Cooking Rice

Probably like you, many of the meals I cook, involve serving them with rice and if you own a thermal cooker there are two way to deal with this.
As my Shuttle Chef has only one inner pot (some thermal cooker have two) I can either put a trivet in the bottom (its legs in the food) and put something like my cake tin containing part boiled rice on the trivet or I can cook my rice about 30 minutes before I want to eat in a separate saucepan.
In the past I have tried many methods of cooking rice. These include Jamie Oliver's rice cooking method from his book "Ministry of Food" and Madhur Jaffrey's methods from her book "Illustrated Indian Cookery". All of these work but take far more time than my method and do not seem to be any better.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of rice per person. I always use Basmati rice except for when I am cooking Thai food. With Thai I prefer Jasmine rice.
• 1 cup of water for each 1/2 cup of rice.
• Salt to taste.

Method:

1. Add the water to a saucepan.
2. Add salt tasting the water until you can taste the salt. Vary the amount to your taste but remember if you can't taste the salt in the water your rice will tend to be bland.
3. Bring the water to the boil.
4. Pour the rice into the boiling water and bring it back to the boil.
5. Boil it gently (a rolling boil) for 5 minutes.
6. Turn off the heat and put a lid on the pan.
7. Leave for about 30 minutes and you then will have perfectly cooked rice.
8. Before serving fluff up with a fork.

Useful guide to cooking times

I though that today I would post this useful little chart from The Thermal Cooker site. It will give you a basic idea of cooking times for your own menues. Most slow cooker recipes can be used in the thermal cooker and by using either the times in a similar recipe or the times below you should end up with a perfectly cooked meal.

Food:	Simmer time after bringing to the boil:	Thermal cooking time:
Rice	5 mins	1 to 1.5 hours
Potatoes	5 mins	1 to 2 hours
Soup & Stock	10 mins	2 to 3 hours
Green Lentils	10 mins	3 to 4 hours
Pintos	10 mins	3 hours
Split Peas	10 mins	2 hours
Quinoa	5 mins	1.5 hours
Millet	5 mins	1 hours
Polenta	1 mins	1 hours
Winter Squash	5 mins	1 to 2 hours
Steamed bread	30 mins	3 hours
Chicken	6 mins	2 to 3 hours
Beef	13 mins	3 to 4 hours

Boiled fruit cake - Mr D's Thermal Cook Book

I thought today that I would give you a recipe that we have done so many times and always gets great comments when people try it. This fruit cake was one of the first recipes I tried and I couldn't believe how good the cake was. You really must give it a try.

Apart from your thermal cooker you will also need a fixed base cake tin, some baking or greaseproof paper and something to raise the cake tin from the bottom. I use for this a food ring.


THE INGREDIENTS

• 375 gms of mixed dried fruit.
• 3/4 of a cup of brown sugar.
• 1 tsp of mixed spice.
• Grated rind of an orange.
• 1/2 a cup of water or orange juice.
• 1/4 of a cup of whisky you could use sherry instead (optional).
• 125 gms of butter.
• 2 lightly beatened eggs.
• 1 cup self raising flour.
• 1 cup plain flour.
• 1/2 tsp of soda bicarb.

OPTIONAL: you can replace the water, liquor and sugar with a 450 gram tin of crushed pineapple.

THE METHOD:

1. Place the dried fruit into a saucepan with the brown sugar, mixed spice, orange rind, water, liquor and butter.
2. Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
3. Allow the mixture to cool.
4. Mix in the eggs.
5. Stir in the sifted flour and soda bicarb.
6. Line a 16 cm round cake tin or Pyrex dish (one that fits nicely into the inner pot) with baking paper.
7. Spoon the mixture into this prepared cake tin.
8. Lay a round of baking paper on top of the cake mixture then cover the tin with a trimmed piece of foil to prevent condensation from seeping in.
9. Place a trivet or metal pastry ring in the base of the inner pot and rest the cake tin on this. (If you are using the 3 litre pot the cake tin can sit on a folded pad of foil).
10. Pour enough hot water into the inner pot so that the level comes halfway up the sides of the cake tin.
11. Bring the water to the boil.
12. Put the lid on and turn down the heat to simmer gently for 30 minutes.
13. Turn off the heat and transfer the inner pot into the insulated container for a minimum of 3 to 4 hours.
    

Note: As the cake cannot dry out or overcook you can actually leave this cake over night before removing it to serve.

Poached Guinea Fowl with Vegetables - from Mr D's cookbook.

Last night we wanted something light so I put together this delightful dish of poached guinea fowl with vegetables. I served it with the perfectly cooked vegetables and drizzled over the light stock created from the poaching liquid. By poaching the guinea fowl it is moist and takes on the wonderful flavours of the fennel and other vegetables.
There was enough for 3 people but as there was only two I saved the stock we had left over, shredded the remaining Guinea fowl into it and will have it as a soup today. You could use the same recipe with chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1.5kg Guinea fowl


• 6 carrots peeled and cut into 5cm chunks.


• 2 medium leeks cleaned and cut into 5cm lengths.


• 20 small potatoes washed but not peeled.


• 1 fennel bulb sliced.


• 4 celery sticks halved.


• 1 bay leaf.


• Water.


• 2 Vegetable stock cubes or my preferred way of making stock is to use Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder (obtainable from most supermarkets) . If using this add 1 tablespoon.


• Salt and freshly ground pepper.

Method:

1. Wash the guinea fowl.


2. Place the guinea fowl into the inner pot of the thermal cooker.


3. Add the carrots and leeks into the pot.


4. Add the sliced fennel bulb, celery and the potatoes.


5. Put enough water to cover all the ingredients in the pot.


6. Add the stock cubes or powder.


7. Bring to the boil.


8. Turn down the heat to a simmer and put the lid on the pot.


9. Simmer for 10 minutes then put the inner pot into the outer pot.


10. Shut the leave and leave for a minimum of 2 hours to cook..


11. Once cooked adjust the stock for seasoning.


12. Serve spooning some of the stock over the guinea fowl.