RICE, SWEET RICE
Sort of is such a harmless thing to say. Sort of.  It’s just a filler. It doesn’t really mean anything. But after certain things, sort of means everything.
Like after, I love you. Or, ‘You’re going to live.’ ~Demetri Martin (1973 – )
HUH? RICE?
Now, you may think that rice is no big deal, and certainly falls well outside of the dessert food group. Rice is merely a gravy delivery system. Rice is the stuffing with which to stuff a bird. Or the binder in a properly stuffed cabbage. Or the foundation for my beloved sushi. Or a pithy, it’ll-put-meat-on-your-bone addition to chicken soup. Well, yes, rice is all of those things. But it can also be a lovely dessert. Maybe not a decadent dessert; after all, this preparation has no chocolate. Well, give me time. I’ll work something out.
I know that just yesterday I just gave you a preparation for a Herbed Rice as a side to meat or fish. But this rice dessert is worth examination. Heck, try it using half the quantity of some leftover rice. No reason you can’t make this a serving at a time if you want. But I warn you, I think you’re going to want another.
It is nothing more than putting in the cranberries half-way through the cooking of the rice. (You could substitute raisins but it wouldn’t have the tart bite unique to the cranberry, so if you use raisins add ¼ teaspoon of lemon zest but I warn you it won’t be as wonderful as using cranberries.) Add honey, nutmeg (fresh-grated is best!), applesauce and almonds.  At this point, refrigerate until ready to serve. Then mix in either Greek yogurt or whipped cream and voilà !
You have before you a cool, refreshing spring-time dessert that is much more than the sum of it’s component parts. I hope you’ll like it. Your kids will like it, too, and you’ll feel good about giving them a dessert with nutrient-rich whole grain rice (no Uncle Ben’s, now), yogurt and cranberries. Come to think of it, made with yogurt it could be served for breakfast if you’re pressed for time in the morning. WAY times two better than sugary breakfast cereal. Maybe I should make up a cartoon character to go with. Hmmm. Not a bad idea. Try it like this and next time, I’ll make it with chocolate for you.  Or Brandy. Or both.
