this is a sweet, simple dessert thats great for cold winter evenings. it can be made with ingredients that you almost always have lying around and is a wonderful blank canvas for toppings and additions!!!

i got the recipe for this in the cooking: a commonsense guide cookbook
i have made a few adjustments myself, and you might too depending on your own personal tastes

this is my first entry into the Dessert Contest, so if you like it, I'd appreciate a vote :D

Step 1: The Simple Ingredients

one thing i love about this recipe is you can almost always be certain you'll have the ingredients! you'd never believe that a few simple, rather bland ingredients make such a sweet, creamy dessert!!!!

YOU WILL NEED
90g short-gran rice (i use about 100g of jasmine rice)
1litre of milk ( i use full cream)
1/2 cup caster sugar (you can use white and i add a bit more!)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

ta-da! thats all you'll need

EQUIPTMENT
large saucepan
various measuring cups (see above to be specific)
a teaspoon measure
colander
a wooden spoon or spatula

Step 2: Begin....

take your large saucepan and pour one litre of milk in, this step will be much easier i you have measurements on your saucepan or a two cup measure! i use full cream milk and am not sure how other milk or milk substitutes will work. if you try another milk, please do let me know :D

Add the sugar and vanilla, place over medium heat and heat until it is almost boiling, stirring occasionally to help sugar dissolve and not burn

WARNING: watch your mixture as it begins to boil as the milk sometimes reacts or something and turns into a strange cream-textured frothing mess that may boil over! if you see the milk rapidly rising (it does this in seconds) simply pull it off the heat, and/or clap a lid over it! once its calmed down after a few minutes,you can put it back

Step 3: Add the Rice

Rinse your rice in a colander or a strainer (if your colanders holes are too big). drain it well before adding to your almost-boiling milk mixture. stir until it begins properly boiling (the book says "return to the boil"..when it only "nearly boils"?)

lower the heat so it simmers and walk away! yes! you only need to come in every little while and stir it a bit!
cook for roughly one hour or until the rice is tender and has soaked up most of the milk (the mixture should be nice and thick)
you may also need to add more milk during/after cooking as the rice may soak up to much and become dry

when you add the rice you can also add a variety of other ingredients such as

sultanas
grated orange rind
other dried fruit

( i myself have only tried sultanas)

Step 4: Serve and Enjoy!

now your done! all you need to do is spoon it into individual bowls and serve with cream and/or whatever toppings you like!
need some suggestions? you could try...

chocolate chips
powdered cinnamon (one of my favorites)
jams
chopped fruit
berries
honey, maple syrup or golden syrup
or anything you like!!!!!

please post any comments, questions or suggestions :D
and if you like it, please vote!