I got some black rice 
My co-op has it in bulk, for $5.29 /lb. The large Asian grocery store near me has 4-lb bags for $19.99 each. Different brands, but they both have 5 grams of protein per serving (¼ cup dry rice). I just wanted enough to try for now, and I didn’t feel that the price difference was too extreme, so I bought approximately one pound from the co-op.
The Asian grocery also has 2-lb bags of a different brand for $7.99 each, but that brand has only 3 grams of protein per same-size serving. I figure that probably accounts for at least some of the difference in price (i.e., that the smaller package is, surprisingly, cheaper per pound).
Some recipes say to soak the rice before cooking (soak anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight) and some don’t. So I just rinsed it and cooked it. I used ½ cup dry rice to 1 cup water and let the rice cooker do its thing. Then I let it sit for about 10 minutes and tasted it. I thought it seemed a bit undercooked, so I added 2 more tablespoons of water and let the rice cooker do its thing again. It came out very nice—done, but chewy. Next time I’ll just start out with the larger amount of water.
I can’t say that it tastes particularly nutty to me, though. But it does taste good. I like it!
Tell me, do you (or anyone here) usually soak it before cooking, or not?
I would recommend soaking. I’d say 1-2 hours is all you need.
I hardly ever soak rice but if i do i usualy do 30-60mins because i dont got time for more than that.
I’ve been making a ginger/turmeric soda some of you here might enjoy.
If you have access to fresh ginger and turmeric root, get a chunk of each, chop finely, and boil for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, add honey to taste and let it steep a little longer, I usually leave it until it reaches lukewarm temp. Then pour through a strainer into jars.
To drink, I add about 1/2 cup of the liquid to a glass and fill with soda water. Over ice for a truly refreshing treat.
The turmeric is supposed to be good for inflammation.
If you want some ballpark measurements, my current batch was about a small fist-sized portion of each root (they were SO fresh this week, no wrinkly pruning at all) in a pot with about 2 quarts of water [edit: it was more like a quart and a half, come to think of it). Maybe 1/4 cup of honey, I didn’t measure.
The chopped roots still looked good, so after straining I put them back in the pot with another 1 1\2 pints water and boiled again. Another good pint of elixir.
I’ve dried some of the chopped stuff after boiling thinking I might grind it into a powder one of these days and see what I can make of it, but so far it’s just in a jar in the cupboard. If anyone has ideas let me know.
And I think the soda would be really nice with some lime or some sage but haven’t tried it yet.
Mom did say when she was after a specific flavor/type of cake, and there was no Betty Crocker in that flavor, she’d put up with DH.
I’m thinking it’s probably a good idea to try combatting the dryness by adding an extra egg, milk, oil/butter, or some/all of the above when stuck w/a box of DH.
ETA
Coming from a state champion baker:
docholligay
If y’all use a decent box mix and use melted butter instead of vegetable oil, an extra egg, and milk instead of water, no one can tell the difference. I sure as hell can’t.
Also, if you add a little almond extract to vanilla cake, or a little coffee to chocolate cake, it sends it through the roof.
This concludes me attempting to be helpful.
I do something similar though not the same, in that I make variations on flavored simple syrups—sweeter, I think, than what you’re making, but I try to flavor the syrup strongly so I don’t wind up sweetening the drink too much. I’m not real big on fizzy drinks, so I just add some syrup to a glass of iced tap water for a refreshing summer drink.
Sometimes I make ginger syrup, sometimes star anise. My usual favorite flavor combo is coriander seed with a pinch of black pepper.
Someone once gave me one stem of some unidentified kind of basil from their garden. It had curly purple leaves. It made the most delicious syrup/drink ever, and the leftover leaves, having been cooked in the syrup, were super-tasty just nibbled like candy. That was a good ten years ago, and I still think about it! I hope to run across some of that basil again sometime.
Anyway, inspired by your post, today I bought some ginger root and turmeric root and boiled them together in a simple syrup. I also added a small pinch of ground black pepper, because black pepper is supposed to make what’s in the turmeric that’s so good for you (curcumin) more available to the body, or so I’ve read. I cooled it and strained it and mixed some into a glass of water with ice. Drinking it now. It’s delicious! Thanks for the idea 
Ooh, I’ll try adding some black pepper next time. Thanks for the tip!
I do the same with simple syrups in the summer. Our sage usually does really well, so I make that a lot.
A couple years ago I invented the “Sherlock,” it’s sage and lemon balm simple syrup with gin and lime over ice. I watered it down with fizzy water, but it would probably be nice without.
These days I’m less into cocktails, but will still enjoy it mocktail style.
And I’d never even thought of trying coriander seed syrup. We have a bunch of that right now, and black peppercorns from Mountain Rose herbs.
To the kitchen! (As soon as the kitten sleeping on me decides to move. I’m not a monster, after all.)