A Recipe For Summer

This recipe starts with a bottle of rose on a beautiful day...

A trip to the garden for some rhubarb...

Into the pot with sugar, cinnamon and vanilla bean...

Add some super easy vanilla rice pudding and it's dessert!

Vanilla Rice Pudding with Rose Poached Rhubarb

Rice Pudding:
1 cup arborio rice
2 1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
3/4 cup sugar

Poached Rhubarb:
3 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 cup dry rose
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
1# rhubarb, cut into 1" lengths

Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the rice and cook over high heat for 3 minutes. Drain the rice and return it to the saucepan. Add the milk, cream, vanilla bean and seeds. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat until the rice is very tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the sugar and remove from the heat. Discard the vanilla bean. Turn the pudding into a 9x13 ceramic pan, press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding and refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours.

In a large saucepan, combine the water, sugar, wine, lemon juice, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean and seeds. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the rhubarb and simmer another 15 minutes. Pour the rhubarb and poaching liquid into a bowl and refrigerate until chilled.

Spoon the rice pudding into bowls and using a slotted spoon top with some of the rhubarb.

A perfect light summer dessert! Isn't it pretty?