Organic brown rice is simmered to perfection with green onions, olive oil and grated carrots, then lightly scented with warm bahart, served with simply roasted cauliflower for an easy midweek dinner or a great side for a roasted meal inspired meal.

We are down to bare bones at our house, it is definitely time to hit the market again.  I only had a few ingredients to work with cauliflower, rice (thanks to Gudrun, for snagging me a big bag of Massa Orangics Brown Rice at Blogher – been dying to try their rice), some random staple veggies and spices.  Usually when I have cauliflower around, I end up steaming it or turning it into soup – this was not exciting at all.  As well, we are not big rice fans as we find it rather boring, but these were my ingredients to use – feel like a “Chopped Episode”.

I decided I would saute some green onions with garlic and then lightly brown the rice before adding the water.  While it was simmering, I rummaged through my spices and decided to go with a middle eastern inspired meal, by adding Baharat.  Baharat?  Some of you may be wondering what that is, others know exactly what I am talking about.   Baharat, in Arabic, means spices.  It is a mixture of spices that is used in Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, Iraqi, Israeli and Palestinian as well as in Turkish and Iranian dishes.   Typical ingredients of Baharat include:  allspice, black peppercorns, cardamon, cassia, cloves, coriander, cumin, nutmeg and dried red chilies or paprika.   While the rice was simmering away (and did it smell great or what), I roasted the cauliflower with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle  of sea salt.  By the time the rice was finished, the cauliflower was roasted to a nice golden color.  I seasoned the rice with a little grey salt and a sprinkle more of the baharat.  The caramelized cauliflower was the perfect companion to the warm comforting rice – the baharat added such a pleasant aroma and taste to the entire dish.

Recipe:  Baharat Scented Rice

2 green onions, sliced thinly

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup brown rice

2 cups water

1 teaspoon baharat

1/2 carrot, grated

kosher salt to taste

Heat olive oil in a saucepan, over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic, give a couple stirs and then add the rice.  Stir a few times until the rice is lightly golden.  Add the water and baharat, bring down to a simmer, cover and let cook for about 45 – 50 minutes.  10 minutes before it is finished stir in the carrot and season with salt.  Remove from heat and let sit for about 5 minutes.  Serve.  Eat.

Recipe:  Roasted Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower, stem removed and washed, pat dry

drizzle of olive oil

sprinkle of sea salt

Heat oven to 425.  Slice cauliflower and lay in a roasting pan.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprikle with salt.  Put into oven and roast for about 45 minutes, until golden, cooked but slightly crunchy, unless you prefer a softer vegtable, then cook longer.  Remove from oven.  Serve.  Eat.