Shortly after I started high school, my friend John and I needed to make some money. “Wild rice!” he said. “Let’s take my canoe up north and get some wild rice to sell.” He made it sound like easy money. Later, I learned he’d never been ricing either. North of Brainerd, Minn., we paddled into a rice patch. I pulled the stalks over the canoe and beat on them with my paddle to knock the grains into the bottom. Small green worms fell off, no rice.
But even after that experience, wild rice remains a staple of our holiday season at the Sullivan house.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice
- 3 cups water (for a richer taste, use chicken broth)
- 5 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled
- 1 large onion
- ½ cup celery (can also add mushrooms, peas, etc. Experiment to your taste.)
1. In a large pot, add rice to water and bring to boil.
2. Simmer for about 35 to 40 minutes until kernels open. For chewier rice, cook less.
3. In a skillet, sauté onion and celery to taste, add crumbled bacon.
4. Drain rice and add to skillet, stirring to combine, then serve.
John and Tanya Bäck 
Dutch Oven
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Cabin Porn: Inside
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