spanish style white rice

white rice = comfort food at it's best. for me anyways. growing up in a part puerto-rican household meant rice was a staple that we were bound to have at least 3 times a week and i was not one to complain. i remember there were saturday's that i spent at my aunt's house waiting for my dad to get out of work mid afternoon and she would be getting an early start on dinner and if she had been fixing rice, i'd be leaving with a small bowl of it to eat on the way home. we only lived about 5 blocks away. yes, i was in love with rice. how could i not be? it's simple, easy to fix and oh so yummy. i do feel though that no one fixes white rice like my mom. whenever mondays rolled around and i knew she'd be home, that would be what i would ask her to fix for dinner. last night i decided to re-create those monday nights.

Rice:
1 tsp of vegetable oil
1/2 tsp of minced garlic
1/2 tsp of salt
1 c of rice
1.5 c of water

1.coat the bottom of a small saucepan with 1 tsp of oil and then add the garlic and saute over medium heat until lightly browned.
2. add the 1/2 tsp of salt and rice and toast your rice, about 1 minute.
3. pour in the 1.5 c of water and bring to a bubbling boil.
4. once the rice reaches it's boiling point, give it a stir and turn your heat down to a low simmer. place a towel or sheet of foil and lid over the rice and let it do it's thing for about 15-20 minutes.
when ready to serve, fluff with a fork and dig in. when you get to the bottom of the pan there should be a thin, crispy layer called the "raspa," arguably the best part. DON'T throw it away. break it and eat it as is.

sorry there's no picture to go with this but last night delana and i were so hungry we didn't think to take any pictures. next time i fix some rice, which i'm sure will be in the near future, i'll be sure to update this with an actual snapshot.

what's your favorite comfort food?