Coconut Custard Rice Pudding

Alright, this one is a little more decadent that the rest of my recipes, and a bit more labor intensive.  It was created to *hopefully* win a recipe contest, so thought I'd throw it on the blog as well.  Feel free to get creative and garnish with any dried fruit or nuts of your choice!

Coconut Custard Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

1 cup jasmine rice plus 2 cups water
1 can coconut milk (sorry folks; lite won't work as well, use the regular version)
3/4 cup coconut shredded (unsweetened or sweetened if you want it more dessert-y)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons ground chia seeds + 4 tablespoons water
1/3 cup sucanat or coconut palm sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
optional : 1/2 cup apple juice-sweetened cranberries.  Blueberries also make an interesting and yummy addition, and pistachios on top are also tasty if you can eat nuts.

Directions:

1.  Cook the rice in a rice cooker.  Don't have one?  Go buy one.  J/K, cook it stovetop, it'll just take a bit longer.  Fluff it up and leave covered while you do the rest.

2. Heat coconut milk stovetop until warm, but not to boiling.

3.  Put eggs, chia seed and water and sucanat/palm sugar in a bowl.  Slowly pour half the warm milk into the bowl, whisking well.  Add in vanilla.  Add to remaining warm coconut milk, stirring well.

4.  Add in spices and lemon.  Stir well, turn off heat and let sit to thicken, stirring occasionally.  Divide into dishes and serve with a dash of cinnamon.