Lemony Rice Salad

Recently, I took quite possibly the most spontaneous trip I've ever taken.  The Monkey Scientist was down in Florida with his family for Mother's Day and the roommate and I were feeling bored on Friday night.  A lot of our friends were working or out of town, so we didn't have much to do over the weekend.  So around 8 pm on Friday night, we booked a hotel in St. Louis.  We got up at 5 am and drove down there for a couple days.  Just like that.  It was so out of character for me!



We had a blast on our mini vacation.  We've been friends for so long that it doesn't take much until we're both cracking up at each other.  Anyone who knows me well knows I tear up quite a bit when I laugh, and it was only about an hour into the drive that I had to stop and buy a box of tissues.  Once we made it down there, we scalped tickets to a Cardinals-Rockies game and enjoyed the beautiful weather.  While it was cold and miserable in Chicago, the weather was sunny and perfect in St. Louis!



The highlight of our trip was far and away the City Museum.  Have you ever been there?  I don't think I've stopped talking about it since.  It's a giant playground...for adults.  There are caves you can crawl in, tunnels in the ceiling that make you slide along on your belly, and a 10-story slide inside what looks like an old alley between two buildings.  And that's just the inside!  It was absolutely spectacular.  We had no idea what to expect, and we were blown away.  I think we spent almost 4 hours there.  If you're ever in St. Louis it's a must-see!  But I highly recommend you wear work-out clothes, which was the little tip we'd wished we were given!



This rice has nothing to do with St. Louis.  But it is really great.  The roommate had made it a few weeks ago on his night to make dinner, and I liked it so much I insisted he make it again.  It's lemony and fresh - just what I was looking for as we're hitting the peak of Spring.  It would be a great dish to bring to a barbecue this summer since it's just perfect at room temperature.  I know we'll be making this all the way through to fall!



Lemony Rice Salad
from Serious Eats

Ingredients
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup sliced green onions
1/3 cup golden raisins

Instructions
1. In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the pine nuts, stirring frequently, until just starting to brown. Don't let them burn!
2. Meanwhile, cook the rice on the stove or in your rice cooker, following the package instructions.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, orange juice, white balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
4. When the rice is done cooking, stir together the hot rice, pine nuts, dressing, sliced green onions, and golden raisins. Allow to settle to room temperature and serve.