Green Rice

"There are two kinds of people in the world:  people who wake up thinking about what to have for supper and people who don't." - Lynne Rosetto Kasper

I first read this quote in one of Shauna Niequiest's books and I immediately identified myself as the first kind of person.  I'm sitting here this morning dreaming about this green rice that my mom made a couple of months ago for us and wondering what I'm going to have for supper tonight.  It's warm, filling, and has an amazing flavor.  My mom served it as the base for these rice bowls which were super yummy, but it can stand on its own as a side dish in a lot of different types of meals.  I think it's passed up the cilantro-lime rice as my favorite!  I imagine that long grain white rice would work fine in place of the brown, but you may need to reduce the cooking time so it doesn't get mushy.

Green Rice (makes 3 cups)
From the Cookie and Kate blog

3 T olive oil
1.5 cups long grain brown rice
3 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups baby spinach, lightly packed
1/2 cup cilantro (mostly leaves, some stems are ok), lightly packed
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, membranes removed, roughly chopped
1 medium shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp salt (plus more to taste)

Place the spinach, cilantro, jalapeno, shallot, garlic, salt and 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth in a food processor or blender.  Process until smooth.

Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat.  Add the rice and stir to coat.  Continue stirring until the rice begins to lightly brown.  Stir a little more until most of it is light brown and then add the green puree to the rice.  Stir to evenly coat the rice and stir constantly for a minute.  Add the rest of the broth and bring to a boil. 

Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer until tender (35-40 minutes).  Remove from heat and let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.