Recipe #5: Rice With Mushrooms

Source:  Sparkpeople

2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
1-1/2 tbsp dried tarragon
1-1/2 tbsp dried sweet basil
1 cup brown rice
1-1/2 cup chicken broth

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion, garlic, and mushrooms, and saute until just soft. add rice and stir until rice is coated with oil and shiny.  Add tomato paste and stir.  Sprinkle basil and tarragon over rice and stir.  Slowly add chicken broth while stirring rice mixture until all broth is incorporated.  Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium-low.  Cover and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed by rice and rice is tender and ready to eat.

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Well, it was bound to happen.  This recipe was a major flop.  It started out promising and I was really excited about this dish, because I love rice and I love mushrooms, so what could go wrong? 

First, I was concerned about the about of tarragon and basil.  One and half tablespoons is a lot of seasoning.  But I added it.

After 30 minutes of simmering, all the liquid was gone and the rice was still hard and crunchy. 

Before I realized the rice was still uncooked:  It sure looked nice.

I added about another cup of chicken broth and cooked for another 15 minutes and still hard.  By this time, my main dish was ready so I scraped this dish altogether. 

I don't know if it was something I did wrong or the recipe itself, but this just did not work out AT ALL. 

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Ratings
Special Ingredients Needed:   None. 
Ease of Preparation:  Easy. 
Taste:   We never got to taste this unfortunately. 
Overall:  0 out of 10

Edited to add:  My husband said later that he did finish this (I'd had to leave to take my daughter to Girl Scouts) and said it wasn't too bad.  But for all the effort and time we put into getting it to that point, I'd just as soon make a boxed rice side dish.