Rice Cooker Dessert Success!

For some reason, fruits seem to cook best in my little rice cooker. The other fruit recipe I've made was with apples. Though I must admit that I have found out that if I add extra water to my rice recipe, then that comes out great as well.

This sweet dessert recipe is simple, and old. I made this years ago on the stove top, and I pulled it out again because I wanted to see how it would work in the rice cooker.

Poached Pears, Vanilla Ice Cream, and Chocolate Sauce

2 pears, peeled and cut into quarters. I use the hardest pears I can find. I like them tart.
2 1/2 cups of water
3/4 cup of white sugar

Cinnamon to taste!

Place all ingredients in the Rice Cooker and turn it on. Allow the rice cooker to work its magic...

While it is working, melt some chocolate chips in the microwave (or you could use pre-made syrup).


When it is done, the peaches should be soft but not mushy (NOT falling apart), and the water should be syrupy. Delicious!

Place a small scoop of ice cream into a bowl, place some of the peaches beside the ice cream, scooping the syrup into the bowl as well, and then drizzle the entire thing with chocolate!

I had forgotten how amazing this was! Again, I'm still not sold on my rice cooker, because frankly it didn't do anything for me that my stovetop doesn't do... but it was fun to give it a try.

You can tell I'm not one to give up on something, can't you? lol

I hope you get the chance to be creative today!

Giving the Rice Cooker its second try

Here is the second recipe I have tried for my Rice Cooker. I found this recipe on Food.com. I have still been trying to conquer the basic rice recipe and I have found that adding a little extra water has helped.

Apple Rice Pudding

I wasn't looking for something with this many ingredients but it looked simple enough and of course, delicious, so off I went. Our youngest peeled and diced the apples and we watched it cook together.

It was terrific!

Apple Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

• 2 cups apples, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1 cup short-grain white rice (Carolina Gold is recommended)
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla

Combine the first six ingredients. Start the rice cooker and let it roll. When it says it is done, add the remaining ingredients and start the rice cooker again. After it finishes then check the ingredients in the cooker. If it needs to cook again, then go ahead, otherwise add cinnamon and eat.

We didn't have to cook it another time, our apples were diced pretty small. And it tasted wonderful.

One nice thing about the Food.com website is that you can change the number of servings and get an updated recipe.

I'm still not sure if I'll end up loving the rice cooker, but I can see some possibilities. I'll keep you posted!

Enjoy!

My New Rice Cooker

So while we were in for the evening in Arlington I am reading a book by Roger Ebert called The Pot and How to Use It. Yes, this is Roger Ebert the movie critic. You may know this, but apparently Roger cannot eat solid food because of a tracheostomy that he elected to have done after numerous neck and throat surgeries due to cancer. Funny, but he still loves to cook and has written a book on one of his favorite tools – the rice cooker.

This book was on my Christmas list. I also wanted a rice cooker and my husband
bought both for me. I gave the rice cooker a try the other night. The thing about
the rice cooker is that you put in the rice, add the water, and flip a switch,and the pot knows what kind of rice it is (not really) but knows how much time it takes for the rice to be cooked. It then shuts off and you are supposed to leave the rice to sit in the pot for 15 more minutes.

The Rice Cooker my hubby bought me even though he hates giving appliances for gifts... 

During the cook-time I had to run out the door and my husband and son were both busy, so I told them not to worry about the rice cooker. They didn’t. The
rice was overdone. Hubby felt the rice was spongy. I have hope. I will post my
successes and failures as I persevere with this new appliance.

I THOUGHT the book was a recipe book. However, I can't say that it is. It does have some recipes in it, but it is mostly a book espousing the virtues of the Rice Cooker and why you should have one. I am hoping that I will feel the same way just as soon as I figure out how to use mine!