One of the things I find most interesting about the explosion of cooking blogs and online recipes is tracking the trail of where a recipe started. I originally noticed this recipe on this website...which lead me to Manifest Vegan...where an hour of reading and drooling lead me straight into the kitchen with a copy of Autumn Rice Pudding...which is delicious and lead me an ah-ha moment...
Since going gluten-free in August, I've struggled with breakfasts. Actually, the issues didn't start until about October, when I started craving a more wintery breakfast. You know the ones I'm talking about - warm, filling, spiced just right - and it's been a quandry. After a month of eating gluten-free oatmeal and feeling sluggish and a bit daft each morning, I realized perhaps that wasn't really the best choice for me. I also realized I really need to change up my breakfast foods a little more often than two or three times a year...something I'll be working on.
But this ah-ha moment...
Growing up, when we had leftover rice it was fairly common to find it served for breakfast the next morning warmed up with cinnamon and sugar and a bit of milk. It's one of my favorite childhood breakfasts, and even with white Minute Rice it was one of the only ones that didn't leave me with a stomach ache.
This is the grown up version of that childhood breakfast.
And it's soooo much better tasting and nourishing than that Minute Rice and white sugar.
I did make a few changes to suit my taste and I expect you probably will as well. I love that this is one of those great base recipes that can be adapted and switched around to accomodate your favorites. I've made it three times now, and each time I've been inspired by new ingredients. Cranberries, pecans, dates - oh, dates would be amazing - are all on my list to try, as is a pinch of cloves. That little bit of garam masala adds the most amazing background flavors. I substituted sucanat, and less of it, to keep it from getting too overly sweet when adding the raisins. It's even better after a day or two in the refrigerator, and I've been heating it up with a little more almond milk for breakfast or eating it cold as a snack.
Seriously, I can't get enough.
One quick note: when I cooked my brown rice for the first batch, I went ahead and made the whole bag. Let it cool completely on the counter, portion 3 cups into freezer bags, refrigerate over night and freeze. It doesn't take any longer to cook that giant batch of rice and it saves me time in the long run!
Brown Rice Pudding
Makes enough for about 4 hearty breakfasts
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1 cup apples, peeled and diced
3/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
3/4 cup Sucanat
3/4 cup almond milk (I've used homemade and store-bought and had success with both)
3 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
Over medium heat, melt coconut oil in a large saucepan.
Add chopped apples and sweat for a few minutes.
While that's getting started, combine the almond milk, vanilla and cornstarch in a bowl. Whisk until combined.
Add nuts, raisins, nutmeg, cinnamon, garam masala and half the salt. Cook together until apples are tender, stirring often.
Stir in sucanat, and cook for another minute or two. The sucanat will heat up, melt and caramelize a bit and get even more delicious.
Add the cooked rice and gently stir. Pour in the almond/milk/cornstarch mixture and cook over medium heat for several minutes, still stirring pretty often. The cornstarch mixture will thicken everything up a little.
Gently stir in the rest of the salt and serve.
Serve warm or chilled.
This recipe is linked to:
- Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays at Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free
- Tasty Tuesdays at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
- Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
Oh, holy cow this looks delicious!!!
Posted by: chksngr | November 30, 2010 at 07:47 AM