Last fall, a publisher sent me a heavy package. Inside were two copies of Amy Chaplin's At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen, a vegan cookbook and whole foods manual of sorts. Amy used to be the executive chef at Angelica's Kitchen, the legendary vegan restaurant in New York City, and now works as a private chef, teacher and recipe developer. At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen is her magnum opus, if I may be so bold, a well-researched, deliciously crafted and carefully written guide to making the most of all the wide array of plants – from whole grains to beans to vegetables to seaweed, yes – available to us today. It feels like an instant classic, modern and interesting and definitive. (Also, the photography is jaw-droppingly beautiful.)
These days, it's tough to keep up with the onslaught of information blaring at you from every corner, and the cookbook market is no exception. The rate at which new cookbooks come down the pipeline is crazy, for lack of a better word, and the speed and haste in which they are thrown together is sometimes depressingly apparent. But in this case it's clear that Amy poured an enormous amount of work into getting the book just right. There is so much information here, so many thoughtful little tips and nice stories, not to mention the delicious recipes, that it really earns the adjective of encyclopedic. I'm so impressed.
I've cooked from the book for several months now, but I've also kept it by my bed for a soothing bedtime read and I'm happy to say that it works on both counts. For those of you who are interested in why soaking grains is so good for you, how to use seaweed to bolster the flavor of beans, for example, or how to make desserts out of things like ground toasted coconut, maple syrup and oat flour, you need this book. And if you're a vegan, this book will become your Joy of Cooking. I'm not a vegan, or even a vegetarian, but the recipes are so richly conceived and so well-developed that they don't read as "special diets" food, but rather as warming, soulful, wonderful food, the kind I'd like to eat all the time. (There are a few exceptions, mostly in the dessert chapter, but I imagine that for people who are gluten-free or vegan or lactose-intolerant or all of the the above, it's manna from heaven. I mean, toasted coconut crust for pies, chocolate pots de crème, Earl Grey fruit cake, helloooo?)
My latest discovery in the book is a black rice breakfast pudding made with coconut milk and lightly sweetened with maple syrup. You soak the rice overnight first, then cook it with coconut milk, water and nut milk (those of us who aren't vegan can use regular milk, like I did, which makes the pudding creamier than nut milk will) until it's soft and creamy and the "pudding" is a deep, beautiful purple. Spooned into a bowl and topped with cool slices of banana and some crisped-up toasted pieces of coconut (regretfully missing from the photos here), it's the nicest breakfast I've had in a long while. Warming, rib-sticking, tropical. Hugo loved it too, by the way!
My husband is obsessed with Amy's turmeric lemonade that I doctored with blood oranges during a recent onset of the flu, and next up on our to-try list is her silky cauliflower-celery root soup made with two whole roasted heads of garlic and roasted shiitakes. There's cherry-coconut granola and a corn-tofu frittata, a hibiscus drink made with ginger and citrus and a black bean butternut stew, among so many other things I cannot wait to try.
And! The second copy is for one of you! Yippee! Just leave me a comment and tomorrow evening I'll pick a winner.
Have a wonderful Friday, everyone. March is almost here!
UPDATE: Anne is the winner! Thanks for participating, everyone! Comments are now closed.
Amy Chaplin's Black Rice Breakfast Pudding with Coconut and Banana
Adapted from At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen
Serves 4 to 6
1 cup black rice, washed and soaked in 4 cups of water for 12-24 hours
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/4 cups milk (cow or almond)
2 cups water
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup maple syrup or coconut nectar
Sliced banana, for serving
Toasted coconut flakes, for serving
1. Drain and rinse the rice. Place in a heavy-bottomed pot and add the coconut milk, almond or cow's milk, the water and the salt. Bring to a boil over high heat without the lid, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. (Some liquid may escape – as above.)
2. When the rice is tender and the pudding is creamy, remove from heat and stir in the sweetener. If desired, you can thin the pudding with a little extra nut or cow's milk. Serve topped with sliced banana and toasted coconut. Leftovers can be reheated the next day with a little water stirred in to loosen the pudding.
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198 responses to “Amy Chaplin’s Black Rice Breakfast Pudding with Coconut and Banana”
I have been waiting FOREVER for this book to be available from the library. I would love to have my own copy!
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This is amazing, and thanks for your generosity. I’ve been eyeing this book for a while now! Also, I made the cranberry brownies that you posted about today, and WHOA. They are something else! Too good to be true. Thanks, Luisa.
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wonderful book!
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Just yesterday I picked up this beautiful book at Whole Foods and stood paging through it, mesmerized, and wishing my birthday wasn’t two whole months away (since my cookbook wish-list always has the best chances of fulfillment on my birthday :)!!
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I love the look of that food and the book too!
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I’m a vegetarian and am always excited to try new recipes. This looks like a fantastic book.
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I’ve heard good things about this book, and have now heard some more!
Would love a copy! Fingers crossed 🙂
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I don’t know how you do it, but every time you post a new recipe (every single time!) it’s exactly what I’m craving and just what I have hanging out in the fridge/pantry. Now that’s some kind of magic!
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I love cookbooks that manage to balance healthfulness with good flavor – it’s a real trick. The book looks lovely.
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This looks amazing! I’ve been on the hunt for dairy free brekkys and this has shot to the top of the list! I’ll eat it with chopped mango from my backyard tree – it looks like a bumper crop this year! Got to love Aussie summer!
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this would be lovely
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What a treat! Thanks W.C. =]
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I’m sold!! Only recently I learn to throw in seaweed + beans together and the result is nothing short of magical. This pudding may replace my morning oatmeals.
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How interesting: this recipe is a slight tweak on a Malaysian dessert classic I grew up with and love called “pulut hitam” – it’s almost the same, other than the addition of a second milk (we usually just use coconut milk) and the use of a refined-sugar alternative.
I would absolutely love to win a copy of the book. Our Lenten fast is vegan and I have yet to come across a vegan cookbook that inspires…but this one sounds like it is in a league of its own!
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Sounds delicious! Could my first comment after years of reading and cooking be the lucky one?s
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Ditto what Rachel said above. This is a classic chinese “dessert”. Usually sweetened with rock sugar rather than maple syrup and with a liquid base of coconut milk and water. It is not usually eaten at breakfast but more as a sweet treat during the day or night.
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I have made this without soaking the rice. It just takes longer to cook and soften.
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This sounds delicious! My husband can’t eat dairy and puddings are so difficult, this whole book sounds inspirational!
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Ooh, I will definitely try this recipe on our two and four year old, they would definitely love it for breakfast especially if I added mangoes instead of bananas.
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I love a good bedside cookbook 😉 I also love sticky rice desserts – yum!
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this looks very very appealing!
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Oh, this sounds absolutely delicious! