Breakfast Rice Pudding

This rice pudding is more like a naturally sweet breakfast porridge than a dessert. It is gluten, egg, and dairy free and is still delicious. This batch makes enough for at least five days' worth of breakfasts -- just tuck the casserole dish into the fridge and warm a serving at a time in the microwave. If you don't have cashews, pecans make a good substitute, for a flavourful but slightly darker-hued pudding.

2 cups cooked brown and wild rice combo
1 cup crushed pineapple and juice
1/4 to 1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 ripe banana
3/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup unsalted cashews
3 tbsp orange juice concentrate
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat the oven to 325F. In a casserole dish, combine brown rice, pineapple and juice, and dried fruit.

In a blender, combine banana, hot water, cashews, orange juice concentrate, vanilla, and almond extract. Blend until smooth.

Pour blended ingredients over rice mixture. Mix well. Bake for 45 minutes.

Makes 6 breakfast servings

Porridge-y Goodness

Brown rice porridge doesn't have enough flavour for me, and quinoa flakes don't have enough texture -- but put them together and they balance each other out deliciously and nutritiously.

The porridge recipe below is almost instant. Amounts are for one big bowlful. I measure five or six individual servings into little resealable snack bags so I can "just add water" in the morning.

3 tbsp quinoa flakes
2 tbsp cream of brown rice cereal
1 tbsp unrefined sugar (sucanat - evaporated cane juice)
1 tbsp whole flaxseeds
1 heaping tbsp raisins
dash of cinnamon
sprinkle of salt
3/4 cup water

Stir dry ingredients together, then stir in water. Cook three minutes in the microwave, stirring once partway through. Remove from microwave, stir well, and allow to sit for two minutes.

Serve with milk or soy milk - or cream, if you are feeling decadent.