European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 12, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Perfect Rice quickly cooked saturday april 12, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 17 by Marian Burros new York times t Here Are perhaps no More intimidating food ads than those that admonish Cooks to stay away from regular Long Grain  ads imply that it is difficult if not impossible for anyone with average Kitchen skills to Cook it properly and that no matter what is done the Rice is bound to emerge in clumps of stuck together grains. This is a sin equal to if not worse than Greasy Fried Chicken and layer cakes that sink. It is simply not True that Ordinary Rice is difficult to Cook and it is not necessary to use converted Rice or instant Rice to produce Good results. Nor is it necessary to resort to the boil in the plastic bag Rice. Perhaps Many Consumers just assume that cooking Rice from scratch or anything for that matter takes too much time. And time is one thing that few people today have enough of. So if the makers of Uncle Ben s Rice or minute Rice or Success the boil in the bag variety say it s easier to use their products who s going to argue but let the world know that any Cook who can boil water can Cook Long Grain Rice. And All it takes is 17 minutes. Any Cook who can boil water can also Cook Short Grain Rice or arborio Rice or Basmati Rice or Brown Rice. And anyone can Cook All of them successfully. Novices can also Cook the delectable alternatives to Rice that Are increasingly available in the supermarket bulgur couscous and buckwheat groats known to most aficionados As Kasha. Cookbooks often make a production out of preparing these ingredients picturing them As much More time consuming and complicated than they need to be. Take Basmati Rice for example. Some directions suggest several washings and soaking. But a perfectly delicious dish of Basmati Rice can be yours simply by cooking it As you would Cook Ordinary Long Grain Rice. No rinsing. No soaking. Or Brown Rice. No one wants to bother with it despite its Superior flavor because it takes at least 40 minutes to Cook. But just by soaking the Rice overnight in the same water in which it is to be cooked it s possible to Cut the cooking time to 20 minutes making it almost As fast As regular White Rice. Often recipes calling for couscous describe All the Steps necessary to prepare it but in fact most of the couscous on the Market today requires barely any cooking at All and i la bet it would take a native moroccan to Tell the difference Between the so called instant couscous and the old fashioned variety. The situation with bulgur has improved somewhat and virtually no one believes it takes 30 minutes to Cook bulgur if it spends that Long boiling on the stove couscous is one of the delectable alternatives to Rice that even novices can also Cook. Is photo it will turn to Mush. Bulgur can be properly cooked in 15 minutes in fact it does t have to be cooked at All. For a Superb Tabbouleh salad boiling water is poured Over the bulgur and the grains Are allowed to sit until the water is absorbed. That same technique can be used for any dish calling for bulgur if it does not have to be hot. Kasha takes a Little longer but not much. It would be Nice to say that the secret to perfect Rice or bulgur or couscous or Kasha is simply following the directions on the package but that is not always the Case. Instead try these suggestions perfect Long Grain Rice Combine Rice with twice As much water in a heavy bottomed Saucepan. Season with Salt if desired. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so that Rice simmers in a covered pot. Cook 17 minutes until water is absorbed and Rice is tender and Fluffy. For perfect Brown Rice soak overnight and then follow the same directions. For perfect Basmati Rice follow directions for Long Grain Rice but Cook 13 to 15 minutes instead. Perfect bulgur Combine bulgur with twice the amount of water. Bring to a boil and Cook covered for about 12 minutes until the bulgur is tender and the liquid has been absorbed. Perfect couscous for 3 Servings bring 1 cup of water and 1 Tablespoon butter to boil in covered pot. Add 1 cup couscous cover and remove from heat. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes until All the water has been absorbed. Erma Bombeck if you Are a Reader who is under 35, you can skip this  you Are a Reader who is Over 35, try to concentrate. Every Day since the age of 35, those of us in this age group have lost approximately 100,000 brain cells. Quite simply it Means every Day of our lives the Pilot Light diminishes the elevator goes to fewer floors it takes longer for the pot to boil. How Many of you have sat in a group and when another person was speaking was reminded of a hysterical Story that tied in perfectly but could t Tell it because you could t think of the tag line mount Rushmore i How Many of you have played trivial Pursuit and sat there straining for the answer while your husband turned the lights off and your guests backed out of the driveway and headed for Home maybe i m getting a Little paranoid but lately it seems my husband is baiting me. Out of the Clear Blue sky hell look up from the paper and say what was the name of Fred Macmurray s housekeeper in my three sons if you still have any feeling for me you won t ask me to do this.". It was Bill something he says. How about William Frawley i ask. No he was the Butler on. What was that show with the three kids and the Guy on Hardcastle and Mccormick no no he had a Beard and Frawley was Bald and  on the Lucy show. What was Ethel s real name  Blaine Vance. What was the original question i  frankly i Don t know How much longer i can stay married to a Man who is losing brain cells at the same rate As i am and from the same area. I Don t know who to bring this up to but i am ready to Deal. Parting with a few memory cells is not my problem. It s the area. I la Trade my instant recall of my weight on my wedding Day if i can resurrect the phone number of my Mother without looking it up. I no longer need to remember our old address and our landlord when i was 9 years old. The House has been torn Down and the landlord is dead. I would like to retain my social Security and Auto License numbers. Our children have noticed that we have become More thoughtful More reflective and quieter than we used to be. They say we give them More of an Opportunity to talk. The truth is we re both sitting there going through the alphabet trying to remember names of their friends to inquire about. Sometimes when you hit a letter the name jumps out of your subconscious. My Mother never told me it would be like this. Maybe it was because she could t remember what it was she was supposed to Tell me not to forget. C 1986, los Angeles times Syndicate