Rice

I like long-grain Basmati rice, or long-grain brown rice.  It cooks fluffy and the grains do not stick to each other.  (Well, they DO stick, but they don’t cling in loving embrace like the shorter grains do.)

Rice, 450 ml (1.8C)

Water, 720 ml (3C

Bring water to boil (add powdered veggie stock if desired)(add 2 to 3 ml of powdered tumeric if yellow rice is desired), add rice, stir. Cover, reduce heat to low. Let simmer at very low heat for 25-30 minutes for white rice, 35-45 min for brown rice. Let set for five minutes, fluff. This will make three bags full.  For two cups use 300 ml rice, 2 cups water, for one use 150 ml rice, 1 cup rice.

For Yellow Rice, add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp (2 to 4 ml) tumeric right before or immediately after the rice has been added to the water.  I also often add some veggie broth (I like - love - Seitenbacher not easy to find - specialty health food stores will do it - I add a tsp, 5 ml of the both mixture as the rice is put in water.)

Pasta

Use whole wheat.  It is lower on the Glycemic Index than the mushier white stuff.. 

Bring large pot of water to brisk, rolling boil. Add pasta, stir, replace top of kettle, holding it until it boils, then remove it, stir again, and set timer for five minutes. Pasta will be done al denté, and will also be much lower on the glycemic index than if it were cooked for the recommended twelve minutes.

Soy Sauce

I grew to really love rice in Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and the Phillipines.  They almost ALWAYS add soy sauce to their rice.  When I returned to the U. S.  I couldn’t find any soy sauce that I liked.  Finally I noted that almost everywhere in Asia I ate they seemed to use the same brand: Kikkoman. It was hard to find in the states - back then.  Now, (thanks to MY publicity, I’m sure!) you can find it at almost any grocery store.  I always put it on rice, and almost always put a dash (or more) on pasta.