Wild Rice Bake

Yesterday I made the "Wild Rice Bake", and earlier in the day there was actually some sunshine coming into our apartment!

The wild rice & pearl barley were so visually appealing to me, and I enjoyed capturing that a bit in that sunlight.

The first step to this dish was rinsing and then boiling one cup of wild rice. This filled the apartment with an almost herbal aroma.

Next I sauteed the

two cups of onion in two tablespoons of olive oil. My brother taught me to pile the onions up in the pan, pour the oil over them, and then leave for five minutes. The onions cooked up quite nicely this way. He tells me they cook up quicker this way because they are containing the heat.

Next I mixed the wild rice, onion, and one cup pearl barley together in a 9X13 dish.

Then I chopped up four cups of sweet potatoes. The recipe called for two cups parsnips and two cups sweet potatoes. I think the parsnips would have definitely added to the dish. However, it was reaching the end of our grocery-week and this is what I had to work with.

I also chopped up two cups of butternut squash, any winter squash would do. I found a pretty easy way of chopping up butternut squash over here. I microwaved it for three minutes first, and this made the skin softer to cut through.

Then I mixed the squash & sweet potatoes with one pound of whole mushrooms (which the recipe reassures are optional). I spread this on top of the grain mixture, & sprinkled it with salt and pepper. In the future I may add some oregano or paprika. I'm not really a salt & pepper only person. But I tried to stay true to the recipe since it was my first go at it.

Then I poured over the top three cups of our homemade chicken broth & one cup of apple cider.

It baked for an hour at 375 degrees, filling the house with a grainy-sweet & chicken smell.

The result was what I would describe as a playful dish. The colors and textures of the meal were visually appealing and the flavors were equally tantalizing. The texture was firmer than I would have supposed. The result was a filling dish made to feel even more satisfying by mouthfuls of chewy goodness. The mushrooms were cooked to perfection, and balanced out the heartiness of the rest of the meal with a bit of softness.

The recipe said it serves 6-8. I would say it serves more like 8-10. We certainly have plenty of leftovers. I would also not recommend serving this dish as a side, I think it felt like the feature dish it was.

I served this dish with mulled apple cider. This added the smell of cinnamon to the aromas wafting through our apartment. The apple cider was great, but I felt its flavors were lost when paired with the meal. It made a fine dessert, however.

The meal gave us plenty of positive energy, which we spent grocery shopping for next weeks adventures...

Favorite Song (on my favorite radio station during prep time): Kathryn Tickell-Peter Man