Coconut Rice Pudding

Hello internet! Guess what, I made something! In the kitchen, on the stovetop. Something with milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla.... aren't you proud?  One of my unmentioned August goals was to make something gluten-free and celebratory (unmentioned because I didn't know if I would have time to fit it in and I didn't want to make any promises).  I envisioned something majestic, with piles of frosting, something worthy of celebrating both a birthday and going away occasion in one splendid baked good.

Well.

Let me tell you how that went down. I looked and looked through my 37 baking books. I was hunting for something either gluten free or with a small amount of flour so that I could substitute it for rice flour. Thirty-seven books (that's my ballpark estimate, I haven't really counted ... yet), and not one appropriate towering cake recipe.  I was discouraged.  I paced and huffed. Then I improvised.  What is delicious and rarely ever made by hand any more? That's right, internet! Pudding!

Coconut rice pudding.  Creamy and chewy, delicious warm right out of the pot or cold from the tupperware in the fridge. Bonus: solid enough to hold candles!

Coconut Rice Pudding for two, adapted from Cooking for Two 2009

Ingredients
1 cup water
1/2 cup arborio rice 

1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 1/2 cups milk (use whole or half and half, just not skim)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method
Bring the water to boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the rice and salt. Cover, simmering over low heat until the water is almost entirely absorbed. This should take between 10-15 minutes.
Stir in coconut milk, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Continue simmering, stirring frequently, 45-55 minutes, or until a spoon (or in this case, a celebratory candle) can stand up easily in the pudding. Serve warm or chilled, if you can wait.