Spiced Wild Rice Bowl

In the winter, I crave hearty one-bowl meals full of vegetables and hearty whole grains and lots of flavor. This was a quick meal I threw together last night before my husband and I attend a meditation class at The Rime Buddhist Center. A perfect grounding meal for a lovely, grounding evening  :)

Wild rice is incredibly expensive, so when I am craving it I usually go with Lundberg Gourmet Blend of Wild and Whole Grain Brown Rice. I get it in the bulk bins at Whole Foods Market and cook it in a rice cooker - if you don't have a rice cooker, follow these instructions: mix four cups of water with two cups of rice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit with the lid on for ten minutes before serving. This will make more rice than needed for this recipe, but leftovers are always great for later!

I like to cook a lot of my rice in vegetable broth instead of water because it imparts a lot of flavor, however you can use regular water just as well.

This recipe makes enough for two to have for dinner - double it up if you'd like some leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Spiced Wild Rice Bowl

• 1 onion, chopped
• half of a head of cauliflower, cut into small pieces
• about 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
• about one cup of thinly sliced carrots
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• sea salt and ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• about 1 and a half cups of cooked wild rice blend
• about half a cup or so of vegetable stock

Heat some olive oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add in the onion, cardamom and turmeric and let cook until the spices are fragrant and the onion is translucent, about five minutes. Add in the cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms and garlic and stir. Add a couple of tablespoons of the vegetable stock and cover. Let cook for five to ten minutes, until the cauliflower and carrots are tender to your liking. Stir in the cooked wild rice and season to taste with salt and pepper. If the dish is dry, add in some more stock - use a light hand at first to ensure the dish doesn't turn soupy.