rice pudding with citrus caramel and candied almonds

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about not creating extra stress in my life. If you’ve been reading here for a while, you know I’m an anxious person by nature. You also know that I’m a person who loves to start new projects, try new things, collaborate with new people and generally take on challenges. All of which undeniably yields many benefits: new friends, creative satisfaction, travel to distant places, a sense of accomplishment. 

But I’ve realized I cram so many new challenges into my life, I feel like I’m on a crazy roller coaster of stress half the time. I’m either attacking a new project head-on or huddled under the covers with my cat binge watching period films and trying to recuperate. Those have been my two modes recently.

The other day I paused for moment in the middle of whatever I was doing to check in with myself. I could feel waves of stress radiating through my body. Thoughts zooming. Fingers tingling. Heart banging in my chest. I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but it hit me in that moment that STRESS IS A REAL THING. Like a tangible, physical thing. Not just something you read about being bad for you in some vague sense. But something that takes a toll on your body, like sleep deprivation or smoking. 

In that moment, I decided I’m going to stop creating stress for myself unnecessarily. Some stress is unavoidable (taxes). Some stress is good (getting married). We can’t grow without challenging ourselves. But living in stress is toxic. So I’m trying to be extra mindful of what I say yes to and how I spend my days (which means I might be posting here a little less often). I’m also trying to remember that almost nothing matters as much as we think it does. My photography class homework isn’t perfect! I gained 5 pounds this winter?! She unfollowed me on Instagram!?! All small potatoes when I consider that I have a roof over my head, enough to eat, and people who love me and whom I love.

I am 100% certain stress will creep up on me when I’m not expecting it. Because I’m human. But I’m pretty excited that so far my less-stress mantra seems to be working. To celebrate, I have a recipe for a creamy Rice Pudding with Citrus Caramel and Candied Almonds for you. Pure comfort food. Like Grandma used to make--but jazzed up with zingy citrus and crunchy almonds. And hopefully a reminder to step back from whatever is stressing us out and fit in a little old-fashioned comfort. 

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Rice Pudding with Citrus Caramel and Candied Almonds

• 1 cup long-grained rice
• Pinch salt
• 2 allspice berries, crushed
• 1 stick cinnamon
• About 2 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk (or substitue whole milk)
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• Heavy cream, to taste (optional)
• 1 recipe Citrus Caramel (see below)
• 1 recipe Easy Candied Almonds (see below)

*Notes: The evaporated milk gives the rice pudding extra richness, but feel free to use whole milk or a mix of whole milk and cream instead.

- Top the rice pudding with the caramel just before serving. The acid from the citrus will cause the dairy in the rice pudding to break if you let it sit for long. If this happens, the pudding will taste fine but look a little strange.

Place the rice in a heavy-bottomed stock pot or Dutch oven along with 1 cup of water, the allspice, cinnamon and salt. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring often, until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is starting to soften, about 10 minutes. If the rice is sticking to the pot, you can add a little more water. 

Stir in the two types of milk and the brown sugar. Cover and continue to cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 30 minutes. The rice should be cooked through but still have some tooth to it. Remove the rice pudding from the heat and stir in a few tablespoons of the heavy cream, if using.  Cover and set aside for 15 minutes. The rice will continue to absorb the liquid and firm up a bit. Add a bit more milk or cream if you like your rice pudding a bit looser. Serve warm or cold topped with citrus caramel and candied almonds. 

Makes about 8 servings.

Recipe adapted from Diana Kennedy's Oaxaca al Gusto

Citrus Caramel

• 2 blood oranges

• 1 pink grapefruit

• 1 navel orange

• 1 meyer lemon

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup water

• 2 tablespoons dark rum

• Pinch salt

*Notes: You can use any mix of citrus you like. I’d avoid going very heavy on lemons, limes or meyer lemons, but a few thrown in provide a nice contrast to the sweet caramel.

- This will keep for 3 days, covered and refrigerated. It’s also delicious on cake, pancakes, ice cream, yogurt or ricotta--pretty much anything creamy or cakey.

Cut the skin and pith from the citrus and cut into supremes. Squeeze the leftover flesh to remove as much juice as possible. Strain the juice from the citrus (you should have about ½ cup) and set aside. Combine the citrus in a medium heatproof bowl and set aside. 

