Forbidden Rice
While dining at the Veritable Quandary in Portland, Oregon last month, Wild Grilled Salmon over Forbidden Rice was served for dinner and I couldn’t decide which was better – the medium rare grilled salmon or the dark moist flavorful rice that was underneath the fish. Rice is normally a bland food that requires butter, salt, or spices to enhance the flavor but Forbidden Rice is different. A delicious rice with a a nutty taste , Forbidden Rice looks like a black rice but is in reality, a deep dark purple color when cooked and although the expectation is for the rice to be hard and nutty like a wild rice, Forbidden Rice is soft and nutty. Folklore has it this rice was reserved for the emperors of China and therefore forbidden to all others; hence its name.
Getting To Know Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon is famously known for bikes, breweries, and babes (not in that order) but after a recent visit, Portland seems to be about so much more including farmer’s markets, hazelnuts, apples, bakeries, books, and outdoor sports. A small city that people live and work in, Portland is not a landscape of skyscrapers but rather a city of interesting buildings, greenery, bridges, and roads that are easy to maneuver.
Explore the Farmer’s Market, take a bike tour, spend a few hours at the largest independent bookstore in the country (Powell’s), indulge in the many bakeries (20+), breweries (40+), chocolate shops (10+), restaurants (dozens), visit a museum (more than a dozen), and enjoy the parks and gardens. Read more 
Paddock Post 