Sunday things and pudding.

Things.

Pictures today, since I’m feeling more visual and less like the chatterbox I usually am. 

This. No words needed.

 Architecturally glorious, but…  

Mother Nature always wins! 

Look! A barley-rice yin-yang! 

And now the real subject of this post… pudding!! 

Mmm, pudding. There has been so much pudding in my life lately, this is a trend I’ll be continuing. This one is barley and brown rice (would have been all barley but I was a little short—a fortuitous happening since barley and brown rice go well together!), made with rice milk and coconut milk. I like it for breakfast with more milk added, or dessert with a chopped date or some raw honey (or maple). Kind of whatever floats your boat, any way you eat it, it’s delicious! Comforting in the tummy, warming, and soothing. 

Coconut Barley-Brown Rice Pudding

Recipe lightly adapted from The Gouda Life, here! Makes a fairly good-sized vat… I got maybe 5 servings out of it? They were varying sizes though, some were bigger than others. 

• 3/4 c purple barley, rinsed
• 1/2 c brown rice (mine was kashikiri) 
• 1 c original rice milk
• 1/2 c water
• 2 c light coconut milk 
• 2 tsp cinnamon, plus more to taste
• 2 tsp cardamom, plus more to taste
• 3 dates, pitted and chopped
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• shredded unsweetened coconut, for garnish
• pistachios, for garnish

In a pot, combine barley, brown rice, rice milk, water, cinnamon, and cardamom. Bring to a boil, then turn down and let simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir in chopped dates. Once the liquid is mostly gone, add coconut milk 1/4 c at a time, stirring frequently (I found it helpful to stand there with a book and stir…it’s kind of like risotto), adding the next batch after the previous has been mostly absorbed. When all of the coconut milk is added, the barley should be mostly cooked (it should be a little chewy when done). Mine needed a little more time, so I added a bit more rice milk and let it cook longer. I tasted it as I went and added more cinnamon/cardamom or vanilla to taste. Let cool a bit, and top with shredded coconut and pistachios to serve. I liked mine with chopped date or raw honey, but maple is good too!