The (rice pudding) Land of Milk and Honey

It somewhat shames me to admit it, but when I feel the urge to bake, I almost never turn to recipe books. Not to say I don’t own recipe books, there are shelves and under bed spaces and wardrobe tops devoted to them, and I love to wade into a few on a Sunday afternoon, with the telly on, tasting with my eyes and shredding old receipts, bills and junk mail to bookmark everything I have my eye on. It’s just that when I cook or bake from a recipe book, it tends to be planned, something I’ve wanted to try for a while, requiring a dash out for ingredients or else an old favourite, something I cook often, like cupcakes. I have the sort of brain that doesn’t retain basic information like cooking times or quantities well, so the ‘basics’ pages at the start of most of my books are well thumbed and floury with fingerprints.

When I have an idea of what I want to make or even the simplest shadow of a taste in my mind, I go online. Food blogs are my favourite, but the BBC makes a very surprisingly good catch-all for the more traditional combinations as well as helping me out with my constant niggles about timings and weights.

 Another thing- some flavour combinations I’d always come back to, in the same way I’d shrug on a trusty woolly cardigan in times of stress and need. Cinnamon and apple, lemon and ginger, tomato and basil; these are all things I love, and there’s a part of my brain that recognises the combined aroma of any of these as a warm hug around my tongue.

But sometimes we all need to experiment. I have a friend who pierced his unmentionables, but me, I have more earthy rebellions; vanilla and marjoram, earl grey with a ‘flowerbed chai’ of rose, lavender and lemon. Risotto, mexican style, with cayenne, garlic and lime. 

For these forays into the kitchen unknown, I once again turn to the Internet. Generally I start off looking to see if anyone else has done the same thing. I really can’t work out my motivations for doing this. On the one hand, I am relatively inexperienced when it comes to baking, so even the simplest pointers from a blogger who’s trodden the same territory would be invaluable, but on the other hand, as any budding goth, punk or (god forbid) emo will tell you, rebelling is no fun when someone else did it exactly the same first. 

I’m sure I can’t be the only person that does this.

Well, one taste I was happy to borrow is this particular treat from Elissa Bernstein, of 17 and Baking. I may not have the same raspberry honey, but she advises to use any honey "with a flavor you like enough to lick off the spoon", and as I’m yet to meet a honey I wouldn’t eat straight from the jar, or in this case, cheap squeezy tube, I figured I was all set.

So here you have it, borrowed flavours, and different ingredients. Swap Elissa’s tapioca for my rice pudding and you have a slightly less photogenic, although equally ‘wrap the duvet around and snuggle in’ comforting dessert. So I settled in for the night with good wine,a big wooden spoon, and a nice bit of mogwai.

I have a small problem with something tasting the same all the way through. I blame this entirely on my mother's huge portions growing up; once you’ve excavated your way out of a Snowdonia of mashed potato, you’ll never make it again without a few extra flavours to break up the trek. So my rice pudding had a sprinkle of cinnamon and some smashed hazelnuts on top.

I think this was perfectly delicious. Someone pickier may have said I burnt the milk a little at the start. But you know what? I’m not sharing this with anyone picky or in fact anyone at all, and I’ve experienced enough indifferently made microwave hot chocolates to tolerate a little boiled over milk. Besides, it’s my first time with a hob pudding, and already it’s my preference, as much creamier and yet somehow lighter than its oven-baked counterparts. I’m planning a fancy trio of shot glass sized desserts already, as well as mentally stirring Nutella into tonight's leftovers. Now, if you’ll excuse, I need to get a spoon. Nom nom.

Glass of wine and plenty more of the good stuff highly recommended!

No recipe this time round, suffice to say I made rice pudding the easy way, with semi skimmed milk and no egg, but the addition of honey, a splash of vanilla and pinch of cinnamon.

Edit: Nutella rice pudding is absolutely divine, even for breakfast. I'd recommend using about a third cocoa powder to two thirds Nutella, heat the rice pudding through (add a bit more milk if its gone all solid). I'm making happy faces as I type. Its not a pretty picture though, so until my camera skills grow, no photos.