Recently I have become totally obsessed with finding healthy side dish recipes. So I can’t begin to tell you how delighted I am to share this recipe with you today. And who better to share my obsession with, than a captive audience sitting in front of a computer screen? (I figure you wouldn’t be visiting my site unless you too weren’t hungry (so to speak) for new and exciting ways to prepare healthy and delicious dishes.)

So, a couple of days ago I was at our local Bartells. (For those of you who live outside the Seattle area, Bartells is a local drug store chain.) And whenever I go to Bartells for legitimate drug store items, such as makeup, I always peruse the middle isle for packaged foods that are featured at a discounted price.

This last visit I found great prices on flavored almonds and Lundberg rice products. So I bought two packages of their wild rice blend.

When I got home I immediately went on line and visited the Lundberg site for recipe ideas. And this recipe literally jumped off the screen and onto a word document before I even knew what hit me. It is gluten free (if you use GF tamari), vegetarian, and full of nutritious ingredients. What can be better than that? Well the fact that it’s absolutely delicious sure doesn’t hurt either!

So however you want to approach this recipe, as a delicious side dish or as a healthy side dish, you’re 100% covered.

So hurry up and read the recipe and get thee to the grocery store if you need ingredients, or straight to the kitchen if you don’t, and build your family a side dish that comes with its own PhD. (P-painless to prepare, h-healthy, D-delicious) And thank you Lundberg for both the lovely wild rice blend and the recipe. (Sorry for the slight modification.)

• ¾ c. dried mushrooms* (shiitake, chanterelle, porcini) cut or broken into small pieces
• 1 c. very hot water
• 1 c. combination wild and whole grain brown rice (or Lundberg Wild Blend)
• 1¾ c. vegetable broth (I use Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base)
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 med. onion, finely chopped
• 2 c. fresh button mushrooms, halved and thinly sliced (about 8 medium mushrooms)
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 oz. spinach, stems removed and rough chopped
• 1 T. gluten-free tamari soy sauce
• 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ c. sliced green onions or chives, garnish

*if you don’t have dried mushrooms, use another 2 cups of fresh button mushrooms

Place dried mushrooms in a bowl. Add the hot water and set aside. Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan, bring the broth and rice to a boil. Cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce heat to a low simmer, and cook for 45 minutes. Remove from heat (with lid on) and let steam for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the fresh mushrooms and cook until softened; stir in garlic and cook 1 minute more. Drain the re-hydrated mushrooms and add to the pan along with the spinach; cook until spinach just starting to wilt. Stir in the tamari, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

Gently fold mushroom-spinach mixture into cooked rice and garnish with green onions or chives.