Cinnamon makes everything better!

When I think of cinnamon, I think of my dad. Growing up, we never had a large enough container of cinnamon sugar to suit him. One time, mom had him stop at the food co-op to get some things, including cinnamon. He came home with a seemingly giant bag of cinnamon. (Maybe it wasn't that big, but it seemed big at the time. Mom has reminded me that I occasionally exaggerate my childhood :-).) He said that the woman who had scooped it out for him asked if it was enough, to which he said, "More!" She scooped some more in, and asked if it was enough, and he said, "More!" And so on. Or so the story goes, according to dad :-)

So anyway, in honor of dad on Father's Day, Ben's dad and a few others came over for dinner. I made a lentil curry to go over this fantastic Coconut Rice, from the classic More With Less cookbook (also home to my favorite Oatmeal Bread recipe). Hope you like it!

Coconut Rice

2 T. oil or butter
1/2 c. chopped onion
2-3 whole cloves (or 1/4 tsp. ground cloves)
2-3 cinnamon sticks
2-3 bay leaves
1/4 t. turmeric
1/4 t. salt
1 c. rice
2 c. coconut milk (1 can)Heat oil in saucepan. Add onion, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaves. Fry until onions are lightly browned. Add turmeric and salt. Fry a few seconds. Add rice and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook for 30 minutes, or until rice is cooked. If desired, whole spices may be removed before serving. Optional: add raisins, cashews or walnuts after rice is cooked.

Note: I found canned coconut milk in the Asian food section and it wasn't too expensive.

Then, in the evening on Father's Day we went rock climbing, as pictured below :-) It turns out to be a lot of fun! I'd highly recommend it! Everyone who did it, loved it, from ages 10-58. :-)