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The Best Rice Pudding

rice pudding

Recently, I read this post by traditional food blogger Cheeseslave, entitled Paula of Guadalajara, Mexico: A Testament to Dr. Weston Price, and was struck by her exchange regarding dessert:

I asked her how many times a week her children got dessert. I thought maybe she’d say once a week. She said, “Usually every night.” …  She’d also make them “arroz con leche” or rice & milk custard, made with milk, butter, rice, raisins, cinnamon, and a tiny bit of sugar.

When I saw that, I was instantly inspired to make rice pudding.  I’ve been a fan of rice pudding since I was a little girl, and especially liked the recipe my grandmother uses.  She passed it down to me, and I’m so grateful to have it, because it’s wonderful!  In fact, I’ve made this rice pudding for people who say they hate the stuff, and after tasting it they become total converts.

I used to make it with conventional ingredients, but now I make it with my raw milk – and yes, the milk cooks in the process, but as it’s grass-fed, non-homogenized and did not go through the pasteurization process originally, it’s so much better for you.

I use raw milk, organic sugar, pastured eggs, grass-fed butter, and organic rice – I like to use sushi rice because it results in an even creamier pudding than with long grain white rice; arborio rice would work, too, I bet.  I do wonder if maple syrup would be a good replacement for the sugar; I’ll have to try that next time.

Rice Pudding

Dessert is something I love, and although I’m severely reducing my sugar intake, I’d be sad to completely abandon dessert.  I’m constantly looking for options that do not wreck havoc on my system, and that are relatively healthy while being delicious.  This pudding works for me – it’s made with top notch ingredients and is very rich, so a little goes a long way.  It’s also a wonderful dish to share with others – rice pudding is so comforting.

1/2 c. organic white rice (long grain or sushi, not instant)
1 c. water
1 qt. milk (4 cups)
1/2 stick unsalted butter (1/4 cup)
3 pastured eggs
1/2 c. evaporated cane juice or rapadura
1 c. raisins (optional)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
cinnamon

Pour rice slowly into rapidly boiling water in large pot. Don’t stir.

Cover tightly and cook exactly 7 minutes. Water should be absorbed for the most part.

Add milk and butter. Stir a little.

Bring mixture to a boil, cover and cook slowly over a low flame for 1 hour.

5 minutes before the hour is up, beat eggs, add sweetener and vanilla.

Temper egg mixture by mixing a little bit of the hot milk and rice in with the eggs. Pour mixture into rice, stirring slowly until rice starts to thicken. Add cinnamon to taste. Can be enjoyed either warm or cold.

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Soaked Whole Wheat Bread

gorgeous loaf of whole wheat bread

For over a year now I’ve been soaking my whole grains, and am very comfortable with the process and happy with the results.  So, I thought it would be a good idea to start soaking flours, too, when it comes to working with doughs and batters.  When I first heard about soaking flours, I thought what the heck?!?  I couldn’t imagine how that would work.

I came to understand that “soaking” just meant combining liquid(s) and flour into a ball.  Usually it sits overnight, allowing the phytic acid to break down and fermentation to start.  Truth be told, it can be a little unwieldy to work with the soaked dough ball at first.  However, I’ve absolutely loved the results, so it’s all worth it.

Over the weekend I baked this whole wheat bread, which turned out amazing!  I am in love with this bread.  It’s delicious, nutritious, great as toast and for sandwiches, and I notice that it doesn’t affect my blood sugar negatively – I don’t get a high and then a big low that I sometimes do with commercial bread.

raw dough collage - isn't it lovely?

I made it with this wonderful locally grown Cayuga Organics whole wheat flour that I get through my CSA, mixed with some Bob’s Red Mill unbleached all purpose flour.  I used the raw honey I get through my buying club, which is excellent stuff.

This recipe was originally published on Simply Real Food.

Whole Wheat Bread

I prefer to use honey over maple syrup, because I think honey and whole wheat are a classic combination. As far as using a dough hook, that is a convenience – you could absolutely knead this by hand.  Please don’t let the lack of equipment bar you from trying this wonderful bread!

1 1/2 tbsp. active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups tepid buttermilk
1/4 cup raw honey or maple syrup
1/4 cup melted butter, cooled slightly
1 tbsp. salt
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3-4 cups unbleached bread flour

Day One:
Mix 3 cups of wheat flour with 1 1/2 cups buttermilk. Cover with a towel. Leave out overnight.

