White Chocolate Coconut Rice Krispie Treats

Yields about 15 squares

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp butter
1 (10 oz) bag marshmallows - about 40 large marshmallows or 4 cups miniature
1/2 tsp coconut extract
5 1/2 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts (optional)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
2/3 cup shredded sweetened coconut, toasted (I crumbled mine up a little after toasting)


Directions:
Grease an 11x7 baking dish, set aside. Melt butter in a large non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add marshmallows and cook, stirring constantly until marshmallows have completely melted. Remove from heat and whisk in coconut extract. Add Rice Krisipies cereal and optional macadamia nuts and toss mixture until evenly coated. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and using a buttered spatula, spread and gently press mixture into an even layer. 
Melt white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl on 50% power, in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth. Spread melted white chocolate evenly over Rice Krispie Treats. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and gently press coconut into melted white chocolate. Cover baking dish with plastic wrap and allow chocolate to set and harden at room temperature before cutting into squares (alternately you could speed up the process by placing them in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to set) or cut and serve immediately for ooey gooey marshmallow, melty white chocolate Rice Krispie Treats (my favorite, but I love melted candy bars so maybe don't go with my judgement ).

Fried Rice

Serves 4 to 6

This is a basic recipe for fried rice that you can add to as desired. If adding other ingredients, increase the number of eggs to 3.
Need a bit of help? Here are step by step photo instructions showing how to make basic fried rice.

Ingredients:

• 1 - 2 green onions, as desired
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pepper to taste
• 4 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, or as needed
• 4 cups cold cooked rice
• 1 - 2 tablespoons light soy sauce or oyster sauce, as desired

Preparation:

Wash and finely chop the green onion. Lightly beat the eggs with the salt and pepper.

Heat a wok or frying pan and add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the eggs. Cook, stirring, until they are lightly scrambled but not too dry. Remove the eggs and clean out the pan.

Add 2 tablespoons oil. Add the rice. Stir-fry for a few minutes, using chopsticks or a wooden spoon to break it apart. Stir in the soy sauce or oyster sauce as desired.

When the rice is heated through, add the scrambled egg back into the pan. Mix thoroughly. Stir in the green onion. Serve hot.

Mango Rice

Ingredients :

Basmati rice(use white rice, if parboiled) - 2 cups

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Black gram - 1 tsp

Very slightly raw and ripe mango - 100 gm

Slice mango length wise and either roast the mango slices or can be dry it in hot sun.

Ground nuts - 20 gm(roasted)

Green chillies(sliced) - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Fenugreek - 1/2 tsp

Salt - As reqd

Oil - As reqd

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Dry red chillies - 2 nos

METHOD

• Cook ric and keep aside.
• Powder rosted cumins
• Heat oil in a pan and  add mustard seeds.
• When it begin to sputter , fry curry leaves, green  and  red chillies and fenugreek
• Add cumin powder and mix well.
• To this mixture add mango slices and cooked rice
• Mix thoroughly
• Garnish with roasted groundnuts and curry leaves.

Rice Mint Balls with Pistachios and Shrimps

Ingredients for 4 servings: 200 grs. of rice (I use Bahia), 350 grs. of shrimps, a garlic clove, 30 grs. of pistachios, 6 fresh mint leaves, olive oil, black ground pepper and salt.

• Get some water boiling and add some salt to it, when it starts boiling pour the rice in and cook for 20 minutes or what your package says, strain and let it cool.
• Pour some olive oil in a sauce pan and saute the shrimps, add some salt and a chopped garlic, have for 2 minutes, no more. Reserve. When cold, peel and cut in small pieces.
• Smash the pistachios and mint leaves in a mortar.
• In a big bowl put the rice, the shrimps and the pistachios and mint. Mix all ingredients and with your hands wet, make little balls and place in a recipient.
• Once the balls are done, place in the fridge for at least two hours.
• Serve with a sauce of your choice... Mint pesto? Soy sauce?

You can also make the dish changing the pistachios for peanuts or toasted almonds and the mint could be replaced by parsley too. Let's be creative!

Black Rice - Arroz Negro

•Ingredients: 400grs of rice (2 glasses), 350grs. of small squids or cuttlefish, the ink of the squids, 2 garlic cloves, 2 ñoras (dried and a bit spicy pepper), some parsley, 1 green or red pepper, 1 onion, 2 tomatoes, 9 glasses of fishsoup, olive oil, a bit of saffron, and some salt.
•First of all prepare the fishsoup with a couple of fresh beach fishes, 4-5 crabs and a piece of monkfish’s head.
•Prepare a pot with some olive oil, add a tomatoe, one onion and a couple of garlic cloves.
•When the tomatoe and the onion are done, add the crabs and cook for 10 minutes. Stir now and then.
•Add the water and the fishes to the pot.
•It should be boiling between 20 to 30 minutes. When the white foam appears, take it away. After this time leave the soup apart.

•Prepare a big pan with some olive oil and when it starts getting hot add the ñoras (first take the seeds away) and the garlic.
•When the garlic changes its colour, take all away and reserve.
•Get the ñoras, garlic, ink and parsley together in a recipient and smash it all until you get a fine texture.
•Add some salt and reserve it.

•Slice the pepper and onion.
•Add some more olive oil to the pan and add the onion and pepper.
•Clean the squids and cut in small pieces. Add to the pan and cook it in the opposite side.

•When everything is done and has taken away its water, add the tomatoes. The fire should be medium-high.
•When the sauce gets oily and darker means that the sofrito is done (see Paella recipe).

•It should look this way.
•Add the rice and stir for 3 to 5 minutes.

•Add the fishsoup to the pan. It should be boiling when you add it.
•Inmediately after add the ink mixture and stir with a wooden spoon. Add 2-3 saffron threads and stir.
•The fire should be high for 10 minutes.

•Add some salt and cook for another 10 minutes at medium fire.
•If the rice gets too dry add some water.
•Turn off the fire. Cover the pan and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
•Really exotic taste and colour!!!