I had hoped to test out some recipes and send this out as a done deal, but
fall is busy! For the past few holidays, my brother and his wife have made
elegant looking rice rings by pressing cooked rice into a Tupperware jello
mold, refrigerating overnight, unmolding onto a heatproof platter, and
baking to rewarm. You can then fill the center with something, and arrange
leafy pretty things around the perimeter. They have used various pilaf
recipes with various veggies and mushrooms, usually adding a little extra
water to make it more moldable. It helps to pour broth or something over
the surface while baking to keep the surface from becoming crispy.
Some ideas I have about experimenting with this: use a non-stick bundt
cake pan and bake it in there (keeping it moist); use a wild rice, basmati
rice, chestnut and morel mushroom pilaf for Thanksgiving with cranberry
sauce in the well; or use one of the vegan mushroom gravy recipes for a
savory ring. I will be playing with variations to select one for
Thanksgiving, but I wanted to throw the idea out earlier for people looking
for ideas. Maybe we can come up with a Fatfree List traditional holiday
recipe here! If anyone wants to e-mail suggestions, I'll collect them and
try to come up with a finished tested recipe before Thanksgiving. My aunt
doesn't digest tofu well, so that's one ingredient I can't use.
Anne Cox
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