Arroz Con Leche

 

Hi, everybody!  I know I just said we're headed South of the Border... but before we do, let me share a few fun photos of our camping trip!

                                  
Here is Lake Wallowa, as we are driving in to the State Park, near Joseph, Oregon.
                             
The kids had a great time running all over, swimming, snorkeling, floating on inner tubes, etc. It was actually fairly warm... during the day. At night it was chilllllllly.

We took the tramway to the top of the ridge. Yeah. I'm glad we did it and I'm glad we didn't die. But I probably won't do that again. I kept wanting to ask where the engineers and mechanics were. I swear the same guy who served us our ice cream cones was servicing this fifty year old tram. He told us all about getting his driver's license last month. Yikes. Anyway, we're alive.

 

I love this old building SO MUCH. I told my husband we should buy it. Every kid could have their own room, finally. hahahaha! There was a sign that said it was available for wedding receptions. I'm assuming that's an old sign. I can't be sure. I just might be tempted to have a reception there.... on Hallowe'en night... with candles. If we didn't fall through the floor.

 A cute little ice cream shop had a collection of bucket churns. I want the one in the middle Adorable!

 The Wallowa County Stage Stop. See the rounded door for the carriages? My husband thought it was funny that it's now a Mexican restaurant. Hey, we're the land of the adaptable. What can I say?

So, on to the recipe! When the weather starts to get chilly at night, my husband likes to make a few different dishes.

 

One is boiled pumpkin. (You read that right.) He slices, seeds, and boils a small pumpkin in honey water, then eats it with a sprinkling of cinnamon. Like pumpkin pie but... no crust. Or milk. Or sugar. All right, it's not really anything like pumpkin pie.

 

Fall is always a tense time around here because we all want to do this sort of thing... And pumpkins are FOOD to him. It would be like stomping on T-bone steaks for fun. But he tries to respect the fact that Americans like to play with their food. (Remember that? Still true.)

 

So, let's make some Mexican rice pudding! Not the fancy kind. This is the poor mountain folk kind. Like boiled pumpkin/pumpkin pie. Same idea, but different.

 OK, here is my vintage Mason Ball jar, so pretty and BLUE. :) Full of sugar. We'll use sugar because I'm too lazy to go and get panocha, which is a coarse kind of cane sugar.

 

First, fill a pot with water. Really, there aren't any measurements. It was kind of fun. (But to be kind to blog readers, I'll say about 8 cups of water.)

 Add 2 cups of rice. I know, that sounds like a lot of water. And doesn't look so yummy.

 Boil, stirring constantly for about 15 minutes until the long grain rice has cooked. It will be very soupy.

 This is my husband showing me how much milk to use. He lifts the jug and points to what's left. Hahahaha! (And then when he left the kitchen, I measured it out. About 2 1/2 cups.)

 Now, sometimes they add fruit to the top. Whatever is around. Guava, papaya, sweet grapes. We do have grapes so I washed a few and put them in a bowl.

 Whole cinnamon sticks...

 Into the boiling pot. Let it continue to boil for another 15-20 minutes until thickened. Stir constantly.

Add 1-2 cups of sugar. He said one cup. It's a big pot. It was just barely sweet. I say 2, because I like things sweet enough to choke a horse. Add and taste, add and taste, that's my advice.

Finished product! The kitchen smells amazing!! He said sometimes they added fresh coconut to the top, if anybody had any. Sometimes they'd add a few eggs, scrambled, whisked in with the milk before the second boiling. Then they'd pour it into a flat pan and set it on the fire. It hardened and caramelized... sort of like a custard, I assume.

We were at the apple packing shed this afternoon and got the first crop of Gala apples! YAY! I wonder what tasty thing Edna would like to cook for next week??? I remember this one time we made a secret apple cake recipe. MMMMM!

Rice Pudding With a Twist

Hello, everybody! The weather has taken a turn for the chilly here and we haven't seen the sun in days. We didn't even catch the super moon! So sad. But although winter is my favorite season, I do need some sustenance to make it through these long, cold nights.
                                            
First of all, KITTEHS. Aren't they adorable?? When they're not rocketing around the house shasing each other, they're snuggled up for a nap.

 The picture above made us laugh because Koshka's tail looks like it's attached to Nevery's body, which makes him look like some kind of anime mutant raccoon.
                                                    
So, back to the winter comfort food! I love to make rice pudding and the kids eat it up like nobody's business, but this time I tried something a little different. It all starts the same, though.
3 cups cold, cooked rice
3 cups milk
pinch of salt
sugar or honey to taste
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon (we like ours really cinnamon-y)
Bring to a boil on medium high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
3 eggs, beaten until frothy
Remove 1/2 cup of boiling liquid, let cool for five minutes, slowly add to egg mixture until incorporated. This will keep you from getting "fried eggs" in your pudding
Slowly reincorporate mixture to the pot.
I love raisins but nobody else in my house does so I didn't add any to the pot.
1/4 tsp espresso powder
sprinkle of cinnamon to the top
Sometimes we add brown sugar after this and bake it for about twenty minutes.

 We really just wanted to eat it, so we skipped the baking and went straight to the secret ingredient. A friend made it for me this way and I've been hooked on it ever since!

 A bit of espresso powder added to the individual bowls gives an incredible twist to the same old, same old rice pudding. I love coffee, so this is about how much I put in my bowl. Stir until completely combined. Some of the kids loved the way mine tasted and wanted it the same, some wanted none, some wanted just a bit of coffee flavor. (OH, this is decaf espresso, in case you think I'm insane. I really don't need caffeinated kids at 9PM at night.)

My oldest prefers hers chilled so she put it in the fridge and after an hour, added some clover honey. YUM. 

So, that's all for now! Have a wonderful weekend!