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Saturday, September 27, 2008

Pecan and Hazelnut Rice



It's now been exactly 5 glorious days into my week-long break from school, and yesterday, for the first time, I felt full calm descend upon me. I came home from work, and, inspired by the unusually crisp and lovely fall weather, mowed the lawn. Afterward, surveying the soft expanse of even grass, with the verdant scent of grass clippings lingering satisfyingly in the air, a deep sigh of peace and contentment passed through me.

These past few days, with a heightened sense of the preciousness of this brief respite foremost in my mind, I've been thinking quite a bit about how to maintain one's inner peace in the face of circumstances and individuals who do their best to strip you of your last shards of calm. While during my time in nursing school I have encountered endless examples of human courage coming from my patients, I have also witnessed, surprisingly, so much anger, and so much bitterness, coming from our teachers. I had hoped for teachers to inspire us, instill the gifts of nurturing and care, but instead my fellow students and I have been repeatedly treated with resentment and disgust - whether because of an "old-school toughness" approach to teaching, or because of circumstances in our teachers' lives of which we will likely never know, I am not aware, and I suspect a mixture of both. However, since we cannot always change the circumstances surrounding us, I have been reflecting deeply on how best to accept and mentally prepare for my remaining 7 months in the program.

I know I will draw strength from the uplifting and inspiring clinical experiences, and I am blessed to share this journey with my friends, my classmates. I will pray for strength. I will try not to cry, but I will likely do so anyway. I will try to remember that regardless of negative energy surrounding me, the blessing of being alive transcends everything.

I will try to remember the beauty in a single grain of rice...



Pecan and Hazelnut Rice

1 2/3 cup beef or vegetable broth
2 cups water
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 cups brown rice
1 cup pecan halves
2 T toasted hazelnut oil
salt and black pepper to taste

~ Bring the broth, water, and white wine to a boil in a saucepan.
~ Add the rice, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes - until all the liquid has been absorbed.
~ Remove the rice from the heat, and stir in the pecans, hazelnut oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm...


6 comments:

  1. Oooh, such an enticing rice dish!! Love it!!

    Keep enjoying your break!! :0)

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  2. I've heard it takes 15 seconds to change your mood. Like if you sit and concentrate, you can totally change it. Try and put a positive spin on everything, and remember, only 7 more months :)

    Rice? Nice.

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  3. SIMPLY FANTASTIC! What an ingenious combination of ingredients.

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  4. Sorry you're having such a trial by teachers. I remember having a really picky and mean French professor one semester. She was determined to make me miserable, but I was determined to get my 4.0. You can, too. Don't let their issues get in your way.

    Nut rice is one of my favorite dishes. It sounds especially good with hazelnut oil and wine.

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  5. VeggieGirl, thank you so very much!

    Adam, a million thanks for the incredible advice... I will definitely use your strategy, gratefully, in the coming months!

    FoodJunkie, thank you so much for visiting, and for your kind words!

    Susan, thank you very much for the encouragement! Your words are greatly appreciated!

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  6. I was searching for vegetable rice with pecans and found your blog. Nice recipe. if your subscriber's are interested in Vegetable Rice with Pecans follow this link http://basspecan.com/recipes/2011/05/vegetable-rice-with-pecans/

    ReplyDelete