Use Rice Cooker to Whip Up Whole Grain Recipes

The Whole Grains Council (WGC) does a wonderful job of promoting healthful whole grains, and helping consumers discover delicious ways to incorporate them into our daily meals. One great way to simplify the preparation of these grains is by using a rice cooker. The WGC has added a new Rice Cookers For All Grains page to its website, to encourage experimentation with lots of whole grains using this convenient appliance. For added inspiration, the Council recommends a book called The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook, by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann. The authors kindly agreed to share the recipe below. ORANGE DESSERT QUINOA Quinoa is fantastic cooked in fruit juice. This recipe was adapted from the food writer who first brought quinoa to the attention of the grain-loving public 20 years ago, Rebecca Wood. This is good drizzled with a bit of organic heavy cream. Machine: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker; fuzzy logic or on/off Cycle: Regular/Brown Rice Ingredients 1-1/2 cups quinoa 2 cups orange juice or passion fruit-orange juice combination 1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar 1 tablespoon unsalted butter Pinch of salt 3 tablespoons chopped nuts, such as macadamia nuts, almonds or pecans, toasted Instructions Place the quinoa in a deep bowl, fill with cold water and rub between your fingers. Drain in a fine strainer. Rinse two or three times, until the foam disappears. Place the quinoa in the rice cooker bowl. Add the juice, brown sugar, butter and salt; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular/Brown Rice cycle. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the quinoa steam for 10 minutes. Fluff with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon and stir in the nuts. Serve immediately. Note: If you don't have a rice cooker, simply cook quinoa according to package directions. Quinoa's actually a quick-cooking grain that takes only about 12-15 minutes. Yield: Serves 4 to 6