Mexican Rice Salad

Hey folks -

I created this recipe last weekend, and due to the surprising number of requests for the recipe, I figured putting it in the blog would be the best way to pass it around.
This recipe has only been made once, so I'm sure there are better ways to do it. But this is what I did.

The Story . . .
Some friends and I were banding together to make a meal for some friends. The friends were making carnitas, and I needed to provide the sides and dessert. I've had Spanish rice as a side to carnitas in the past, but the weather was really too nice for a hot rice dish. So I envisioned a cold version with raw vegetables and lots of cilantro and lime.

The Recipe . . .

2 cups white rice, uncooked
approximately 5 limes
1 cucumber
1 yellow squash
4-5 tomatoes
1/2 small red onion
1 orange bell pepper
approximately 1/4 cup olive oil
approximately 1/2 bunch cilantro
salt and pepper

1. Cook rice according to package directions (be sure to salt the water - it does make a difference later). Once rice is cooked, spoon rice into a bowl. Stir zest of 1 lime into the rice while it is still warm. Cool rice to room temperature or chill in refrigerator if you're in a rush (like I was).
2. Cut all vegetables into bite-sized pieces and place in a large bowl.
3. Juice 3 limes into a small bowl. Sprinkle in salt and pepper, to taste. Slowly drizzle in olive oil to make a lime vinaigrette.
4. Add cooled rice and vinaigrette to the vegetables and toss.
5. Chop cilantro and mix into the rice mixture.
6. Add more lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste.