Saturday, June 27, 2009

Baked Vanilla Rice Peaches

I should probably begin by apologizing in advance for what will surely be several posts in a row from the same book. I just read another Donna Hay book, Off the Shelf: Cooking from the Pantry, and as usual I was intrigued by every dish presented. The photos grabbed my attention immediately, and the recipes are so straightforward there’s no reason not to jump right in and get cooking. In this book, Hay suggests you consider your pantry staples as the “bones” of your cooking, and the recipes focus on those basic ingredients used in all sorts of ways. Each chapter is devoted to a type of staple such as pasta, rice, grains, and pastes. At the end of each chapter, there is a section called short order which presents very quick and simple dishes or just a sauce or crust or some element with multiple uses. After reading the book, I had a seriously difficult time deciding what to try first. There are about a hundred post-it notes sticking out of it, and just about everything I plan to make in the next week will be from this book.

One of the quick and simple short order items from the rice chapter is baked vanilla rice peaches. It occurred to me that I never make rice pudding, and Texas peaches are in season right now, so it was the right time to put the two together. This may be the easiest form of rice pudding ever prepared. For four large peaches or six small ones, you will need one half cup of cooked rice. I used jasmine rice. To the rice, add one quarter cup of cream, a tablespoon of sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits, and spoon some rice mixture into each piece. Place in a baking pan, sprinkle tops with demerara sugar, cover with foil, and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. That’s the entire recipe. When you remove the pan from the oven and lift the foil, you will be taken aback by the vanilla-peach loveliness emanating from within. Fresh peaches have a pretty fantastic aroma by themselves, but combined with vanilla, it's taken to another level.

The demerara sugar melted into a glossy syrup in the pan, and I spooned it back over the peaches. Also, I had some local, organic blueberries which I thought might look nice on the plate, and I dusted the tops of the peaches with a tiny bit of cinnamon. This was simplicity and comfort-food and fruit and dessert and possibly breakfast all in one very simple dish. When something is this easy and this good, it’s always a little surprising. But, the best part is realizing that I can whip this up anytime with very little effort.


34 comments:

  1. No apologies accepted this dish looks stupendous - as usual. I am glad my hubby did not got a look at this because what I am fixing for dinner is a pale second.

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  2. Yes we are Lisa!! We are just gorging into the fruits & berries. This looks so good & with the blueberries.

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  3. I love this combination of fresh/fruity and gooey/comforting - same reason why I love mango and sweet coconut sticky rice so much. Great job, Lisa.

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  4. this looks amazingly delicious - my mouth is literally watering for the flavor of the peaches and the vanilla and the rice - I am so close to running out the door to get some peaches....

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  5. I can just imagine cutting into that peach. The softness from baking. A lovely presentation, too. Mmmm...

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  6. I never make rice pudding either - what a creative way to make it. Beautiful presentation too!

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  7. Wow, i love rice pudding by itself, even better when it is an edible peach bowl! What a super idea. And the prefect amount of richness and lightness for summertime.

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  8. What a unique dish - it looks so perfect for summer!

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  9. This looks so fresh and refreshing!! This is a great dessert/snack.

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  10. What a juicy peach-y rice pudding you have there! Very creative!


    Angie's Recipes

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  11. This looks gorgeous Lisa, loved the idea!

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  12. This looks fantastic! I actually have the same book. I love all books from Donna Hay, the recipes are gorgeous and the photos, well... they are my big example! your photos actually made me drool and wanting some of those peaches right away!

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  13. Such a fantastic idea, I always love the combination like this. You did a great job Lisa.

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  14. What delicious treats these are! The combo of rice pudding with peaches must be a lovely flavor!

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  15. What gorgeous, gorgeous pictures. I've only made rice pudding once before and it turned out to be a clumpy mess. You've inspired me to try again...

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  16. love the great idea of using blueberries here :) vat a lovely pictures!! cant wait to try it.
    cheers!!

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  17. This is absolutely unique and new to me. I should definitely try this when we have a lot of peaches these days. Unfortunately, we don't have blueberries here.These photos are fantastic!

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  18. What a wonderful combination of peaches and vanilla with rice. I would love to try this fantastic summer dessert!

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  19. I LOVE rice pudding! I used to buy them by the tub...I haven't had them in so long but you have reminded me of my affinity for it! And with peaches and vanilla...perfect!

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  20. There are no apologies necessarily for this dish. What a gorgeous and unusual way to use peaches!

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  21. Your peaches are so beautiful and I think they'd taste fantastic baked with the vanilla rice! Your photo is pretty! I wish I could get them exactly as they are!

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  22. Not a big fan of rice pudding but it sounds great with the peaches! Great presentation as well.

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  23. well, now, this is a unique version of good ol' rice pudding! i'm not usually a fan of the stuff, but the luscious peaches make it really appealing. i'm looking forward to the other dishes from this book!

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  24. These are some pretty peaches! It seems we were of like mind this weekend. GREG

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  25. I just pulled my copy of the book off the shelf because I couldn't remember ever seeing this recipe. But here it is on pg. 48! These are so right up my alley - thanks for drawing my attention to the recipe.

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  26. A couple of our friends talk about eating rice this way for breakfast. It always sounded interesting. Funny you created this dessert. Sounds good.

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  27. I love when recipes this easy come out looking so fancy. Thanks for sharing, and great photography, too!

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  28. This sounds amazing! I can't wait to try this out once we get peaches in Michigan. It's a great gluten-free dessert option, too :)

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  29. I've eaten rice pudding and I've eaten peaches-but never together!!Those peaches are the best bowls for the rice pudding that I've ever seen :)

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  30. Wowow! Rice pudding in peaches, it must be amazing!

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  31. I love the simplicity of this recipe and filling it with rice pudding sounds delicious.

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  32. Donna Hay's books always have such pretty pictures. Your peach ones do her justice, too. I can't believe how easy this is to make. What a great new way to serve up rice pudding.

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  33. Yum, still haven't made rice pudding, but this combo sounds lovely

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  34. This is a great idea! I can't wait for the local peaches to start coming in.

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