For those of you who may have missed our big news, (it was covered by most of the major Canadian broadcasters but sometimes these things get overlooked), we bought a rice cooker.
Yes, it’s true.
And we have been making rice daily. That’s: every. single. day. Nothing new to our Asian friends we understand but entirely new, in frequency, to us.
And I don’t remember the last time we had this much fun for $9!!
After enjoying variations on stir-fries and burritos, we’ve expanded into blender territory this week to play around with some delightful vegetarian sliders (which can also easily be made vegan). I’ve come to realize that my blender is a little bit like how some people view their crockpots – a life saver and food transformer.
The combination of rice and beans makes these easily assembled sliders a complete vegetable protein and ideal meal choice for vegetarians and those of us looking to vary our dietary intake.
Brown Rice & Cannellini Bean Sliders with Fresh Parsley, Peach & Honey
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1 large yellow onion, chopped
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2 cups cooked cannellini beans (any beans will do), well rinsed if using canned
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2 cups cooked brown rice
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2 eggs (substitute 1/3 cup olive oil for vegan version)
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1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
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1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese (simply omit for vegan version)
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1/2 tsp ancho chile powder or to taste (substitute regular chili powder or other seasoning as desired)
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Sea salt & coarse black pepper to taste
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1/2 cup Greek yogurt
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1 ripe peach or nectarine, skin-on and sliced into wedges
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Honey or pure maple syrup for topping
Health Canada has banned the industrial chemical from plastic baby bottles (as has the European union), but has not extended this ban to include food and beverage cans, which critics continue to argue is necessary to ensure public safety. Until more studies are conducted, I continue to take a cautionary approach by reducing our exposure to BPAs as much as possible.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, adding olive oil. Place sliders in heated skillet and sauté for about two minutes on each side or until desired doneness is achieved.
Oh these look simply gorgeous. I’ll definitely have to add this to my list of vegetarian recipes to try.
Side note – You didn’t have a rice cooker?! That’s the one thing my mom made sure I had before leaving for college *shock* :P
Thanks Chris! :)
Such a delicious unique combination, Kelly – love this!
Every. Single. Day. Loving it! Off to the soccer field… :)
Thanks Caroline… I don’t have many kitchen appliances but this one, so far, has been well worth it!
None left I’m afraid… really simple to make though – hope you try it sometime, cheers helene!
Thanks so much for dropping by!
phew, I was hoping it would make CNN!! :)
it’s not that it’s difficult making rice on the stove, it’s just that the cooker seems to get it just right every time. The quality is much better in my view – that’s been the big revelation on our end!
Thanks Angie ~ yes, a whole new discovery for us :)
Good for you Junia, they are nectarine slices!! I wanted to use peach but couldn’t find any ripe ones in the store ;-) (in truth, I prefer the taste of nectarines…)
Thanks France ~ I hope you’re having a great week :)
I’m not sure If I’ve come across any science on that, but it’s something worth looking out for – whether the food is interacting with the BPA lining and what gives rise to that interaction (heat; acidity; or is it simply enough to be sitting there in the can….)
psst! We don’t call them sliders in Canada either but as I was putting together the title to this post, I thought sliders was decidedly cooler than ‘patties’
I know, the daily things seems a lot (we’ll see how long it lasts) but as my husband keeps reminding me, Asians have been doing this for centuries – every day, every meal (!).
The best story I heard from Ping was I gag that was played on one of her girlfriends at a wedding shower – the attendees decided to all buy the bride to be the exact same colour, brand and style of rice cooker – every single gift she opened was identical – haahahahha!! NAsty ;-) but hilarious.
Aww, thanks so much Yummy!!
I think you could probably do these on the Q – you’d want to make sure they have some oil on the base but they’re quite resilient with the rice and chunky beans. Hope you enjoy!
Thanks so much Stephanie… they’re rather yummy indeed :)
No blender you say? Wow, and I thought I was a pioneer woman ;-)
What, not CBC?? :)
heehee, you know what’s you have the blender out, 80% of the job is done! Cheers KoKo.
Thank you so much Ambika – Welcome to Inspired Edibles; I appreciate you dropping by.
