More on Rice Pudding.

As many of you know, I'm a bit obsessive about rice pudding. . I just think its one of those foods with enormous potential that's kind of hard to get right. And by 'right' I only mean how I like it. My original attempt at rice pudding was tasty and good but really not creamy enough, a later attempt had good texture, but still something about the flavor was ever so slightly off.

Both had a problem with the rice being slightly bitter, something I've always just attributed to the fact that I've been using brown rice. I kind of assumed this was unavoidable. Today, I learned that I'm just an uneducated cook. Evidently, cooking the rice first in water eliminates this problem.

Cook 1 cup short grain brown rice in 2 cups of water with a dash of salt.
Let cool.
In a mixing bowl, combine 11/4 cup whole milk, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 3 eggs, a tsp. of cardamom, a tsp. of cinnamon and one of ginger. Vanilla is good here or you could substitute 1/4 cup of the milk for rum and add a 1/2 cup of raisins.
Bake in an 8" square glass pan set in a water bath at 350 for about 40 minutes. Start checking it after 30, you don't want to overcook it, it gets stiff.
Excellent for breakfast with berries.