Saturday Morning Rice Pudding - Stovetop Version

When I make a meal that includes rice, I always make extra for rice pudding. It's most definitely one of my comfort foods. When I was growing up we were incredibly poor, but rice was cheap and now and then on a cold winter night my mom would make rice pudding. She admits that she's not much of a cook, and my recipe is  in no way similar to what she made, but I get the very same feeling from it. The rich creaminess does something to my very soul.

Over the years I've tried several recipes but I keep coming back to this one, found long ago in a tattered cookbook borrowed from the library.

4 cups leftover cooked white rice

8 cups milk

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup raisins (or not)

1 tablespoon vanilla
2 drops lemon extract

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

splash of rum

-In a large pot on medium high heat, mix the milk, raisins, lemon extract, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and rum.
- Stir frequently until near boiling, then add the sugar and cornstarch and continue to stir.

-Once it boils, add the rice then bring it back to a boil. Reduce the temperature to low/medium low, just enough to keep it bubbling a little bit. If it's not bubbling it will take an eternity to thicken. At this point I usually stir it every 5 minutes or so, giving it a chance to do its thing.

-After about 20 or so minutes, I find it's thick enough, but you may prefer it a bit thicker, so if you like give it a few more minutes. As long as you keep the temperature low and stir it every 5 minutes, you really can't go wrong!