Today I slept in. The original plan was to go for a bike ride, but after glancing outside and seeing the dark rain clouds, I welcomed the graceful inconvenience of having to stay inside and snuggle up and listen to the light drizzle of rain outside. I sipped on some ginger tea and felt the thirsty earth's gratitude for this little tease of nourishment from the sky. 

The rain has a way of making me feel more introspective. It's on the rainy days when I love wrapping myself in a warm blanket and burying myself in a good book, when I compose effortlessly on my keyboard, and when my writing feels more fluid and ideas come more easily. Rain = good art. Staying inside when it's raining always seems to spark my creativity and inspiration. Today, it resulted in a new recipe incorporating one of my favorite grains, forbidden black rice.

Ingredients:

-2 c. forbidden black rice

-1 c. organic coconut milk (full fat)

-2 1/2 c. vegetable broth

-1 can organic adzuki beans

-1 mango, diced

-juice from 2 limes

-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

-1 onion, diced

-1 Tbsp. organic ghee (clarified butter)

-1 tsp. freshly grated ginger

-chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat the ghee over medium heat in a large pan. Add the diced onion and ginger and saute them until soft. Add the rice and keep stirring until the rice starts to slightly toast, about 2 minutes. 

2. Add the coconut milk, vegetable broth, cayenne pepper and bring to a simmer. Cover it and reduce the heat to low. Allow it to simmer until the rice is tender, around 40 minutes.

3. While the rice is cooking, chop up the mango into bite-size pieces.

4. When the rice is tender, fold in the beans, lime juice, and mango. Garnish with the chopped cilantro.

5. Enjoy!

Food is art. And if art is the manner in which we attach meaning and describe our lives, this recipe definitely captures the essence of it- colorful, savory, tangy, a little nutty, with just the right amount of sweetness mixed in.