The fruit really works – adds a certain something that’s otherwise missing from the bean/rice combo ;-) Thanks Magic!
haha, life changing indeed! Thanks Laura :)
The lining inside the tin can is the BPA (it’s an industrial plastic used to line the metal)… I am not aware of any BPA free alternatives for this type of canned good on the market at the moment – but will be watching to see how this one unfolds.
LOL! You’ve made rice every day?! I love it! I should pull my rice cooker out again. We have one…somewhere. I only ever use it when we make sushi. I should use it more. It makes things so much easier. This looks like a fantastic meal and I love that it can be on the table in 15 minutes. Simplicity!
A rice cooker is such a great addition to the kitchen appliances…I need to invest in one. I’m sure you’re loving yours. These sliders are so clever, and what wonderful flavors and colors!
I have to get a rice cooker too soon!
Your sliders look amazing, love the presentation and flavoure combination, in fact I love the whole idea of this dish. I d surely try it out, but right now I wished you could send me some over, if there is any left? ;)
I havent heard of BPA yet. thats new info to me. Have to keep an eye out for that on cans. They do write it on all cans, dont they?
Fantastic! Love the flavour of the season…
Hi Eva, the proportions are completely different for brown rice than white rice in terms of water. For the brand of brown rice that we currently have, the ration is 1:2.5 rice to water.
You know, when my husband would mention a rice cooker I didn’t really get it because I was perfectly content making rice on the stove. I have to say that the quality of the cooked rice is simply better in the cooker – I notice this especially with the full-bodied grains like brown or wild rice – they are not as heavy or starchy – cooked just right.
Haha! Cheers Maureen – thanks for dropping by :) I guess you must be preparing for winter in Australia…
Thanks Suzi – they seemed to work pretty well and I just love when I can pull something together quickly like that in the blender.
What a nice compliment. Thank you so much Mandy :)
Ah, it’s all what they get use to! If you feed them brown rice and beans, that’s what they’ll come to know as ‘normal’ – cheers Alyssa!
I especially like the way it renders the rice perfectly done. I have at times found brown rice a little on the cardboard side but in the cooker it seems to come out perfectly and ready for just a splash of soy sauce of fresh squeezed citrus. Yum!
Yes, we’ll see how long it lasts but for now, we are cooking up a storm and I find it quite inspiring in terms of generating dish ideas… lots of fun. Agreed, our Asian friends have been all over rice (for all meals) forever. Ping made me smile when she said she wasn’t aware that a rice cooker was even optional in a home ;)
hee.hee, thanks Sally – those press folks can be so hard to work with at times… ;-)
~~~You bought a rice cooker! Yes, I heard it on CNN. seriously…
This looks FAbulous <3 Xxx So many kisses for you.
Kelly…yayyyyyy…
you know you will have so mech fine with rice cooker, Rice is a part of our daily meal… I cook it both with/without rice cooker, but I have to say rice cooker makes my life so easy and rice cooking so fun.
This dish looks so fun…
Healthy and loaded with flavors…
What an exotic and delicious twist on the traditional mini sliders my friend – I am much in love with these :)
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Those sliders look fantastic! I am glad that you have so much fun with rice cooker.
the flavors here sound FABULOUS. love the touch of greek yogurt in the sliders, topped with fresh nectarines. yum!
These just sound delightful. I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying your rice cooker. We had one and never used it. Now I’m kinda regretting not having help onto it! I’ll make these the old fashion way :)
Sounds delicious. Very informative post regarding BPA. I have read that specifically tomato products should not be bought in cans because the acidity of the tomatoes causes the lining to shed into the food so have been avoiding that but I didn’t realize there were some issues with canned beans as well.
Rice every single day? :o That’s a lot of rice :D I love rice cooker cooked rice though… it’s always so good. My ex-girlfriend used to put a batch on for breakfast and lunch every day, the night before she went to bed. I was even told a story once by a friend who got a rice cooker, about her husband who decided to try and be helpful and cooked a week’s worth of rice because he thought it would be convenient :D
I just love the look of your sliders (even if I find that word hilarious because we don’t really have such a thing called a “slider” in Europe) – beans, rice, bit of chilli and parmesan and yoghurt… all the makings of a wonderful meat-free meal. My wife recently introduced me to the joys of meat free tacos (using fried beans)… omg, I think I prefer them to the meat version!
