Holiday comfort

There is nothing that is more indicative of the holiday season than the smell of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove. The aroma permeating the air, wafting from a freshly baked pie or loaf of bread. The scents wrap themselves around you like a thick down blanket. Warmth, security, contentment.

At this moment my kitchen is a mess. It is in a bad way. I was sick for nearly two weeks. This is the fallout that occurs: too much garbage, piles of unwashed dishes, lots of yuck. But my appetite has returned with a vengeance. What to do? Slow cooker! Someone over on livejournal posted a rough sketch of a recipe the other day that had snagged my interest. Yesterday I wiped out the slow cooker and dug out the Pumpkin Pie Spice. Mmmmmm... Pumpkin Pie Spice. After playing around with seasoning amounts, here is the result:

(Picture coming soon...as soon as blogger quits being a punk!)

Pumpkin Rice Porridge

8-9 cups milk
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
3 T pumpkin pie spice
1 can pumpkin puree
3 cups rice

Put the first 4 ingredients in your slow cooker. Mix to blend completely. Add in the rice. Cover and cook. (I set it on high for 6 hours.) Occasionally mix to ensure even cooking.

Hint: I used a Reynold's Slow Cooker Liner. These things are lifesavers! Cleanup is a breeze. I can't imagine how horrible it would have been without the liner. Some much scraping! Instead you just lift it out and throw it away.

This is truly a porridge. Thick, dense, slightly sweet. Yum! It has a consistency similar to a bread pudding. The only problem is that it makes a HUGE batch. I am going to have to try making it much smaller. I may try it with a slightly higher ratio of wet ingredients. If you play around with it, please let me know the results. Hmmm...I wonder how it would taste warm and topped with maple syrup?