Combine the water and sugar in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat to medium and DO NOT STIR. (Doing so could cause your caramel to seize up.)

Cook, swirling the pan occasionally (but not stirring), until  the water has evaporated and the sugar starts to caramelize and turn medium amber in color. Very carefully, add the rum. It will splatter so stand back! Once the rum has stopped splattering, slowly add the reserved citrus juice and a pinch of salt. The caramel will likely seize up a little and look crazy. Don’t worry--simply return it to medium heat and cook, stirring often, until any hardened bits have melted and the caramel has thickened slightly, 2-3 minutes. Remove the caramel from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

When the caramel is lukewarm or completely cool, pour it over the citrus. Set aside for at least an hour to allow the flavors to come together. 

Makes 8 servings.

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Easy Candied Almonds

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

• Generous pinch salt

• ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 cup blanched slivered almonds

In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, salt and cinnamon.

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and swirl to melt. Add the almonds and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the nuts and cook, stirring often, until the sugar has melted and caramelized and the nuts are starting to turn golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Immediately transfer the nuts to a large plate to cool. When cool enough to handle, break up any clusters. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 1 cup candied nuts.

pineapple and jicama salad with chile-lime vinaigrette

We’ve been in our house for a little over a year now. I’ve walked the streets of our new neighborhood dozens--maybe even hundreds--of times since we moved in. So I thought I had a pretty decent handle on the highlights of this little corner of Seattle.

Earlier this week, however, I learned that I had been overlooking one of the hidden culinary treasures of the city: the Discoteca los 3 Reyes.

This is not, as the name might suggest, a Latin nightclub, but rather a little grocery store jam-packed with every sort of Mexican ingredient your heart could desire. They stock the more familiar offerings: hot sauce and canned beans and spice packets for taco meat. But also corn husks for tamales, hibiscus flowers, dozens of chiles and fat kernels of Mexican corn ready to be ground into masa harina. They have piloncillo and Mexican cinnamon and dried avocado leaves. In short, they carry everything I need to get my Oaxaca food fix on.

Naturally, I filled my shopping bag with tons of ingredients I don’t entirely know how to use (what do you do with yerba santa anyway?) and over the next couple weeks I’ll be testing recipes for my upcoming Oaxaca-inspired dinner--and just for fun. I’ll be posting my successes here.

Today's experiment was a Pineapple and Jicama Salad with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette and I'm calling it a success. This dish was inspired by a salad we had as part of our photography workshop in Oaxaca. As well as by all the chile-dusted tropical fruit sold in the streets of the city. It treads a thin line between savory and sweet and has some crunchy toasted peanuts and fresh herbs thrown in to round things out. 

Beau and I devoured a plate of this for lunch alongside some jalapeño eggs. Then we started dreaming up other ways to eat it in the coming weeks: as a salsa on top of a nicely charred steak, as a bed for roasted halibut, with yogurt and toasted coconut. Beau even thinks you could get away with adding a scoop of sorbet or ice cream. (Of course, he thinks you can improve a lot of things with a scoop of ice cream, so I’ll have to let you know about that one.)

However you decide to serve this salad, I hope you enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with more dispatches from the Discoteca los 3 Reyes and more Oaxaca-inspired kitchen experiments.

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Pineapple and Jicama Salad with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette

• 2 oranges, (I used cara caras)
• 1 ripe pineapple, peeled, halved lenghtwise and thinly sliced
• 1 cup peeled and julienned jicama
• 3 dried arbol chiles (or to taste)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/4 cup neutral-tasting oil (I used avocado oil)
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
• Salt, to taste
• 6 radishes, very thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped mint, plus a few leaves for garnish
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped cilantro, plus a few leaves for garnish

*Notes: This salad is fairly spicy. If you don't like spice, either cut back on the arbol chile or use a milder chile.

- I think this salad would also be delicious topped with crumbled queso fresco.

Using a sharp knife, slice the peel and pith from the oranges. Carefully slice them into 1/4-inch rounds and then cut each round into sixths (you'll have six little triangles for each slice). Arrange the sliced pineapple, oranges and jicama on a serving platter. 

