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Flux Capacitor Rice

Flux Capacitor Rice

If Flux Capacitor Rice were served to you anonymously—”anonymous” here meaning that the name of the dish, and not the identity of the person serving it, is unknown to you, because if you don’t know who’s serving you something then you probably shouldn’t eat it—I doubt you’d notice any similarities at all to Back to the Future.

You see, unlike Back to the Future, which is a classic time-travel comedy from the 1980s, this is rice with some nice seasonings and fruit and nuts in it. It’s sweet and fresh-tasting and quite healthy, and it doesn’t taste remotely like burnt rubber or getting a truckload of manure dumped on you. So why Flux Capacitor?

Because when you list its chief ingredients, which were selected solely because they combine nicely in flavor and texture and not at all because of their names, it is revealed that Flux Capacitor Rice is nutty [Doc] Brown rice with dates and thyme.

So here it is posing in front of the Time Machine DeLorean.

Flux Capacitor Rice

Did you know dates mostly come from the Middle East and northern Africa? They’re tiny unarmed Libyans!

Flux Capacitor Rice

Long story short, Flux Capacitor Rice is a flavorful side dish, with lemon and thyme for a fresh, earthy flavor, and the richness of almonds and dates. Together, all those things upstage the brown-riceyness of the brown rice, which, unlike Doctor Emmett Brown, can seem starchy and boring to those of us who aren’t accustomed to eating it simply (with, say, just some soy sauce). Adding tasty ingredients creates a flavorful alternative that’s every bit as whole-grainy and fibersome as regular old plain brown rice, and the addition of the Libyans—er, dates, rather—packs in even more fiber and vitamins.

Flux Capacitor Rice

  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cups (Doc) Brown Rice
  • 3 cups broth (I used 1 cup chicken, 2 cups vegetable, but you could use either or both. It’s also okay to supplement half the liquid with water.)
  • Juice from 1 lemon
  • 2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 9 dates, chopped
  • 1/4 cup slices almonds
  1. Place onion and garlic in a medium saucepan with oil over medium-high heat. Saute until onions are soft, about five minutes.
  2. Add rice and continue to cook, stirring, for about one minute. Then add broth, lemon juice, and a pinch of the thyme leaves.
  3. Bring liquid to boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 40 minutes to hydrate the rice, adding the rest of the thyme, the dates, and the almonds after 30 minutes. (Note: Different varieties of brown rice often require different cooking times. This 40-minute simmer is correct for the rice that I use, but if the rice package specifies a different cooking time, it’s best to go by those directions. Just wait until 10 minutes before the rice is ready to add the final ingredients.)
  4. Serve.

Kristina Ackerman

Kristina Ackerman is a busy freelance web designer, living and DIYing with her fella and their little fella in a cute old house in Atlanta, GA, USA.

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