National Rice Month – Rice a Louisiana Favorite

September is National Rice Month!  In Louisiana we eat a lot of rice–from gumbos,  etouffees, jambalayas, with red beans to my kid’s classic favorite, rice and gravy.  In honor of  this national recognition, Kevin Burkin invited me to his farm to see how rice is harvested.  I went to Port Arthur, Louisiana (about a 2 hour drive for me) and had a day to remember.  Never did I realize how big and sophisticated those combines were.  These farmers work hard to make sure their crop is harvested in a timely manner and the combines today get the job done.  I rode with Kevin in his combine and understood the feeling of serenity  of being in the middle of these rice fields watching the harvest process.  Now, when I got to drive the combine, I was nervous but it was amazingly easy to maneuver with all the modern gadgets and controls of today.  Rice is a big business in Louisiana as we are one of the top rice producing states. 

Did you know that 1 cup brown rice=3 1/2 g fiber and 1 cup white rice is less than 1 g fiber—so try to make the switch to brown rice for a fiber booster. 

My Gulf Coast book features Louisiana and southern recipes-so rice is a staple in that book.  Here is a Crawfish Etouffee recipe with two of our favorites:  crawfish and rice.   If you have leftover rice, you will want to turn it into another meal, with this scrumptous Chicken Apricot Rice Salad from my new book, Too Hot in the Kitchen.  So, think of the versatility with rice from a side, entree to a salad.

Thank you Kevin and all the rice farmers for all you do to get rice on the table each day.