Rice and Spice

Robin Robertson's Rice & Spice is a creative celebration of the sumptuous and healthful meals that can be made with the world's most popular grain. Its one hundred recipes, all meatless and every one delectable, make for quick and easy ways to put a flavorful and nutritious dinner on the table. From pilafs and paellas to jambalayas, stir-fries, and risottos, from Indonesian Fried Rice to Jamaican Rice and Peas, the unassuming grain has never seemed so alive with possibility. Robertson offers up a chapter each on rice soups and rice salads-and another one on rice desserts, like Ginger-Peach Rice Pudding-and she reveals an expert's secrets on how to cook to perfection every rice variety, from white and brown to jasmine and basmati.

I'm not a vegetarian, but have been pleasantly surprised at how satisfying the dishes are. I never thought that vegetarian dishes could be so good. Rice is, of course, the common thread that ties all of the collected recipes together and the author has devoted the first chapter of the book to educating the reader about the different types of rice and how to prepare rice in a foolproof manner.

What I loved about the book is the way I changed my eating habits by getting hooked on the simplicity of the one-dish meals contained within, the flavors of the dishes (incredible) and the way I felt after eating (full, but not stuffed = more energetic).

This is my current favorite cookbook.