Brown Rice Pudding
We’re in Tofino, in the rain.
It was a long drive, snowy in parts, impossibly overloaded with the groceries we prematurely piled into the car in Vernon. I had a meeting in Vancouver I was late for due to poor calculations and too much construction on the highway. We’ve been behind and trying to catch up since leaving Calgary, and I kind of wish we had just waited out the rest of Tuesday and left at a leisurely pace.
My late meeting had a domino effect, and we found ourselves doing that crazy stressful right-at-the-wire mad dash to the ferry to make the 5 o’clock. As we were pulling up to the booth, I reached down for my wallet, and it wasn’t there.
It appears someone either lifted it while Mike took the boys for a walk during my meeting, or I left it on the roof after our stop in Hope to find a tiny old-school bakery that sells, among other things, big squares of puff pastry filled with pineapple and cream. (I also bought a pie – strawberry-rhubarb – for $4.79.) One guess which scenario is more likely. If anyone in Hope is reading this, a bright blue wallet may be somewhere on the road between Dutchie’s bakery, Tim Horton’s, and the highway.
Needless to say our already heightened stress level took another leap skyward as we excavated the car in the ferry lineup, removing well-arranged suitcases and shoes and toys and groceries onto the pavement while trying to keep the boy and the dog from wandering away. The wallet wasn’t there. My cash (good thing I loaded up before we left), credit cards, business cards, receipts and notes and gift cards and a thousand or so membership cards, all in the brand-new wallet I just bought at Uppercase. My still exhausted mind did not take this well. The ferry ride was an unhappy one, spent morosely trying to figure out which credit cards to cancel and going through everything in the car again. We ate Cheezies for dinner. It didn’t help.
Of course it could be worse. Of course it could. It still sucks.
Sue fed us brown rice pudding before we rushed out this morning. I’ll likely make another pot of it here, to dip into for breakfast, elevenses and snacks.
Brown Rice Pud
AuthorJulie
Combine everything but the vanilla in a pot; to prevent lumps, stir the cornstarch, if you're using it, into the sugar first, or stir it into a bit of the cold milk. If you do use cornstarch you'll need to bring it to a simmer for a minute to reach its full thickening potential and prevent any starchiness. The great thing about rice pudding is that you can add milk in splashes, cook it until it absorbs, add more, and so on until you get the consistency you want. Even so, the next morning it will likely have thickened and need to be loosened up with a little more milk or cream.
Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is as thick as you like, adding more milk if you want. At the end, stir in the vanilla.
Cool.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine everything but the vanilla in a pot; to prevent lumps, stir the cornstarch, if you're using it, into the sugar first, or stir it into a bit of the cold milk. If you do use cornstarch you'll need to bring it to a simmer for a minute to reach its full thickening potential and prevent any starchiness. The great thing about rice pudding is that you can add milk in splashes, cook it until it absorbs, add more, and so on until you get the consistency you want. Even so, the next morning it will likely have thickened and need to be loosened up with a little more milk or cream.
Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is as thick as you like, adding more milk if you want. At the end, stir in the vanilla.
Cool.
Ah man that really sucks!!!
Don’t let it ruin your holidays Julie, life is way too short….
hopefully from now on it will be clear sailing for you guys.
I really feel bad for you guys…
MFO
Oh Julie. Not a great start to a holiday in Tofino. But if there was anywhere on earth to be to feel better, you are there! You’re right of course -it could’ve been so much worse… but it still SUCKS! Enjoy Tofino! Happy Easter!
Oops – that was not “anonymous” – it was ME!
D’Oh!!
Oh no! I hope there wasn’t too much cash in it….everything else can be replaced!
How did you manage to get on the ferry with no money?
Oh, Julie, I’m so sorry about the wallet. Yes, it could be worse, but it’s a pain. Don’t let it leak in to the holiday. It’s too bad about the rain. I see the weather forcaste changed today to say rain every day for seven days. I hope they’re wrong for your sake.
have a wonderful time, regardless.
Laurie
Aw, I am so sorry about the wallet. I had a similar panic-stricken moment last summer in Lillooet, when I went into a gas station to buy some lip balm and couldn’t find my bank card OR credit card – the only source of money I had on me at the time. Lucky for me, it just happened to be hiding in one of the eleventy pockets in my motorcycle pants.
At least you have pie. And you’re in Tofino!
Darn, Julie. At least it is a bright blue and could be easily spotted. Good to have alerted your readers in Hope. Reporting it lost to the police there would also be a good idea (if you didn’t already). If it does turn up, empty or not, they would at least be able to get it back to you. Hope the rest of your holiday gets better.
