1 cup basmati rice
2 cups warm water
1/2 teaspoon saffron
1/4 diced sweet white onion
1 handful pine nuts
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 teaspoon salt

Adventures in microwave cuisine for the lazy gourmet.

To be cooked in a cheap microwave rice cooker. Drop the rice, water, and saffron in; wait for twenty minutes, then pop the cooker into the microwave on high for four minutes. Pull it out, add onions, pine nuts, and bouillon to the mix, then cook it another two minutes or until the rice has fully soaked up the water. Give everything a good mix, serve in a bowl.

This tastes amazingly like the bags of instant buttered popcorn, minus the overwhelming grease and the bits of kernel between the teeth. It expands easily (a little saffron goes a long way - 1/2 teaspoon may even be too much for just two cups of cooked rice), takes the addition of ingredients well, and is remarkably filling.

To fill out the rice with more flavor, try adding frozen vegetables, chopped bits of meat, chopped green onions, pineapple, raisins, and other nuts.