How-To: Make Perfect Rice Every Time

Happy Sunday!
The weekend is always great for cooking work-week meals ahead of time. I am healthiest (and happiest) when Monday rolls around and my lunch is already ready to go. Since I eat a lot of veggies, I am often cooking grains to go with them. I don't have a rice cooker, but I don't find that I need one! This rice recipe works perfectly every time:

More food photos on my Instagram! @veganlifeisgood

Perfect No-Cooker Brown Rice:
Cook Time: 50 min (mostly inactive)

• 1 cup organic medium grain brown rice (tho it will work for any kind, really!)
• 8 cups water (I use filtered)
• dash of salt (optional, recommended)
• a fine mesh strainer

There are 3 secrets to perfect rice:

1. Rinse & Strain:   Before cooking your rice, rinse it and strain the water through the mesh strainer. That way you wont loose any tiny grains. 
2. Add Water:  You need a large water-to-rice ratio for great rice. Measure out 8 cups of water per 1 cup rice. I use a soup pot. Granted, I only make about 1/2 cup of rice for 2 days worth of meals, because I keep my plate mostly veggies, but if you need to cook a lot at once you may need a bigger pot. Add the salt and rinsed rice to the water, and once it is boiling reduce heat to a medium boil and partially cover the pot. I leave the lid on halfway, balanced on the pot handles. Set a timer for 30 minutes. This is a great time to go cook your veggies!
3. Steam:  After the 30 minutes is up, remove the pot from heat. Once again use the strainer to pour out all the water and return the rice to the pot. You could technically eat it now, but for truly perfect rice, cover with the lid and let it sit for another 20 minutes. Fluff and serve and enjoy the perfection!