Rice Pudding!

The weather outside was absolutely horrible yesterday so I decided to make up some rice pudding as comfort food rebellion. To make rice pudding you will need:

• 3/4 cup rice (I used short grain, but medium or long grain work too)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• dash of salt
• 4 cups milk (I used skim milk as it is my preference, but feel free to use whatever you have)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• handful or 2 of raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• ground cinnamon
• ground nutmeg

Combine the water, rice and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes (or until the water has been absorbed. Stir in the milk and sugar and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. At this point, add the raisins, vanilla, ground cinnamon and nutmeg to taste and continue to cook over medium heat for another 10 to 20 minutes. You want the rice and milk to look like a thick porridge. Be careful that you don't over cook the mixture though, or else you will get a solid mass of rice instead of a creamy pudding once it cools. Pour the whole thing into a large bowl, or individual bowls, cover with plastic wrap (pressed down onto the pudding to prevent a skin) and leave in the fridge to set. Serve garnished with a sprinkle or cinnamon.

Last night my boyfriend Andy and I ate some almost immediately after it was finished cooking, giving it enough time so that it had started to set but just enough so that it was still pleasantly hot. I usually eat rice pudding cold but I knew that wasn't an option when Andy started hanging around the kitchen for "no reason" shortly after I had put the pudding in the fridge.