Day Two:
In a bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a heavy duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the buttermilk/ flour mixture, sweetener, butter, and salt. Beat on medium low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the yeast mixture. Beat for 1 minute. Add the bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed, adding the bread flour 1 Tbsp at a time if the dough sticks, until smooth but slightly sticky when pressed, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and turn the dough once to coat it. Cover loosely and let rise until doubled in bulk, 1- 1/2 hours.

Lightly grease two 9-by-5 inch loaf pans. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Divide in half and pat each half into a long rectangle. Fold one rectangle like a letter, overlapping the short sides in the middle; press to flatten. Beginning at the narrow end, tightly roll up the dough into a thick log. Roll the log back and forth with your palms until it is the same length as the pan. Pinch the ends and the long seam to seal. Place the loaf, seam side down, in prepared pan, tucking the ends under to make a neat, snug fit. Repeat with the second portion. Cover loosely and let rise until about 1 inch above the rim of each pan, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350. Bake until the loaves are golden brown and pull away from the pan sides, 35-40 minutes. Turn out onto racks and cool completely.

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Delicious Soaked Granola

granola

Since I’ve transitioned to eating a more traditional diet, I’ve followed the practice of soaking the whole grains I eat, which include millet, quinoa, and oats.  I soak the grains with a little bit of acid – raw cider vinegar in my case, but lemon juice, whey, or cultured dairy products will do well, too.

Now, why do I do this?

Whole grains contain phytic acid, which negatively affects digestion and absorption of minerals.  Phytic acid, sometimes considered an “anti-nutrient”, is present in the bran and shells of all seeds and grains.  It combines with  minerals such as zinc, calcium, magnesium, and iron, and as a result these minerals are unable to be absorbed properly in the digestive tract.  When you soak the grains (or ferment or sprout them), it neutralizes the phytic acid, and the gut can digest the grains and absorb their nutrition properly.

As I see it, soaking is a good thing.

additions

Breakfast is my very favorite meal of the day.  I love waking up after a long fast (8 hours or so of sleep) and being hungry, looking forward to eating.  I grew up eating conventional breakfast cereal, so cereal is still a normal thing for me to eat in the mornings, and it’s not something I want to give up.  I gladly eat oatmeal, but wanted to have some cold cereal on hand, especially in the summer when it’s hot.  The conventional cereals are full of unappealing ingredients, overly processed, plus the grains are not soaked.  What to do?

I’ve always loved granola, so I went searching the internet for a soaked granola recipe.  And I found one!  I love this recipe.  It was originally published by Lindsay of Passionate Homemaking, who modified it from this recipe.  I made a few changes, but they are minor – replacing the raisins with bits of dried apricot; sometimes leaving out the seeds.  It goes very well with cold raw milk, completing the bowl of nutrient dense food.

come together

My plan is to make this monthly, so we have a great alternative for cold cereal in our household.  Here is the recipe:

Soaked Granola

I have always made a half recipe, whose proportions are below – a whole recipe is massive. I have increased the water, as by accident I put too much in last time, and I loved the result – a crispier product. I love almonds, so I specify those, and replaced the raisins with apricots, as mentioned above. Be sure to use a high quality coconut oil that is minimally processed; I also prefer butter that is from grass-fed cows.

4 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cups kefir
1.5 cups water
1/4 cup raw honey
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried shredded coconut
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup chopped pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup dried apples, chopped
1/8 cup minced dried figs (optional)

Mix oats with the melted butter and oil, kefir and water in a large bowl. Cover with a cloth and/or plate and allow to sit at cool room temperature for 24 hours. After the soaking time, preheat the oven to 200° F.

Place honey, maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla in a small pot on the stove. Gently warm up this mixture, stirring until honey becomes thin.

Combine sweeteners and oat mixtures, mixing to incorporate.

Spread mixture out over two parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Bake for 2-4 hours, until granola is dry and crisp.  Allow to cool in oven before removing to a container.  It will get crisper at it cools.

Mix in coconut, apricots, pumpkin seeds, apples and nuts, as desired.  Store in an airtight container.  Serve with chilled raw milk.

Makes 2.5 quarts.