These are the prettiest sliders I’ve ever seen!
This is just so unique and inventive Kelly.. I love these bean sliders. I am new to beans but I would definitely want to try this. These would be perfect for a BBQ
I love everything about these, Kelly! I really love the yogurt, peach, and agave on top!
Ah, rice is something I can make in my mini kitchen for sure! I don’t have processor or blender but possibly I can smash everything up really well and make a chunkier version! I think my son will like these too! I’m getting very inspired by this recipe! Thanks Kelly!
Hahaha Yeah I think I caught that one CTV News….the rice cooker! ;-)
These look truly amazing, I honestly want them for dinner but am too tired to make them. Where’s my mama??? Ha ha!
I am loving everything about these sliders! They look perfect!!
You are too funny! And these babies are just fantastic! I love the fruit and agave adds…delicious!
These look fantastic! I love that you used your life-changing pressure-cooked rice and the topping is gorgeous.
YUMMY! Rice and beans sliders – who would have thought?! They look delicious as all of your food does, but I can only guess that by using brown rice you would get the texture a meat slider. Great recipe! That’s funny that you are making rice everyday with your rice cooker. We LOVE our new toys, don’t we. :) The BPA issue – I hardly ever eat foods from a can, but one exception is diced tomato. I’ve been buying Muir Glen under the assumption that the white lining has no BPA, but I just read that may not be true. What brand of canned tomatoes would you recommend? Great post Kelly!
I forgot about BPA, although we don’t really eat that much canned food, it’s still a concern; thank you for the reminder, Kelly. These sliders sound absolutely delicious. Do you find the brown rices cook well enough in the rice cooker? I find I have to add a bit more water to it than regular white rice.
I just got a rice cooker myself! Obsessed.
Haven’t used a rice cooker, but I hear it is the only way to make perfect rice. These flavors sound wonderful together, though we cannot get a decent peach around here right now, so would have to use pear maybe.
Obviously I missed the news in Australia because I hadn’t heard about the new rice cooker. I hate being a day late!
These sliders look great.
These are just perfect. Makes me want to get out in the kitchen and whip these up. Photos are truly enticing.
You always share the most wonderful original recipes ideas. I will have to cook rice the old fashioned way for now though as I don’t have a rice cooker.
:-) Mandy
What a great way to use left over rice and beans! While I might have a hard time getting my family to buy off on these, I would totally love it!
Ha, ha, ha, love the introduction! I want a rice cooker so bad! This looks great Kelly! Love the ingredients, rice and bean and fresh produce and herbs, much more affordable than using ground beef or poultry. I too try to stay away from plastic, I have glass container’s with lids but again still have those plastic container’s lingering around in the cupboards.
Kelly, you have made me laugh and reminded me the way our family looked at us when we told them “the rice cooker has completely changed our life”. We were really serious and they thought we were joking!
I have had a rice cooker for 4 years now I think and I cannot imagine my life without it. You have noticed I cook a lot of Asian cuisine (especially Japanese) and before this miraculous buy I must have burnt at least two pots trying to boil rice correctly (a bit sticky but not mushy), so now I can cook any Japanese, Korean or Chinese dish so easily…
Rice is my our favourite carb and just like most people in Europe start panicking when there is no bread in the house we panick if there is not enough rice for at least two meals.
Your bean sliders look luscious and so unusual! The peach, the parmezan, beans, rice, agave syrup… You are so creative I even cannot imagine the complexity of taste they have.
Good luck with the rice cooker!
Well, I tried to get to the press conference, but apparently they overlooked my application and my badge was not ready. I begged, used all my tropical charm and wit, to no avail. So, I could not congratulate you on this amazing milestone….
Great achievement, I look forward to all your rice adventures (don’t forget, you can use your new toy to cook quinoa, farro… it works great, with a little tweaking of the amount of water)