Spiced-Vanilla Rice Pudding

Vanilla soy milk makes for a rich, creamy rice pudding.

Start with 3/4 cup short-grain rice - I used Arborio, but any short-grain variety would work. Cover the rice with water and stir until the rice becomes cloudy. Drain, then repeat the process until the water no longer seems cloudy. To be honest, I wasn't sure how un-cloudy was good enough! After about 15 rinses and drains, there was still a tinge of white to the water, but I figured I had rinsed off enough of the excess starch to proceed with the recipe.

Combine the rinsed rice and 2 cups water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.

Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes, then stir well.

On a double layer of cheesecloth, arrange 3 cardamom pods, 1 whole clove, and 1 cinnamon stick. Tie up the ends of the cheesecloth securely to form a bag. Add the spice bag to the rice, along with an additional cup of water, 2 cups vanilla soy milk (such as Silk), 1/2 cup raw sugar, and 1/8 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes - the pudding should be reduced to a total of 4 cups. Remove and discard the spice bag.

Note: if you don't have cheesecloth at home and don't want to buy it just for this recipe, you can add the spices individually. Just make sure to remove and discard them before serving!

Make the equivalent of 1 egg yolk by whisking 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of Ener-G egg replacer into 1 tablespoon warm water. Add 1 tablespoon of the rice pudding, and stir to combine. Return that mixture to the rest of the rice pudding; cook over medium-low heat for a final 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Dish 1 cup of rice pudding into each of 4 dessert bowls - this particular rice pudding is at its best when served warm! Sprinkle with ground cinnamon if you like, for a pretty garnish.

Each serving is 300 calories.

Cost:
short-grain rice $0.44
vanilla soy milk $2.49