Comfort

Each year when the weather turns colder, the days get shorter and darker earlier, and the holidays get nearer and nearer, I find myself seeking comfort in traditions that remind me of my {Michigan} home.  One of those traditions:  breakfast rice…something that also reminds me of the comfort of my mother.

On cold winter mornings, usually weekends, she would make a pot of plain white rice.  On the kitchen counter she would set out sugar, a tub of margarine, and a gallon of cold milk straight from the fridge and we were free to fix our own bowls of breakfast rice.  The older we got, the more exotic breakfast rice became. We experimented with additions of brown sugar, imitation vanilla, and sometimes a shake of cinnamon.  There was always a side of buttered toast for dunking.

These days the additions have gotten a bit more grown up:  cinnamon, nutmeg, a tablespoon {or three} of sugar, real butter and real vanilla bean paste.  Sometimes brown sugar and golden raisons find their way into my bowl.  But the one thing that is always a constant:  the comfort and tradition of breakfast passed down from my mom.

Breakfast Rice

1 cup cooked white rice
1/2 tbsp butter, softened
1-2 tbsp sugar, or to taste
1/2 cup warmed milk
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
cinnamon
nutmeg

Add softened butter to cooked white rice and stir to melt.  Sprinkle sugar on top and stir to combine. Add warmed milk and vanilla bean paste.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.