Reading: an anthology edited by Ivan Brunetti
Music: Bing Crosby
TV/Movie: Futurama
Link o' the Day: no link--have recipe

Ho, ho, ho.

This will be my last entry until after Xmas--or maybe after the day after. The amount of work ahead of me this day is... is... well, it's considerable. Lots of cooking. More wrapping. Bagging. Baking. Prepping. Sundry other chores galore.

I'm trying to decide what to do if I wake up at 3am. Do I stay up? Get an early start? I just may.

So I'll be busy for a while, then I'll be amidst the holiday celebrations, so I doubt I'll be online much. In fact, if I am online much, then something has gone horribly, horribly wrong.


As a present for you--here's a pretty decent recipe for traditional Norwegian-style rice pudding.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup of short-grain white rice


• 4 1/2 cups of vanilla-flavored almond milk.*


• teaspoon of ground cinnamon


• half cup of granulated sugar


• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Use a 3qt saucepan. Combine almond milk, salt and rice and bring to boil. Watch out that you don't boil over. Use a heat-proof rubber spatula to make sure you don't burn or stick to bottom of pan. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 25 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring frequently to keep it from burning or sticking. Add sugar and cinnamon, stir well, and cook over low heat until mixture thickens.

This makes about 6 or 7 servings, refrigerates well, and reheats well. Can be served chilled or heated. Sprinkle some additional cinnamon on top to taste.

*If you can't find vanilla-flavored almond milk, then simply use unflavored almond milk and add a teaspoon and a half of vanilla extract. If you can't find almond milk, soy milk works just as well. Just be careful as it burns more easily, and acquires a skin without frequent serving. You can probably use regular milk, but I've never tried it myself, so either look it up, or experiment on your own.

And we're signing off. Have a great holiday everyone!