One Pan Wonders

There are a lot of things that I would like in an "instant" form, that aren't available on supermarket shelves. My friend, Sarah, taught me how to make rice, pasta and grains instant. So far I have tried this with rice and barley and it has worked wonderfully.

I have heard rumors that there is a commercially available instant wild rice, but in all my looking I have never found it. This is how I made "instant" wild rice. 

I took a 4 ounce box of wild rice, and cooked it in plain water until it was done. (45 minutes - impossible for the backcountry!) Then I let it cool almost completely before spreading it on a fruitroll tray. This amount of rice was just the right amount for one tray. I set the dehydrator to 135* and let it go.








About halfway through the drying time, I gave the rice a good stir, breaking up clumps and exposing any wet/sticky spots. Total drying time was about four hours, and the rice was about the same consistancy as before it was cooked, with one big difference; I can now just add hot water to it and have INSTANT WILD RICE! Yay!  

This method works for other varieties of rice, barley, split peas, lentils...The possibilities are endless!  It works for pasta too, just be sure to undercook the pasta slightly before putting it in the dehydrator. It will finish cooking as you rehydrate it.