Wild Rice and Apples

Insect eating "pitcher plants"  in the swamps of Northern Michigan

Wild Rice and Apples

This is wonderful as a main dish, a side dish, or as stuffing with a large holiday meal!

1/2 pound (about 2 cups) wild rice, cooked
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 pound baby bella mushrooms
2 TBSP minced onion
1 large tart apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup walnuts or pistachios, chopped
1/4 cup candied orange peel (see below), finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh orange juice

     Add the rice to 4 cups boiling water and 1 tsp salt.  Return to a boil, then simmer and cover for 45 minutes.  Uncover, and fluff with a fork, draining any excess liquid as needed.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Using the oil, cook the mushrooms and onion and then add to the rice, along with all the other ingredients.  Place everything into a 2 quart casserole dish and bake, covered, for 35 minutes.

Candied orange peel: 

1 cup orange peel (2 oranges)
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar or 1/4 cup honey or agave nectar

     Scrape a sharp knife over the peel to release the oils.  Chop the peel into small pieces and place in a heavy saucepan with enough water to cover.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.  Drain rinse and repeat.  Do this 2 more times, as this reduces the bitterness of the peel.  After rinsing three times, add 1/4 cup water and the sweetener.  Simmer until the syrup is almost entirely absorbed by the peel.  Pour into an oiled dish to cool.  This may be stored for a long period of time in the freezer or refrigerator.

Teenagers

by Pat Mora

One day they disappear

into their rooms.

My Ethan, my teenager

Doors and lips shut

and we become strangers

in our own home.

I pace the hall, hear whispers,

a code I knew but can't remember,

mouthed by mouths I taught to speak.

Years later the door opens.

I see faces I once held,

open as sunflowers in my hands.  I see 

familiar skin now stretched on long bodies

that move past me

glowing almost like pearls.

"Come in the evening, come in the morning, 

 come when expected, come without warning;

 Thousands of welcomes you'll find here before you, 

 And the oftener you come, the more we'll adore you."

                    - Irish Rhyme