Rice Pudding

It has been a very dreary day so far and it is only noon.  After breakfast I watched a few youtube programs that I have been following.  From small off the grid cabins to cooking on a woodstove and regular stove.  You would think I would tire of cooking but not the case.  Tending to lean towards good old fashioned recipes and ignoring the new add this and that recipes.  Why take a good thing just to ruin it with usually lots of sugar or cheese.  For example a down home honest to goodness old fashioned chocolate cake.  Now try this, add chunks of candy bars, caramel, nuts, coconut and anything else that will add more "sugar me up".  I do like sugar and I do like candy but not to the point that it is more work and more money to make.  How about a baked potato with sour cream, cheese, bacon, creamed broccoli?  Seriously give me a baked potato with butter, salt and pepper. Separate the potato and skin because butter salt and pepper on the skin is an added bonus.  Then there was a meatloaf recipe with a kazillion kinds of cheeses put in the middle.  No thanks.  We were just talking about ice cream.  For us a simple dish is fine, put on all the syrups, sauces, fruits, nuts, etc. just takes away the ice cream kaboom.

Back to a simple dessert for the day.  What to do on a dreary day but go through old cookbooks and come up with.......I haven't made that in a long time.  Rice pudding, one of my favorite childhood  memories.  No Della recipe for this but we had it often. Pretty sure it was one of those memory recipes that never made it to paper.   I do know she baked it and had raisins and cinnamon in it.  Definitely no cinnamon for mine, fresh ground nutmeg is the choice.  Cinnamon doesn't get along with me and it took 50 some years to figure it out!  No raisins, none in the cupboard so they will be put on the grocery list that always hangs on the frig.  Golden raisins, I don't like the dark ones.  Since I'm the cook around here it is my choice of ingredients.

Ready to fold in the whipped egg whites.

Rice Pudding Recipe:
2 eggs separated
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups milk
2 cups cooked rice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Mix two egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, salt, vanilla, nutmeg and milk in medium bowl.
Stir in cooled rice.
Beat egg whites until stiff
Fold egg whites into first mixture and pour into a buttered baking dish.
Bake for 30-40 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Serve warm or cold.

Hot from the oven.

A little steam rolling and oh so good!

The pudding is good just the way it is but if you want a little extra sweet, whip some heavy cream for the top.

Here is my thought on trying recipes.  They don't always turn out like the picture or the reviews.  A recipe is a list of ingredients, amounts, how to and timing.  Let me tell ya, it may take several tries to get it just right.  I always say weather plays a big part on how many recipes behave.  I do mean behave, even the best and oldest cooks have failures.  Sometimes you have to tweak that recipe for the day.  Also you may like more of this, less of that or change the seasoning completely.  It is all in your personal taste.  Today finding this recipe just happened to be a score.  It very well could have been a failure and may the next time. This freezing rain kinda day was OK for me. 

You can use skim, 1%, 2% or whole for the recipe.  I used 2% and greased the baking dish with real butter for the flavor.  The vanilla was what I made thanks to a friend and neighbor from 50+ years ago.  Her parents had a farm not far from ours.  She read in my cookbook that someday I might get brave enough to spend the money to buy ingredients to make vanilla.  That sweet Barb Maxson Adams sent me the vanilla beans and bottle to get started!  I am now hooked!  What a great aroma and flavor.  I used a very inexpensive vodka.  It took 6 weeks from start to finish.  Now I have it started at different times as to not be without.  The only vanilla that rates right up there with this is white vanilla we have bought in Mexico or our son in law brought to us.  Now I can use the real deal instead of using the cheap imitation in cookies and cakes!  Yes, I can be that cheap at times. 

Homemade vanilla, a beautiful golden color.