Peaches and Rice

No need for a big explanation here! This simple dish is sweet, belly-filling and it warms the soul. You can also customize it to suit your tastes. White rice is cooked slowly in milk, sweetened with sugar, and topped with cinnamon. Sliced peaches round off this surprisingly rich meal. However, I will offer a very important opinion - you MUST make this in a double boiler, meaning a TRUE double boiler (the two pot setup with a lid). If you don't have one, go buy one - they're not expensive. This simply cannot be made any other way.

Peaches and Rice

4 cups milk (can use whole, 2%, 1% or skim milk)

1 cup long grain white rice

½ cup sugar (or 12 packets Truvia)

 Pinch of kosher salt (optional)
Sliced peaches packed in 100% juice

In the bottom pot of the double boiler, put in a small amount of water, but not enough to touch the bottom of the upper pot. 

In the upper pot, pour in the milk. Add the rice and salt, if using. Turn the heat to high and get the water to a boil. Let the milk heat through until you see little bubbles forming around the surface of the milk. Make sure to stir every now and then so a skin doesn't start forming at the top. When the milk is sufficiently hot, but not boiling, put on the lid and turn the heat to low.

Cook for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so. After 45 minutes, add the sugar, stirring well to blend. When the rice is sufficiently thick and creamy, it's ready to eat. Spoon the rice into warmed bowls and sprinkle the top with ground cinnamon. Add a few slices of peaches and dig in!

Serves 4

Optional ways to serve this include adding a tiny sprinkle of ground nutmeg, drizzling with a small amount of pure maple syrup, or adding additional milk to the bowl to eat it like a hot cereal.

If you have a big enough double boiler, you can easily double this recipe if you need to feed a hungry family. This can be made as a hot breakfast cereal, or you can eat it for dinner, which is what my family has always done.