Ingredients

　　1 cup water

　　1/2 teaspoon salt (don’t use salt if the rice is to go with an Asian stir-fry)

　　Put the rice in your small, heavy pot, and pour the cup of water over. Add the salt and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils vigorously, turn the heat way down, so that the rice is simmering very gently. Put the lid on; if you find that it’s not really tight-fitting, cover the top first with foil, tucking it around the edges, and then put the lid on. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff up the rice with a fork.

　　The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones. Copyright © 2009 by Judith Jones. Published by Knopf. All Rights Reserved.Judith Jones is senior editor and vice president at Alfred A. Knopf. She is the author of The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food and the coauthor with Evan Jones (her late husband) of three books: The Book of Bread; Knead It, Punch It, Bake It!; and The Book of New New England Cookery. She also collaborated with Angus Cameron on The L. L. Bean Game and Fish Cookbook, and has contributed to Vogue, Saveur, and Gourmet magazines. In 2006, she was awarded the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. She lives in New York City and Vermont.