Food Crops for the homestead

[glenn kangiser]

SRI - System for Rice Intensification  - Rice is eaten in most of the rest of the world.  Why not here?

Some have expressed interest in this sort of thing.  I am currently experimenting a bit with rice.

Here are new methods for increased productivity in rice farming.. 3 part video

Here is the first  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huifOQX6BkU

second    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqcgmjYtcDA

third   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1T2d4a9bdY

[MountainDon]

SRI - System for Rice Intensification  - Rice is eaten in most of the rest of the world.  Why not here?

Speak for yourself. We eat a lot of organic brown basmati from TX      But yeah, a lot of folks do not.

Off the subject a tad... I've found that we can cook it in the small crock pot in the cabin off the solar power. I use a small glass jar in the slow cooker pot. put in the rice, add water (2.1x the rice) and put a cup or so of water in the cooker pot. Plug in on high for an hour or so and switch to low for another hour. Cover with a towel to make better use of the heat. Let sit for another hour just to be sure all the water in the rice is absorbed. The rice expands by a factor of about three. The glass jar of cooked rice can be stored in the fridge once cooled. Keeps a week or more. I cook it in early afternoon on a sunny day and the batteries never even know it was done.

[glenn kangiser]

Cool, Don.  I have two different types of the brown Basmati ...at least one is organic.    Got them both through Amazon.

Cooking is part of it too.  

For the Indian or Iranian white Basmati, here is what I do.   We don't have a rice cooker and are always in a hurry so we use a small pressure cooker with the pressure off.  3 cups rice rinsed five or six times to get the dust and vitamin enhancement off. The rice sinks so fill and dump the water off of the top.  

Keeps the Basmati more separated.  A couple  teaspoons or so of salt, 4 or so tablespoons of butter or oil, 3 cups white Basmati (I know - the Brown is better for me and it is what we will grow- brown is complete with the germ to grow). 2  to one on the water plus or minus to suit-that means 6 cups water for 3 rice.  Bring to a boil then down to low heat and time about 18 to 20 minutes  with a barely bubbling boil - we keep it covered.  Do not stir.  These instructions were from Amir at Shirin's (her son) Persian Deli.  Note that white cooks in about half the time of the brown not as good for you but tastes great.  

In the meantime about 1/3 cup of hot water in a pint to quart bowl - I nuke it and allow it to cool a bit.   Take a pinch of Saffron - maybe 20 or 30 pieces and put it between a folded sheet of paper so as not to lose any.  Lay it on a counter and rub the paper hard with a spoon crushing the saffron to a fine powder.  Carefully so as not to lose any,  dump it into the hot water in the bowl.  The water will immediately turn saffron yellow and have a great saffron aroma.  The best Saffron is from Iran and will have ISO numbers and coloring numbers from 230 to 251 or so as I recall.  No ISO or coloring numbers is likely a ripoff.  I think this company (Link below) or Edman is good.  Others may be cut with other stuff.  Much of the Spanish is cut.

Let it set about 20 minutes minimum if possible.  When the rice is done spoon some into  the bowl to color it saffron and get the aroma.  Put rice into the saffron until it will not color anymore - about a bowl full.  Put it on top of the remaining white rice in the pan and serve or put it on top of the bowls individually.

I found what seems to be pretty good quality Saffron imported from Iran here for a good price.  http://www.saffron.com/

Read his story about the saffron.  It is easy to get ripped off on the saffron but seems he is straight.  I was happy with the quality of the 5 grams I got from him.



Here is another cool video - shows traditional methods -


This video uses the old methods but the content is great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXL1oMdCFUM