What is the worst disaster of a meal you've ever created? Well, I have just survived mine. Let me tell you about it so you may learn from my mistakes.

It started out well enough. I had put together a printout of the recipes I wanted to try for the week. Orange Beef Stir Fry with Cashews, Marinated Flank Steak and a new recipe for rice; the rice would go well with the stir fry. All three recipes were printed on the same sheet of paper with the rice recipe in the middle. Big mistake.

The rice was quite easy and tasty. Fortunately I was able to get it right. We would have been having breakfast cereal if it had not been edible. I will share with you this recipe because I know it is good.

The stir fry called for ½ pound beef, soy sauce and broccoli, among other things. The beef needed to be marinated for a short while, so I began with the marinade. I started to make the recipe using the ingredients at the top of the page using the correct recipe. Instead of continuing with the recipe at the top of the page my eyes, for some unknown reason, dropped down to the bottom recipe, the Marinated Flank Steak. Both recipes called for cilantro. With cilantro you either love it or hate it. I hate it. Therefore, I decided to use some of the fresh parsley growing out in the garden.

"Parsley is good too, I will just use less of it so I don't overpower the dish", I said to myself. But the stir fry needed only a small amount of fresh herb; the flank steak needed quite a bit. Because I was now using the wrong recipe, things were going down hill fast. Too much parsley to say the least. There is a big difference between a teaspoon and ½ cup when it comes to fresh herbs.

You can imagine how this all turned out. With an inappropriate substitution and a misreading of the amount it was to say the least, unpleasant. The broccoli tasted like something a janitor would use, and the beef was just plain terrible. I promise I will pay more attention in the future - for my sake as well as yours.

Moving right along, let's get to the recipe that did turn out. Most cooks use plain white rice, this recipe is for converted rice. I like converted better because it doesn't get sticky and clump together like white rice does. If you do try this recipe with regular rice I can't guarantee the results, but let me know how it turns out.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and sauté the onion until soft. Add the rice and toss it with the onion and butter. Stir in the raisins and add the hot stock and the salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer gently for 20 minutes. When cooked, fold in the almonds and spoon it all into a hot serving dish and garnish with parsley. Serves 4