Tried this and everyone liked it will try it again and again

I really really wanted to like this rice more, and I think I'll try it again with a few changes. I made Cranberry Walnut Bread from this site so I could make this rice, and I let the slices dry out as much as they could. But when I added the bread, the rice became gummy. I used mushrooms rather than water chestnuts, and I omitted the pine nuts (until the price comes down) but otherwise followed the recipe. I'll make this again because I do like the other ingredients with the rice.