Wild Nights of Rice

Another gorgeous summer day here. Under a week now until I start my excursion to the southern hemisphere of this country! My room is officially a war zone trying to pack, so I cook to keep my sanity.

During my internship at UCONN we had the chance to attend the NACUFS National Conference in Boston, which was a blast. The next one will be held in Minnesota, so for a freebie they gave out a package of Minnesota grown wild rice. I had an abundance of oranges kicking around the house which inspired my newest creation. I call it: Fruit & Spice Wild Rice. It reminded me of thanksgiving, which could possibly make a new addition to the spread! I'm pretty sure I will be spending this year's Thanksgiving in Alabama. A first for everything!

Fruit & Spice Wild Rice
makes about 4 cups, 8- 1/2 cup servings


1 cup uncooked wild rice
4 cups water
zest and juice of 1 orange
1 orange peeled and sliced in segments
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
1 T fresh ginger, grated
1 T ground cumin
1/2 T ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg


Start by cooking the wild rice. It takes a bit of time to cook, so you can prep everything while it's cooking. Rinse the rice thoroughly, then add to a medium saucepan with 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low boil, and cook for 45-60 minutes, until tender and most of the water is absorbed.

While the rice is cooking, you can prep the mix-ins. Start by zesting the orange, and adding to a medium bowl. Next slice the orange skin off like by first chopping off both the top and bottom, and following the white part of the skin with your knife to cut the peel off. Then cut out each of the orange segments which you can see by the small white line separating each segment. Andrew Zimmern gives a good demo of what I mean here. Add the segments to the bowl, and squeeze the juice from the remains of the orange segments into the bowl as well.

Add the cranberries, sunflower seeds, and spices to the bowl and mix well.

Once the rice is cooked, add the remaining ingredients and combine.

Serve & Enjoy!

Wild rice is a bit more chewier than white or brown rice, but I LOVED the sweetness of the cranberries and orange. The combo of flavors is delicious, and is a great side dish especially for Thanksgiving! Better early than late, right?!




'Til Next Time!