Minnesota is synonymous with Wild Rice, every fall you can find stores and road side stands selling the yearly harvest. What a surprise to be walking down the isle at Wal Mart and discover a new blend of Wild and Brown Rice available at a modest price. Lundberg Family Farms, located in Richvale California, is home to some of the finest rice products around.
For less then three dollars I grabbed up a 1lb bag of this interesting mixture. I could see all kinds of different rice in the mixture and was really curious as to what this would taste like. Even in Minnesota wild rice is expensive, easily costing $7-$8 a pound and not always available in the off season. If this worked out I could have my favorite rice dishes any time of year.
Lundberg Family Farms is a product of the Dust Bowl years of the thirty’s. In 1937 Albert and Francis Lundberg moved to the Sacramento Valley of California establishing a farm that pioneered Organic rice growing in the Unites States. Together with their four sons, they built up their business when in the 1960’s they decided their organically grown rice should be sold directly to the public rather then just be mixed with rices grown in a more conventional manner.
The four Lundberg Brothers run the operation now and make it their mission to practice sustainable farming, enriching the soil and continuing in their Fathers way of taking care of the environment while producing the finest products possible.
My first attempt at preparing the Lundberg Wild Blend was going to be a side dish for a supper meal. Following the simple directions on the package, I boiled one cup of the mixture with two cups of chicken broth, a spoon of butter and a sprinkle of salt.
Remember this isn’t Minute Rice, so it does take some time to cook properly. The instructions say to simmer for 50 minutes, but it’s advisable to watch it closely towards the end. Mine was done a bit earlier then 50 minutes and to avoid running out of moisture you need to keep an eye on it.
What a wonderful dish, Lundberg Wild Blend has a unique nutty flavor to it that allows it to make a great addition to any meal. Meat, poultry, fish, no matter what your main course is going to be, this wild rice mixture will add a terrific bonus to the meal. This worked out so well I was looking forward to using this product in my own recipes.
My second meal was a homemade Chicken and Rice soup/stew. Nothing elaborate, I just threw it together. I swear it’s the best I’ve ever come up with. Lundberg Wild Blend provided the crowning touch to the recipe. What I threw together was as follows:
8-cups water in a big pot
2-chicken leg quarters, still frozen is fine. I buy them in bulk packages, 10lbs for less then $5. Great for soups.
Simmer the chicken for 60 minutes, then remove the chicken (keep the broth), debone the chicken and return the meat to the pot of soup.
1/2 cup Lundberg’s Wild Rice Blend
1/2 cup Brown Rice, or you can just use 1 cup of Lundberg’s Wild Rice Blend
In the pot and simmer another 30 minutes.
Now add:
1-Medium Onion
2-Celery Stalks
2-Carrots
Finely dice and throw them in the pot.
1-can chicken broth, or water and bullion cube. This amount can vary as to how thick or thin you want your soup/stew to be.
1-tsp dried Basil
1/2 tsp dried Tyme
1/2 tsp dried Rosemary
Simmer for another 20 minutes or there abouts.
To make it real special make up some dumplings as a topper for the stew. Take 2 cups Bisquik, add just enough milk to make a thick dough. Place a spoonful at a time into the soup so that when they cook up you have fluffy tennis ball sized dumplings. Put the lid on the pot and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes more, then ring the dinner bell, and get out of the way. Everyone will come running.
You’ll have plenty for a small army, and guaranteed they’ll be back for seconds. The cook will get plenty of compliments courtesy of Lundberg’s Wild Blend Rice. Be sure to go to their web site where you can learn about their other products and find more recipes. www.lundberg.com/
Pick up some soon, you’ll love the great taste and you can be confident you are making an organically grown, quality meal that your family will love.
