Rice and Pineapple Sauce

So I used to be afraid of rice. I was not a fan of Chinese food, I did not like Sushi, I was afraid with a capital A. So one night, on a date many moons ago, I had a date that decided he would dare me $50 bucks that I could not learn how to use chopsticks by the end of the night. Well being how I am, and loving challenges, I accepted and won the $50. Funny thing was, I was so preocupied with proving him wrong, I forgot to bitch about the food laid in front of me. So I ate Chinese food for the first time, and actually liked it. It was not until I started dating the hubby that I started to appreciate Chinese food. The subtle differences in flavor, the brilliant presentations and plating, and the wonderful things that could be done with plain white rice (rice sculptures, anyone?). I remember the first time I tried Sushi. I was out with some friends, and they built me up to the experience and described the flavors so vividly that I had to try them. This was the beginning of my appreciation of food. This was the beginning of descriminating tastes. We sat at the bar of a local sushi restaurant, and we ordered. It was refreshing to have someone tell me that allergies were not a problem. They told me since the sushi is made fresh to order, they could just leave something out. Imagine my surprise when the sushi chef came over and made suggestions of substitutions since I could not enjoy the original rolls. Imagine my surprise when trying Mussel shooters with quail eggs for the first time! All in all it was a beautiful experience (although, I don't think the mussel shooters will happen again soon).

This all leads into my forays of cooking with Rice. To make it really easy, and because the hubby is not great with my tempermental stove, we bought a rice cooker. It was about fifteen dollars at the local store and makes enough rice for the two of us, with just enough left over for lunch the next day. So we tried Jasmine Rice, Basmati, Plain Aborrio, Brown, and Quinoa in the rice cooker. Each gave slightly different flavors and textures. Last night I found my new favorite thing.

White Rice and Pineapple sauce. MMMMMM!

enough rice for you and some to share
1 can diced pineapple
spices that you like

Wash and rinse your rice. Add half the water called for to cook the rice. For the remaining water needed, add pineapple juice from the can of pineapple. Cook the rice

In a pan, combine the remaining liquid in the pineapple can and the spices that you like (I used a jerk spice blend, some cayenne pepper, a bit of sea salt, and some lovely garlic). Add half the pineapple chunks. Warm over low heat, and slowly cook down the pineapple, mashing as you go. Once it cooks down a bit, you can add a bit of sugar to taste. It may be thin, but it is still tasty.

When the rice is done, scoop into portions and add some pineapple chunks on top. Add a bit of the sauce and enjoy!

I really enjoyed this rice, and it just reminded me to not ever rule any food out. Even rice can be adventurous.