Stuffed Grape Leaves!

First came the cooking of the Basmati rice, which produced a much greater yield than I expected with a measley half cup of the darn things; they swelled and wriggled to a giant bowlful of aromatic grains.

Then, the chopping of wonderfully complementary vegetables -- mushrooms and tomatoes, of course; my altogether favorites.

All of this boiled with the rice, until it reached a delicious tenderness:

olive oil

leftover fresh coriander

chopped onion

chopped scallion (redundant?)

basil leaves

garlic

salt

And then came the unfurling of the jarred grape leaves.

And the rolling.....

Here they are, all hot side-by-side in their lil' dish:

I'd forgotten that grape leaves have a taste all their own; I was simply using them as a containing mechanism. But their taste reminds me of childhood days when a loud, German man would cook us leaves stuffed with lamb and rice, and tell us tales of the world.