Rice Pudding...or...The Story of How I Failed In the Kitchen

When I think of rice pudding, several adjectives pop into my mind. Delicious, creamy, sweet, comforting, cold. Last week I added two more words to my list: Epic and Fail. I suppose I'm exaggerating here, because it did look and smell like rice pudding. Unfortunately, the taste was terrible. Not only did this not taste good, but it left a terrible after taste in my mouth. The problem was not Martha's recipe (I got this from her Living magazine), but the soy milk I used. I had picked up a brand I do not usually buy, for whatever reason, and ugh. Terrible. Can I get sued for saying that 8th Generation soymilk is gross? I usually like Silk, or the Trader Joe's brand. This one leaves a funny taste in your mouth and is not pleasing to my palate!

I can't find the recipe, so I'll just type it out. This is Martha Stewart's form her April 2010 magazine. I want to make that clear so she doesn't get in line behind 8th Gen to sue my pants off for copyright protection.

Honey Rice Pudding

3 3/4 cups whole milk (Soy SHOULD be fine... just make sure the brand you use is tasty before you cook with it!)
1/2 Cup short grain rice (i.e. Arborio)
2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
3 Tbs honey, plus more for drizzling if desired

Bring 3 1/2 cups milk, rice, sugar, vanilla, and salt to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often. After about 20-25 minutes the rice should be soft and most of the milk mixture will be absorbed. I like very soft rice in my rice pudding, so I let mine go a bit longer, maybe 30 minutes.

 

Simmering...

Almost there.... see the rice?

That's it for the pictures. I was too bummed to take any of the final product... though it did look tasty. After the rice is done, remove from heat and stir in remaining 1/4 milk and the honey. My honey was a bit solidified (did you know honey is the only food that does not expire?), so I had pre-heated the milk and let the honey sit in it while I made the rice. It worked like a charm! Having the honey in its solid state also made it much less messy to measure. Let stand for 5 minutes. Martha says to serve from  here, but I prefer my rice pudding chilled. You can try it warm, or cold. I'm sure if you make it right, either way is fine.

One day, when I am over this debacle I will make this again, only with a brand of soy milk that I prefer.