cook

Brown Rice with sprinkles of black sesame seeds

Even though the days are still hot in LA and we have not managed to contain the fires, I felt a hint of cooling down this morning, which gave me some relief and hope. The start of the fall season is around the corner.

I made a pot of brown rice today with the new crop grown in California. The grains were fat and shiny. I got so excited that I designated the first day of September Whole Grains Day for health and pleasure.  

I have an interesting family history of eating brown rice. My mother became a brown rice convert in the early 70s when we moved to LA from Tokyo. She comes from the older generation of Japanese who shunned brown rice and kabocha pumpkin because they remind them of the hardships of war.  In the initial days of living in LA, my mother loved every form of processed foods she saw at the supermarket.  To her white meant peace time, end of hunger, hope, modern life, affluence.  Bleached white flour, white sugar, white rice, cream, milk, cheese. Her kitchen pantry was stocked with processed food.  Then one day, she attended a health retreat and realized that maybe the food she was feeding her family wasn't so healthy and decided to make a change.  She had the pressure cooker going regularly with brown rice in it. I was afraid to enter the kitchen out of fear that the pressure cooker might explode.  She would grill brown rice balls on the barbecue and stuff our bento boxes with them. She made miso and kept it the basement to ferment.  Even the lowly kabocha got a second chance for all the nutrients it had.  Not all her five kids nor my father had the same appreciation for these wholesome foods as she did but I was one of her converts.  Brown rice and Kabocha became my comfort foods.

Pressure cookers have come a long way since my mother's days.  They are safer and easier to handle. I have an electric SR-106N Panasonic pressure cooker that allows me to set the timer and walk away.  It gives me the nuttiest and moist brown rice.  Every pressure cooker works a little differently so you will need to follow the manufacturer's directions but I swear by this one.  I've had it for fifteen years and gave one to my sister.

Let me tell you what toppings I love with brown rice- skip the butter for a change and try a combination of  roasted sesame seeds, sea salt, cracked red pepper and cut nori seaweed. It's delicious.  You can make a wholesome meal with a bowl of brown rice and some vegetables on the side. Hey why not that kabocha.  I am sounding  just like my mother now. That's what my brothers and sisters would say.