Robyn – Mike has his wallet, so we used his credit card to get on the ferry. And yes, I loaded up on cash before we left!
Oh no! I’m so sorry your trip got off to such a stressful start. I’m sending you lots of good thoughts for a better weekend ahead.
Oh how I wish this could be April fools fun. I’m so sorry you lost your wallet. Can someone get into your house to check your messages to see if it was found and they are calling?
Urg, that sucks. I got my purse stolen from my car whilst recycling a few years ago, I was gone from my car for may 2min… Don’t let it get you down, everything can be replaced. Enjoy the beach and the food, no sense in being bummed during vacation.
Ouch, that makes for a stressful trip.
My sister lost her wallet once after leaving it on the roof of a car leaving a trailhead parking lot in Banff.
It was mailed back to her (including the cash) from Arizona. An American couple had found it on the side of the highway. I know it doesn’t always end that way, but sometimes people are kind and decent.
Hope the rest of the trip improves!
Boo hiss. Cash aside; it is such a hassell replacing all those cards. Soo sorry.
Get over it as quickly as you can! Your week will be over in a wink a you’ll have missed it.
That totally sucks! What an inconvenience! Is there anything in it that has your phone number on it? Check your home messages over the weekend and maybe someone who found it will have called. I’ll think good thoughts!
Regardless, have a wonderful time in Tofino.
Wish I could meet up with you for a walk on the beach..
Hope the rest of your vacation goes really, really well. I’ll take a look around in Hope when I pass through tomorrow, heading north to see my parents. Did you report it missing to the police there? I may have to make the sacrifice and visit Dutchie’s bakery (if its open) too;) Puff pastry with pineapple…yum!
Hey if it helps, the phone number for Dutchie’s is 604-869-9886?. And Tim Horton’s is 604-860-0601.
OOH- I hate that feeling of a lost wallet. UGG… sorry. Pretend that you just left it at home — and just maybe it will be waiting there when you get back. (if some sweet soul finds and sends it to you)
When all else fails, there is always rice pudding to bring us back from the brink of disaster. Whenever I have a shitty day, no really a very very shitty day, I think of my dear friend in Stratford, Ontario who has had MS since she was 13, told she would not make it to 30 and is now 52 — it is Diane’s birthday today, April 1! She has had every Cancer know to man and woman — both breasts removed, bowel resection, ovarian Cancer, etc. She is in excruciating pain on a daily basis because of the MS and tries to rid herself of the pain with morphine and other pills – all doctor prescribed of course. She has had countless encounters (and marriages) with abusive men. And yet, when I call her (and not as often as I should) she is always happy and ready to chat. When I think of Diane, I know I can not complain, and for some reason I still manage to do so. Life can be the shits sometime, but when you think of chronic illness, hey, can we really complain? Not that our life encounters are not a pain, but I spoke to Diane today to wish her a Happy Birthday and to see if she received my present, and yet another abusive man was just mere feet from the phone. We woman need to take charge! And cook, like Julie!! Okay, enough from me.
Happy Easter, Julie! And Happy Easter weekend to all that love and admire Julie — including me!
Cheers!
I’ve tried to do a brown rice version of rice pudding before but never had good results – I’ll need to give your recipe a try out soon.
Jade
So sorry to hear about this Julie. I really hope and pray your time in Tofino gets better. Hang in there.
And yet you still manage to make an entry, so that the rest of us won’t starve! Oh, Julie… that f#&$&n’ sucks.
oh you poor thing!! a lost wallet is a misery under any circumstances, but on a trip, oy! here’s to hoping all resolves well. (i left mine in a wildly trafficked public restroom, 2500 miles from home, and came back to find it, 9 hours later. completely intact, even the $20. miracles do happen). until then, i do find rice pudding solves almost everything.
Hey Julie. Just wondering when you add the vanilla?
Just tried your brown rice pudding this morning. The result of a Google search for a way to use up an excess of milk, cream, and brown rice. Your find was a perfect match.
I have the results here in front of me, and it’s delicious. I was a bit worried about the “brown rice” element, but other than a bit of tooth cling, you don’t even know.
Thank you.
PS: Did you ever find your wallet?
Winner! Now officially addicted.
I know that you are kicking yourself in the possibility that someone pick pocketed your wallet.
Well, join with me in the club if this happened to you as it happened to me two weeks ago in a small restaurant in a city. I thought I was so savvy. Let’s not blame ourselves. I do hope that someone finds your wallet and returns it.
Woke up thinking about a creamy coconut rice pudding not too calorie ridden. I’m hearing alot about coconut water? Do you see any connections here?