Creamy Rice Pudding

Yesterday was Session 4 (of 5) in my Root Canal Therapy. I needed comfort. Last night I made homemade Basmati Rice Pudding ... sugar free and fat free. It was EXCELLENT.

This recipe is adapted from the book I loved to read as a young child (all the wonderful illustrations and stories are marvelous): Margaret Rudkin's 1963 Pepperidge Farm Cookbook. I lost this book at some point in my youth and have no idea what became of it -- something I always regretted. I was beyond delighted to find my childhood favorite cookbook in a thrift store this week, and I've made it a personal challenge to honor it by actually cooking from it on a regular basis.

CREAMY RICE PUDDING

• 1 cup fat free milk


• 1 cup fat free half and half


• 8 teaspoons of basmati rice, rinsed and cleaned


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 cup Splenda


• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg


• 1/4 cup of raisins (optional)

Butter a pyrex dish or clay casserole pot, as shown (this was the only added fat, so it's not REALLY fat free, but oh well). Clean and rinse the rice, and spoon into dish. Cover with all ingredients. Stir. Bake at 325 for 3 hours, stirring several times to incorporate the rice as it swells.

Notes: The photo above was taken after just over 2 hours. I ate it creamy and warm at this point, but cooking it another 50 minutes made it thicker and firmer, but still very creamy. It did not brown. Also, I thought it could use less sweetener. I would use less than 1/4 cup of sugar next time, or even just as bit of honey or agave syrup or something similar.