During a recent Saturday visit to the Stockton Market, I found Jim Lyons describing the qualities of Blue Moon Acres organic rice to a group of attentive customers. Customers tasted two rice samples while Jim highlighted that his rice contained no recordable trace of arsenic.
Arsenic??? Jim explained that arsenic appears in many varieties of rice and rice products, such as rice cereal and rice cakes. My brief research on this subject confirmed that arsenic appears naturally in the soil and water and that rice, especially brown rice, absorbs arsenic more readily than other grains. According to the FDA, “Arsenic is present in the environment as a naturally occurring substance or as a result of contamination from human activity. It is found in water, air, soil and foods. In foods, arsenic may be present as inorganic arsenic (the most toxic form of arsenic) or organic arsenic.” Although the FDA has not issued any specific guidelines based upon their findings to date, some medical professionals have issued warnings to limit exposure to arsenic, especially in infants and young children. Better to be safe than sorry, and luckily the rice from Blue Moon Acres provides an arsenic-free alternative.
Jim Lyons and his wife Kathy own Blue Moon Acres. From their farms in Buckingham, PA and Pennington, NJ Blue Moon Acres sells a variety of produce and micro greens to consumers and chefs across the region. The farm also hosts workshops and pop-up dinners throughout the year.
I was eager to try my own version of brown rice risotto and was pleased with the results using the recipe below.
Ingredients
1 cup Blue Moon Acres Organic New Jersey Brown Rice
4 – 5 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for a vegetarian option)
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 TBS olive oil, divided
8 oz. cremini or wild mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 TBS unsalted butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 scallions, chopped
Bring chicken stock to a boil and lower heat to simmer. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the onion and 1/4 tsp salt in 2TBS olive oil until translucent. Do not brown. Add minced garlic, stirring for another minute. Add the rice to the skillet and stir 4-5 minutes until the grains are coated and fragrant. Add 1 cup of chicken stock to rice mixture and cook, stirring frequently until liquid is absorbed. Adjust heat to maintain a simmer.
Continue to add hot stock to rice mixture as liquid is absorbed, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently until rice is tender, about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, sauté chopped mushrooms in 1TBS olive oil and 1TBS butter over medium heat until browned and their juices have been absorbed.
Add the mushrooms to the rice mixture, stirring to combine, and season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Remove the rice from heat. Stir in grated cheese, and up to 1/2 cup broth as needed to create a creamy, tender mixture. Sprinkle with chopped scallions and serve immediately.
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