Rice & Grains

"One Saturday morning I came up with this bread recipe, and now my family asks for it all the time," writes Priscilla Unger of Alberta, Canada. "My husband insists on having his first slice while the loaf is still warm from the oven, but I prefer mine toasted and topped with marmalade." The slightly sweet bread is great with butter and preserves.

For an attractive presentation, mound the salad on shredded lettuce and garnish with tortilla chips. Warm corn muffins and thickly sliced beefsteak tomatoes round out this substantial menu, and sliced fresh peaches and brown sugar wafers make a nice light dessert.

We couldn't have an American potluck dinner that didn't include at least one thoroughly native dish. The wild rice, hickory nuts, and dried cranberries in this salad are a nod to the potluck's origins.

This very typical Lao dish may also be made with fish, pork, beef, or, in Southeast Asian tradition, water buffalo meat. While laap is often made with raw meat or fish, our chicken-based rendition is stir-fried, as it was when Lao cooks served it to us. A powder made from toasted glutinous rice subtly flavors the dish.

Similar to the Latin posole, this stew would be terrific with yellow rice (there are several supermarket choices) and an avocado, grapefruit and red onion salad. Cinnamon-spiced brownies make a good dessert.

Voli are marbles, the multicolored little balls that were so popular with kids during my childhood. But unlike the glass versions, which were quite expensive, the ones we used to play with were made of clay and colored in various bright, glossy shades. They were fragile, and their glaze would crack, revealing their dark red insides, similar in color to these delicious meatballs with bulgur. This recipe comes from the island of Rhodes, and bulgur is probably the grain originally used. Later, in the stewed meatballs of the mainland, it was replaced by rice.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The "alternative" is the addition of oat bran.