More than half of the world's cuisines are shaped around rice. According to recent statistics, Americans are rapidly catching on. As their tastes become more globally inspired and as they follow the food pyramid's advice to eat a diet rich in grains, they are cooking with rice more often than they ever have before. Robin Robertson's Rice & Spice is a creative celebration of the sumptuous and healthful meals that can be made with the world's most popular grain. Its one hundred recipes, all meatless and every one delectable, make for quick and easy ways to put a flavorful and nutritious dinner on the table. From pilafs and paellas to jambalayas, stir-fries, and risottos, from Indonesian Fried Rice to Jamaican Rice and Peas, the unassuming grain has never seemed so alive with possibility. Robertson offers up a chapter each on rice soups and rice salads-and another one on rice desserts, like Ginger-Peach Rice Pudding-and she reveals an expert's secrets on how to cook to perfection every rice variety, from white and brown to jasmine and basmati.