Cajun Grain

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It is in changing that things find purpose.

~Heraclitus

I picked this saying, as I(Karen) began a gluten-free journey recently.  I have been scouring the gluten-free products available at select stores for great non-gluten substitutes, but was not happy with what I found.  I realized that we can go a little further with our rice business and offer brown rice grits and brown rice flour. We like to be leaders in the Louisiana brown rice industry, so here we are! From what I can tell, we have the first brown jasmine rice grits and brown jasmine flour out in LA for you to buy fresh because we are always thinking of what is the healthiest we can offer!  (Of course, we were the first 10 years ago to market brown jasmine rice in LA and sell it through our farmer's markets.)   We have been "testing" the grits and flours in various dishes, and found it is not really a sacrifice to go gluten-free as long as you have access to a great-tasting, quality product!

We realize the increasing presence of celiac and gluten-intolerant people, and we wanted to be sure and offer as many recipe ingredients as we could with our tasty brown jasmine rice.  So, if you or someone you know needs to find gluten-free rice, rice grits or rice flour, send them our way.  You can find these products at the Baton Rouge and New Orleans farmer's markets, at the Fresh Pickin's stores in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, at Calandro's on Perkins in Baton Rouge, and at the Lake Charles farmer's market.

 Cajun Grain

                                                        balance the energy

 For a couple of years, we've been in collaboration with a scientist to find out how we can increase the nutrition of the rice on our farm in the most natural, gentle method possible.  We have reached our goals, and are proud to say that our rice from 2010 and our rice from 2011 have both surpassed a group of other national brown rice brands in protein levels.

We look at growing food as an art.  Any plant that is reasonably healthy can produce "fruit".  However, it is an art to create the near-perfect environment for that plant to utilize the resources available and translate that into a "fruit" that will nourish the body.

We have finally reached our ultimate goal of having evidence-based research showing that how we grow our food affects its nutritional content. Also, with the special care we give in processing your rice, this insures that the optimum vitamin and mineral content stays within the bran.  As time allows, we would like to apply these methods into vegetable production.

We were going to name this rice Zen rice, but, decided ultimately that we would just stick with the tried and true name, Cajun Grain. Maybe zen could be a descriptive word, as it embodies the essence of the energy our rice holds.  Let it recharge your cells and rejuvenate your spirit!



ABOUT OUR RICE

First, our rice is NOT organic, but we are making strides in using less and less inputs on our rice.    With jasmine being an aromatic rice, it sends out a nutty aroma when being cooked.    We stamp the date on the bag so you can see when the rice was freshly milled.

Our rice is available at these Louisiana locations:

Lafayette:   Fresh Pickins store

Baton Rouge: Red Stick Farmer's Mkt.

                          Fresh Pickens store

New Orleans:   Crescent City Fmrs. Mkt.

                          Hollygrove Market & Farm

Lake Charles:  

                  Cash & Carry Farmer's Mkt. 

 TO COOK OUR RICE

1.  Add 2 c. water with 1 c. rice, add a pinch of salt.

2.  Bring to a boil; cook water down to level of rice;  turn down to low heat while putting the lid on.

3.  Cook for about 25 minutes.  Play with the time to cook to your liking.

4.  Remove from heat.  Let sit, covered, for an extra 5-10 minutes.