Chai Spiced Rice Pudding & The Blender Girl Cookbook Giveaway

Adult rice krispies and now adult rice pudding.

The difference is that I liked rice krispies as a kid but hated rice pudding. My brother loved it, but me, not so much.

However, spice it up with chai-infused flavours, sweeten it with apple, dried currants and a touch of maple syrup, bathe it in coconut milk and sprinkle it with pistachios along with leftover short-grain brown rice, and I am a happy camper.

This is no quick-fix rice pudding but it sure is delicious. My friend who tried it said it was the best rice pudding she had ever eaten.

This is my take on Tess Masters‘ version found in her gorgeous new cookbook The Blender Girl. Do not let the title mislead you too much. Yes, this is a cookbook where nearly every recipe uses a blender, but this does not mean only smoothies. The recipes are all gluten-free and vegan with only natural sweeteners. The recipes revolve around whole foods. Raw and cooked recipes are included. Tess has recipes for juices, smoothies, dips/spreads, soups, dressings, sauces and even desserts. She has entrees that use homemade sauces, including her penang curry and creamy mushroom stroganoff. Desserts include sugar-free no-pumpkin pie and chocolate-chile banana splits. Breakfast favourites including pancakes and crepes, with delicious toppings like ginger-apple-pear butter and instant raw raspberry jam. She even finds a way to use a blender for rice pudding.

She knows her stuff. It may dirty another container but I liked how a portion of the rice was pureed to thicken the rice pudding. It was rather ingenious.

She is a girl smitten by her high-speed blender. I can tell. I have one, too, and I find it hard to remember what my kitchen was like without it. Do you need an expensive high speed blender for this cookbook? Certainly not. However, you definitely need something with a blending capacity, may that be a regular blender, an immersion blender or a food processor. If you don’t have a blender, you could still gain inspiration from her creations. Your textures may be different but it would be fun to see what else you could make.

Thankfully, the publisher allowed me to share the recipe and giveaway the cookbook to a reader living in the United States. To be entered in the random draw for the cookbook, please leave a comment below telling me what you love to make with your blender (or blending instrument). The winner will be selected at random on April 20, 2014. Good luck!

Other recipes shared from The Blender Girl:

Creamy and Crunchy Spuds (with Raw Mayonnaise)
Watermelon Gazpacho is The Bomb
Fresh Spring Rolls with Orange-Almond Sauce
Creamy of Cauliflower Soup
Incredible Edible Edamame Dip
Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff
Penang Curry
Pad Thai
Anti-Oxidant Avenger
Pineapple Salsa Smoothie
Chock-Full Chocolate Surprise Smoothie
Raw Chocolate-Orange Torte

PS. This is my submission for Alphabakes and Random Recipes.

Chai Spiced Rice Pudding
Adapted from The Blender Girl (original recipe here)

2 tbsp maple syrup, or to taste
2 firm apples, cored, cubed (and peeled, if desired) – I used Fuji
1 cup lite coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
pinch salt
2.5-3 cups cooked short-grain brown rice (soft, but not mushy)
1/4 cup dried currants or raisins
1/2 cup nondairy milk, or more to taste
1/3 cup chopped raw pistachios

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, add the maple syrup and apples. Cook the apples for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until they caramelize lightly and soften but still firm.

2. Meanwhile, place the coconut milk, vanilla, ginger, spices and salt into your blender and blend until combined. Add 1.5 cups of the rice and process on medium-low for a few seconds, until creamy but rustic. (IF using a high-speed blender, be careful to not overblend; you do not want this to be smooth, you want lumpy; a regular blender will have a hard time blending when it reaches the right consistency). Add the blended mixture and the dried currants to the cooked apples and stir to combine. Stir in the remaining non-dairy milk and cooked rice. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, until it thickens slightly. Feel free to add more non-dairy milk to obtain your desired consistency. Add additional maple syrup, to taste.

3. Serve warm or chilled. Sprinkle with pistachios prior to serving.

Serves 4-6.