Rice Pudding
A childhood favourite!
There is something about a misty Sunday that just begs for a comforting pudding dish. We were out this morning walking through the park and marvelling at the amazing colours of the leaves that are left on the trees .. and laughing at the honking of the geese as they form their signature V and are heading south for the winter.
There is a nip in the air and we are looking forward to warm spices and soothing meals - bringing back our soups and stews and of course - home made puddings.
Naturally, if asked, my kids are going to choose Rice Pudding! Since they could toddle it's been a firm family favourite!
It's not a dish that we crave in the Summer - but come the cooler weather we are all over it. There is something about ender rice grains, plump and milky with a hint of vanilla that just says “snuggle up on the sofa and watch movies in the afternoon!”
The thing is - rice pudding either takes constant stirring on the hob or you have to heat up the whole oven to bake it long and slow - frankly with fuel at an all time high I am looking for more bang for my buck when cooking a pudding and it needs to work out substantially cheaper than opening a tin .. and still be tastier!
With fuel prices at a record high here .. and food prices too, I need to be ever mindful of the money we spend on both in order to balance our budget every month .. and trust me it's getting harder! Two sons who are almost men take a lot of feeding .. and we want to be mindful of our energy usage as we can as we all hope to move towards a less carbon based fuel supply.
So to make about one litre of Rice Pudding - don’t judge me! LOL You will need:
INGREDIENTS
250g Pudding Rice
1 tbsp butter
100g sugar
250 ml water
500ml milk
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tin evaporated milk
Melt the butter in your pot over a medium heat.
Tip in the rice and stir to get all the grains coated with butter. Now you are going to cook them off for a couple of minutes until the grains go nicely translucent (just like you would be starting off a risotto)
Add the water, milk, sugar, extract and salt along with half of the tin of evaporated milk.
Bring to a boil and keep at a rolling boil for 3 minutes (stir occasionally to stop the grains clumping)
Give one last stir, secure the lid and pop into your Thermal Cooking Bag.
It can sit .. well at least an hour but will happily sit longer.
Open carefully - there was still lots of steam when I opened mine and I got a lovely faceful of milky vanilla fog!
Stir in the rest of the evaporated milk and you are ready to serve.
Mmmmm!
Whatever is left you should pop into a covered container and refrigerate as soon as it is at room temperature - milky things should not hang around too long at ambient temperatures. You may find that as it cools it gets a lot thicker - that's OK. Just add another splash of milk and stir when you are ready to eat - hot or cold!
So a family favourite - made with only three minutes of fuel in the Thermal Cooking Bag.
What puddings would you like to see me “Thermal Bag” - ify? Let me know in the comments!
