Eggless Rice Pudding

The chilly rain pours.  No one wants to venture out.  Something warm and comforting is needed. There is a bag of lemons, fresh picked from Meticulous Yard Man Neighbor's backyard tree, and a 1/2 carton of heavy cream for which the "sell by date" passed two days ago.  Surely there is something that can be made without leaving the house.  This is easily assembled with ingredients most people have in the pantry.  It takes about 5 minutes to throw together. Warm and comforting, a perfect rainy day dessert or breakfast.

Winner, Loser, or Meh

My Lord this was good. It was a cross between a dessert and a wonderful hot breakfast cereal.  The combination of the nutmeg, golden raisins and lemon zest was nothing short of sensational, refreshing and light tasting.  Don't make this without the zest. The top will get a brown speckled filmy crust when finished. It is delicious. The picture below was taken after a big spoon broke the crust and tasting had begun. This does not bind like a regular rice pudding.  Who cares. It's very satisfying.

Recipe

I used a 2 1/2-3 quart crock for this

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked converted rice
• 2 1/2 cups 2% milk
• 2/3 cup sugar 
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup cream

Spray crock with no stick spray.  Add all ingredients.  Stir. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.  Serve warm (with a generous splash of milk) or cold.

(Backdated: Made and written Sunday 1/17/2010)