Is there anything more boring looking then a plain white mound of rice on a plate. This mound is known as “the rice bed.” There are many ways to make it more colorful.

Before you spice up a rice bed, you have to decide what type of rice to use. If you are not planning to use instant rice, you may opt for long-grain, medium-grain or short-grain white rice. Jasmine rice, basmati rice and wild rice add additional flavor. When preparing long-cooking rice, remember this ratio: twice as much water as rice. I

The general rule is you prepare a cup of rice (about 2 ½ servings), you’ll need 2 cups of water.

Here are more specific instructions for cooking rice –
• 1 ½ cups rice
• 3 cups water
• 1 tbsp. butter or margarine
• ½ tsp. salt
• Bring water, butter, salt and rice to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to lowest setting, then cover and simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until water is absorbed by rice and rice is fluffy. Additional ingredients of your choosing as suggested in
• steps 1 to 5. This recipe makes four side-dish servings.

Now here are some ideas for spicing up the rice bed so it is more thematic and colorful looking.

Basic Rice Pilaf: Add ¼ cup of chopped parsley and substitute chicken broth for the water in the basic recipe.

Autumn Rice: After cooking add ¼ cup of unsalted sunflower seeds, ¼ cup of raisins and ¼ cup of diced apples.

Sweet Rice: Add ½ cup of shredded, unsweetened coconut to your rice. This complements Indian, Thai and Caribbean entrees.

Basil Rice: Add basil to the rice water as it is cooking. Watch the rice turn green! To make it even tastier add some pine nuts.

Southwestern Rice: Add ¼ cup chopped red and green peppers and ½ cup cooked corn.

Tomato Rice: Add condensed tomato soup to the rice while it is cooking.

Orange Rice: Add raisins and orange juice to the rice water while it is cooking to infuse it with a citrus flavor.

Remember that the rice bed should go with your entree by substituting broth or stock for water in the basic recipe. For example, if you’re having a beef entree, use beef broth instead of water, chicken broth for poultry entrees and seafood stock for seafood entrees. Vegetarians will enjoy rice made with mushroom or herb broth, especially if nuts and herbs are also added to the stock.