courtesy popularsmokers.com

I’m not one for PTA meetings, and truth be told, whenever the candy/magazine/little crappy knickknack drives are on I just write a check and leave the order form blank. I’ve slept through more holiday pageants than I can remember and once even nodded off during a particularly torturous curriculum night. There is, however, one area of motherhood where I excel; it’s the sick day, with its hot lemonade, pharmacy forays and bland, sugary treats.

So without further ado, here it is: my take on rice pudding the easy way. It has a pleasantly glue-y consistency that the unwell find soothing, can be made from ingredients on hand, and has a binding quality that frequently comes in handy during these little detours from the path of wellness.

 Sick Room Rice Pudding

Pour into a saucepan and whisk:

• 3 C whole milk (or a mix of low fat and cream or half and half — whatever you have)
• ¼ C sugar
• ¼ tsp salt

Bring milk mixture to a boil and stir in ¼ C long grain rice (not instant, not brown — basmati is nice, but again, whatever you have on hand will do). You can also add a handful of raisins or other dried fruit if you like that kind of thing, but it never goes over well in my house, so I stick with the unadulterated rice.

Cover the pan and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, or until most of the milk has been absorbed and rice is tender. Stir occasionally.

Remove rice mixture from the heat.

Beat one egg in a small bowl and then, very slowly whisk in about ¼ cup of the hot rice milk to temper the egg.  Once the egg is warmed up, dump the contents of the small bowl back into the saucepan and give it all a good stir.

Bring rice mixture back to a gentle boil over medium/low heat and cook for two minutes more, stirring.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in:

• 1 T butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ tsp or so of nutmeg (some prefer cinnamon, to each his own)

Refrigerate or eat warm. Makes me no nevermind.