Comforting Rice Pudding

There's something about rice pudding... the way it smells like vanilla and cinnamon, the creamy texture, the mildly sweet, light flavor. I think it is all of these qualities that make it a lovely dessert or snack anytime. I made myself rice pudding last week and decided to serve it with sliced fresh fruit. This recipe is a twist on the recipe from The Angelica Home Kitchen Cookbook. It is very easy to make and good for people who want something more mildly sweet or are not eating chocolate, nuts or flour products. If you want the sweetness to be even more mellow, substitute the maple syrup for brown rice syrup or try half of each. This dessert is vegan. Enjoy!!

Light and Lovely Rice Pudding

4 1/2 cups of water

3/4 cup maple syrup (or a mix of maple and brown rice syrup)

2 1/2 cups plain soy milk or other alternative milk 

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 vanilla bean pod

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/3 cup white Basmati rice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place water, maple syrup/rice syrup, soy milk and salt into a large heavy saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil.
3. Split the vanilla bean pod in half lengthwise and crape out the seeds with a spoon.
4. Add the seeds, pod and cinnamon to the cooking liquid.
5. Rinse the rice and add it to the pot once the liquid has come to a boil.
6. Place on the middle rack in the oven and bake for to 2 hours. Check the pudding's texture. If it needs to cook longer add extra water/soy milk and let it cook for 30 more minutes or so.
7. Remove the pot form the oven and discard the vanilla pod.
8. Serve warm or cold.

This dessert can be garnished with a sprinkle of cinnamon, sliced toasted almonds or fresh fruit - or all three!