rice pudding & recap

Last night I decided to cook. We had roast pork tenderloin with apple-onion-mustard gravy along with the best ever sage and brown butter roasted potatoes. Since the oven was on 325 degrees I decided to try a recipe for oven-baked rice pudding I had pulled out of a Gourmet magazine the other day. WOW! It's easily the easiest dessert I've ever made and it was super yummy. Gabe had a pouty face when he discovered there were no more potatoes or rice pudding. I reminded him our wedding is fast approaching and we need some beach bodies :)

I'll give you the actual recipe, and then tell you what I did:

*Preheat 325 degrees. Butter 4 (6-8 oz.) ramekins.
*Add 1/2 cup milk, 4 teaspoons arborio rice, 2 teaspoons sugar, and a pinch of salt to each ramekin. Grate some fresh nutmeg over each, and stir.
*Put ramekins in shallow baking pan and bake 1 hour, until most milk is absorbed and there's a golden-brown skin on top. Cool 1 hour, and at least an additional 30 mins in fridge, covered, if you want it cold.
*Discard skins and stir in 1 tablespoon heavy cream. Serve.

I had smaller ramekins and didn't exactly measure out anything. I put in less sugar, used powdered nutmeg, and added a drop of vanilla. Afterwards I stirred in a bit of half and half and I think you could get away with just milk. In a flash of inspiration I added chopped up fresh cherries which were amazing. Try this and enjoy!! Sorry not to have pictures - we ate it too quickly.

I have been on a packing rampage this past week in preparation for a moving sale this weekend. We don't really have a yard and don't have any tables so I'm not yet sure of the logistics. I have been on a terrible sleeping schedule this week - going to sleep four to six hours behind normal-people schedule. I'm not into pills, whether medical or magical, but I would take one to alter my daily rhythms for sure. I love nighttime but it's just not practical in this world. Maybe I can get a job as a night watchwoman in NC.

In the next three weeks I have 2 engagement parties, wedding planning, moving sale, interviewing/2 presentations/wrapping up at work, trip to NC to apartment search, job search, packing, moving 13 hours away, unpacking...yikes! There is something missing from the list, though. We're breaking our lease by moving, and offered to post an ad and look for new tenants for our landlords. Turns out they decided to just sell the house! One thing crossed off.

It's a busy month, but wonderful.