you want:

1 cup brown rice (or white)

2 cups water

~0.5 tsp ground turmeric (although I've used more)

~0.25 cup raisins

~0.25 cup sliced toasted almonds 

salt to taste

Make the rice as you normally would, adding the ground turmeric just before or at the same time you add the water.  I saute the uncooked rice in a pan until golden and then add the turmeric and a minute later add the water.  When rice is done, I just throw in the raisins and almonds and salt to taste.  Mix it up, and if you're like me, eat a little and put the rest in tupperware for easy lunch in lab.

I am sure you can play around a ton with this, substituting and/or adding ingredients.  If anyone finds delicious new combinations, let me know :)