De-stem the chiles and place them in a spice grinder. Process into fine flakes. Place the chiles in a medium bowl along with the lime juice, honey, oil, peanuts and chopped herbs. Stir to combine then add salt to taste (you want it to be a bit on the salty side). 

Pour the vinaigrette over the pineapple, oranges and jicama. Scatter the radishes and reserved herb leaves over the salad and serve.

Makes 6-8 side dish servings.

citrus with rose water, mint and lime

Hello from Oaxaca!

I’m currently sitting in the courtyard of our tiny hotel, surrounded by a small jungle of flowering plants. I’m here for a photography workshop with Andrea Gentl and Martin Hyers, two supremely talented photographers whose work is a continual source of inspiration for me. I can hardly believe I managed to snag a spot. (I might need to pinch myself in a minute.)

I’ve been here for two days, shaking off my jet lag, soaking up the ample sunshine and exploring a bit before the workshop starts. 

Oaxaca is a buzzing, bright, welcoming city. The streets are full of life. As far as I can tell, everything of interest happens in the street: buying, selling, gossiping, yelling, singing, working, flirting. Oaxaca feels like Seattle’s polar opposite; it is warm, sunny, loud, colorful, gregarious. 

Already, I love it here.

For the next nine days, we’ll be rising with the sun to visit markets, artist studios, restaurant kitchens, gardens and farms. There will be lessons on the technical aspects of photography, how to shape shadow and light, and the subtle art of asking a stranger if you can take their portrait. There will be mole and handmade tortillas and mezcal and even a traditional goat roast. 

It’s going to be amazing. And intense. I don’t anticipate I’ll have very much down time while I’m here. Which is why I wanted to drop in with a quick post before it all begins. 

Citrus season has arrived, so this week I have a recipe for Citrus with Rose Water, Mint and Lime. The recipe is adapted from Diana Henry’s excellent A Change of Appetite and it feels like the perfect thing to post while I’m in a city brimming with every manner of tropical fruit. 

Here’s the gist: get some ripe, fragrant citrus. Add any other tropical fruit that strikes your fancy. Whip up a light, floral syrup. Pour the syrup over the fruit and you’ve got a dessert guaranteed to brighten up grey winter days. (If I were you, I’d make a double batch of the syrup. It’s stellar shaken or stirred into a cocktail. It’s especially magical with a floral gin like Hendrick’s or Aviation.)

The other workshop guests are trickling in as I type, so I'd better sign off for now. But I’ll be back soon to share my Oaxacan discoveries with you!

xo,

Olaiya

P.S. To embark on your own creative voyage, join Yossy Arefi and I in Paris this May for 4 days of food, photography and exploration! There are just a few spots left. Click here for details and registration.

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Citrus with Rose Water, Mint and Lime

• 6 oz. granulated sugar
• 3-4 wide strips of lime zest cut with a vegetable peeler
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 small bunch mint, plus small sprigs of mint to serve
• 1/4 to 2 teaspoons rose water
• 1 pink grapefruit, peeled and cut into rounds or supremes
• 2 large cara cara oranges, peeled and cut into rounds or supremes
• 1 large navel orange orange, peeled and cut into rounds or supremes
• Small handful kumquats, thinly sliced
• 1 large mango, peeled, pitted and cut into large pieces
• Fresh or dried rose petals, to serve (optional)

*Note: I used Nielsen-Massey rose water, which is quite strong. If you are using a more delicate brand, you might need to use a little more. Always add rose water in very small amounts (drops are good) because once you add too much, your whole dish will taste like soap. And we don’t want that.

Place the sugar in a medium saucepan and add 2 cups of water and the lime zest. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Boil for four minutes. Remove from the heat, add the lime juice and mint. Set aside to cool. 

When the syrup has cooled add the rose water and strain out the mint sprigs.

Put all the fruit in a large bowl and pour the syrup over it. Place in the refrigerator to chill. When cold, use a slotted spoon to transfer some of the fruit to individual serving bowls. Top with a few tablespoons of the syrup and garnish with fresh mint and rose petals before serving. 

Recipe adapted from A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry.