Rice to (Liberian) Riches

Or, the day in which we ‘dozenized’ a recipe. And made enough food to feed 50 people for a night… and 4 kids in Liberia for a year!

“4 tablespoons, times 12, equals… 48 tablespoons, equals what?”

“…3 cups!”

Ah, the glories of google. Without it, we’d never be able to take a recipe and multiply it by 12. Which is pretty helpful if said recipe serves 4, and you have 48 people coming for dinner. Here was the idea (all credit to Tammy): The MacDella Cooper Foundation sends kids to school in war-ravaged Liberia—kids who don’t get enough to eat at home. But to feed one child a diet of local rice, for a whole year, costs only $100. So we hosted all of our friends for a Sunday night dinner, and asked them to donate $10 (or what they’d pay for a night out with friends)… and raised over $400, enough to feed 4 kids for a year!

Rice, Three Ways

Rice Noodles with Mint and Cilantro: This light, refreshing salad is both vegetarian and able to be served at room temperature—two very good things when there’s a large, diverse crowd.

Rice and Beans: After the rice had cooked for what seemed like an unusually long time, we realized that our substitution of brown rice for white had added an extra hour in the pot. The prep for this is easy, but the result has lots of depth—the best type of recipe there is.

Rice Pudding: We baked the whole thing in a dutch oven for 1 1/2 hours, then forgot to add in the heavy cream. Still, delicious delicious.

Want to host your own rice dinner? Help us feed 100 kids in 2010 by having a few friends over for your own versions of rice. And let me know your favorite rice recipes in the comments below!

And for after-party fun, check out Sammy D’s video.