Curry Rice Salad

Hmmkay. Unless you don't like a) rice or b) curry-- and if not, what a sad sad little person you are-- you'll like this salad. It is way tasty. Promise.

Curry Rice Salad

1 1/2 cups brown rice
2 1/2 cups water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
7 tablespoons olive oil (more as needed)
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (I recommend almonds, pecans, and cashews)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour rice into small casserole dish (I think mine is about 6 cups) that you've coated with nonstick spray.
2. Combine water, salt, curry powder, peppers, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in small saucepan. Bring to boil.
3. Add boiling mixture to rice in casserole dish. Cover tightly and place in preheated oven; bake for 1 hour. (Baking, incidentally, is the only way I have found to make perfectly tender and not-soggy brown rice. And it never burns.)
4. When rice is finished, remove and let cool for as long as you want, depending on time constraints and how warm you want the salad to be. I sometimes make the rice a day ahead and add the other stuff just before serving, so the salad is either cold or room temp. Or sometimes I go for the jugular and do everything at once: presto, warm curry rice. It's up to you.
5. Anyway. Once the rice is cooked, you can add the rest of the ingredients. You may want to put in more salt, more curry powder, more pepper . . . you may want to omit the nuts, add currants, toss in some fresh basil . . . whatever you do, you'll probably want more olive oil. (If you don't like a strong olive taste you could sub some canola instead.)
6. Eat.