I hate dislike having a refrigerator full of bits of food. Do you? In fact, I dislike it so much that often our best meals come from using up those leftovers in creative ways, purely for the pleasure of emptying container after container. Because I also abhor waste. I firmly believe our world would be a better place if some of us (who are lucky to have so much food available) would waste less and therefore require less. Every ounce of food produced uses up so much in terms of the earth’s resources that I really try to be conscious about how much food I grow and how much food I buy. I don’t ask for perfection; I just ask myself to be conscious.
Stepping off my soapbox and back down to earth, I’ll tell you how this scrumptious recipe came to be. One day, knowing full well that if I didn’t do something about it right away, the leftover rice from a Thai take-out meal was going to be thrown away. I didn’t want fried rice, so I searched for a rice pudding recipe using cooked rice. I found a very sweet and creamy recipe on Slashfood. We ate the delicious rice pudding, and I didn’t have to throw the rice away. Win-win solution.
The other day, we once again had leftover rice. And we had leftover pumpkin from a pre-Thanksgiving pie I made. Great time of year for pumpkin rice pudding, but the only recipes I could find used uncooked rice. Thus, this recipe was born. Thank you, Nicole Weston (of Slashfood), for the inspiration.
How do you feel about food waste? Does it matter to you? I’d love to hear your opinions in the comments section below. (But remember your manners; you’re ’round my table, after all!)
Pumpkin Leftover Rice Pudding
2 cups leftover cooked white rice
1/2 cup sugar
small pinch salt
3 cups milk (any kind, but I used 1% this time)*
1 cup canned pumpkin (you may, of course, use freshly cooked and puréed pumpkin)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch nutmeg, optional
Combine cooked rice, 2 cups milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Combine the remaining 1 cup milk, the canned pumpkin, and the spices in a blender or food processor. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the saucepan holding the rice. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just about all of the milk is absorbed (30-45 minutes, depending on how absorbent your rice is). You will need to stir almost constantly towards the end of the cooking time, as the liquid is absorbed. Divide rice pudding into individual serving dishes. (If you dislike “pudding skin,” press a small piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap onto the surface of the pudding, as soon as you put it into serving dishes.) Serve warm or chilled, preferably with a dollop of freshly whipped, lightly sweetened cream. Makes 4-6 servings.
*Note: You can add up to 1/2 cup of milk more, if the rice seems extra firm or dry, to make it creamier. You can use nonfat, lowfat, or whole milk. You can also make a vegan version using soy milk.
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