Rice

Baked Rice fresh from the oven

Baked Rice

By Mark Fitzgerald

"They knew I was no cook, but left the job for me. I built a fire after gathering buffalo chips, and getting it started, the wind playing with it as it pleased. I put the dutch oven on to heat, with the cover by the side of it. I made a pie of dried apples. Putting it into the oven, the lid still heating, I turned toward the wagon, several yards awat [away] from the fire for safety. A nice cow sneaked up and helped herself to the pie when a young girl called me to come look to my rice. I had a hard time cooking the biscuits as I was jumping in and out of the wagon, climbing over the provision box, watching my baby girl, getting what the doctor wanted, as it was his misfortune never to find anything he was looking for. The fire had its own way of burning and I thought, O Zion, will we ever reach thee?"

We normally make rice on the stove top.  It just seems easier.  We rinse it first so it doesn't foam over.  We will switch to the oven when we want to do larger batches or we are doing a lot of other things on the stove.  The texture is different when we use the oven.  The grains do not seem as sticky.  If you use a Dutch Oven for this recipe you can cook it stove top on a grill or with coals and use it as an oven.

Ingredients

• 3 cups rice
• 5 cups boiling water
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bring water to a boil and add rice and salt. Bake for 25 minutes.

Information

Makes 10 servings
75 calories per serving