Tag: comfort food

Friday Frolics #7 – Comfy Crockpot Rice Pudding

Friday Frolics #7 – Comfy Crockpot Rice Pudding

One of the downsides of living with chronic illness/pain is some days, it’s too much to do much of anything, even sit at a keyboard. Yesterday (Friday) was one of those days. I managed to get the one sentence and photo up for the Photography 101 assignment and run one errand, then crashed for the rest of the day.

In recompense, today I am sharing with you one of my all-time favorite comfort food recipes: Comfy Crockpot Rice Pudding. It’s a bit different from what most of us think of as Grandma’s Rice Pudding because, first of all, it’s made overnight in a crockpot and, secondly, it’s made with brown rice, not white. OK, before everyone groans at once, you won’t even know it when you dive into this scrumptious delight the morning after, I promise. Let’s get started:

COMFY CROCKPOT RICE PUDDING

Ingredients

1-1/2 Cups Brown Basmati Rice

3-1/2 Cups Water (or soy or almond milk)

A drizzle of olive oil (trust me)

1-1/2 to 2 Teaspoon Cinnamon (to taste)

1/2 Teaspoon Cardamom or Mace (if you can’t find Cardamom)

1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 Cup Raisins

2-1/2 Cups Milk, Heavy Cream, Almond or Cashew Milk

Honey for drizzling

Garnishes (if desired): toasted coconut, almond slivers, chopped walnuts, pecans or cashews

 Instructions

Place rice and water (or milk) in crock pot insert, cover, and cook on low overnight (about 8 hours).

In the morning, about 15 minutes before serving, stir in ½ cup milk of choice and cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and raisins. There will be a bit of crunchiness around the edges – scrape it off and stir it into the mix.

Divide pudding into four servings, pour ½ cup milk of choice over each serving, garnish as desired and drizzle with honey for sweetening.

Enjoy to your heart’s delight. See you next Friday.

 

Waste not, want not

Waste not, want not

A phrase I’ve heard all of my life is ‘waste not, want not.’ When I was younger, I found it hard to understand but as I’ve matured, I’ve come to understand it quite well. Basically, it means to conserve what you have now (waste not) so when you need it, you’ll have it (want not). Upon doing a bit of research, it appears the phrase originated in Yorkshire, which makes it seem even stranger to me that it was one of my German mother’s favorite sayings. She was, indeed, a woman of many mysteries.

Along the lines of conservation and not being wasteful, I have a quick recipe to share with you to save those apples (and other fruit) on the verge of spoilage. In these days of tight budgets and frugal living, there’s no need to throw away things that can be used in different ways. We all have had the experience of realizing the apples (peaches or pears) have been sitting on the counter a few days too long to be enjoyed fresh but not quite long enough to be quite rotten. I have good news! You can use the following recipe to create a quick dish to serve as a sweet side with dinner or as a sauce for ice cream or pound cake as dessert:

Cinnamon Fruit

Peel, seed and slice the fruit
Place in a skillet with a dollop of butter over medium-low heat
Add one to two tablespoons of liquid per 4 pieces of fruit (water or apple juice works as well as white wine – your choice)*
Add cinnamon and sugar to taste*
Cover and cook the mixture down until the fruit is tender and a nice sauce has developed (stir occasionally)
Serve warm
*Adjust liquid and seasonings based on amount of fruit

This is one of my favorite comfort foods of all times. There’s something about the butter and the cinnamon melding with the warm fruit flavors that signals ‘all is well’ on the home front. This is a particularly powerful and important message for anyone who struggles with depression and/or PTSD. Something as simple as the methodical preparation of a simple dish like this Cinnamon Fruit can calm the soul and save the day when one is a bit frazzled or fragmented after a challenging day.

Calming rituals involving repetitive, rhythmic activity such as cooking, crocheting, painting, playing music, knitting, and drawing can all be invaluable in bringing peace to the chaotic thought processes that can create havoc for those of us suffering. Find something that works for you and spend time every day to nurture yourself…to heal yourself…break the cycle.

Enjoy your day, enjoy your cinnamon fruit and come visit again soon!