The Cosy Kitchen - Rice Pudding and Reading

Autumn - such a beautiful season in Canberra, with the crisp, clean air and beautiful reds and yellows of the deciduous trees spread across the landscape. It also puts one in mind of starting to cosy up inside with the heater or hot water bottle, and perhaps some good reading materials and comfort food as accompaniments.

For several years now I have been in constant search of good 'foodie books' - not just cookbooks, but books about peoples' lives with food - what it means to them, their family, their community, beyond simple sustenance.

I have been lucky to find some really interesting and touching stories, such as 'La Dolce Vita', by Isabel Coe, about a Swiss-Italian family's food heritage, and Ruth Reichl's autobiography, split into two books - 'Tender at the Bone', and the sequel entitled 'Comfort me with Apples'. I re-read Ruth's books recently and enjoyed them just as much as the first time - such an honest, emotional and frequently funny account of her journey from a tumultuous childhood growing up with a manic-depressive mother, to life in a hippie communal household in California in the 70s, and finally a career as a food critic for some of America's most prestigious publications.

Ruth Reichl's Autobiographies

I am now waiting excitedly to receive in the post my latest food book, a series of stories/essays called 'Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant' - on the topic of solo dining, cooking and food adventures. Perfect for my single self, who sometimes still struggles with trying to look and feel comfortable and cool when eating alone on holidays!

And for the single cook at home, a recipe from a Family Circle cookbook, 'Cooking for One', for Baked Rice Pudding, a delicately sweet and comforting pudding for the colder months. Made without eggs, it is less rich than baked custard, but still has that caramelised taste and slightly custardy texture produced by the reduction of milk to a creamy sweet consistency.

I didn't have a two-cup baking dish as specified, so baked it in two 1-cup ramekins, although I found it even took a bit longer to absorb all the milk than the recipe said, probably all up it was in the oven for at least 1 hour and 30 mins. This may have been caused by two factors - firstly, my oven isn't fan forced, and secondly, I used arborio rice, which did have a beautiful texture in the finished product. In the picture, the one on the left has had the 'skin' that formed removed after baking, so you can see the texture underneath.

Baked Rice Pudding

2 tbsp medium grain rice
1/4 cups (315 ml) milk (full cream is a must)
3 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp sultanas ( I used currants as I prefer the taste)
Pinch grated nutmeg

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius (315 deg. Fahrenheit). Lightly grease a 2 cup ovenproof dish.

2. Place the rice in a bowl and stir in the milk and sugar. Leave for 10 minutes. Stir in the sultanas and nutmeg, then spoon into the prepared dish and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

3. Leave for 5 minutes and remove the skin on top of the pudding, if desired. Serve with cream or a little extra milk. Serves 1.