Rice! In days gone by, this was a staple food at my house. We ate a lot of rice and Mama always cooked plenty for all eight of us. It was not unusual for there to be leftovers, and you don’t throw good food away. “There are hungry people in this world we live in and just because we have more than plenty, we will not throw food away!”

Many times I heard Mama speak words similar to that statement. We were taught at an early age that we did not waste food. So, when we had leftover rice, Mama made rice pudding. I never saw her use a recipe for this pudding but watched her time and time again as she took the leftover rice and added sugar, milk and an egg along with a few other ingredients and made dessert for another meal. If she had raisins, she added a handful, about ½ cup. I’m not sure if Mama used nutmeg but I like to add just a tad, so I’ve included ¼ teaspoon. If you don’t like nutmeg or don’t have any in your pantry, leave it out. The results will be good either way you cook it. This rice pudding is good even if you don’t brown the top after it is done, but the broiler will give it a nice finish. Don’t let it stay under the broiler but just for a couple of minutes or the heat will make it dry; it will still be good, just not as moist. So many leftovers can be recycled for another meal.

I had the opportunity to hear the Rev. Dr. Trish Bruner, pastor of the Foley United Methodist Church in Foley, preach on “blessings follows obedience” If you have not heard her speak, you should visit the Foley United Methodist Church one Sunday morning. Her sermon on “blessings follows obedience” is so true and brought back memories of obedience when we were young. Obedience to our parents was a must and never questioned. When Daddy spoke, we jumped! We never questioned his authority. We were in church every Sunday and were taught that obedience to God was also expected of us. We were not wealthy and we were not wasteful; we enjoyed our share of blessings.

Mama’s rice pudding

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup leftover rice

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 ½ cups milk

1 egg

1 tablespoon butter

½ teaspoon vanilla flavoring

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat egg in large bowl. Add milk, rice, sugar, butter, salt, vanilla and nutmeg. Stir and pour into a 1 quart baking dish. Bake for 1 hour, stirring after 20 minutes and stir again when you take it out of the oven. Sprinkle top with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Place under broiler in oven for 3 to 4 minutes to brown. Serve warm or cool.

If you prefer a more pudding-like texture, use 2 eggs instead of 1. If you left it in the oven just a little too long and the pudding seems to be dry, pour a little bit of milk over each serving or you may want to try whipped cream on top. A spoonful of ice cream on the side never hurts, either!

From the scriptures

Spiritual food is essential for all of us, as well as physical food. We enjoy two or three meals every day. We should nourish our mind and feed our spirit daily just as we feed our body. Reading our Bible daily is one way to feed our spirit.

Our Scripture for this week is: Malachi 3:10:

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of host, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

“Blessings follows obedience!” the Rev. Dr. Trish Bruner, pastor at Foley United Methodist Church.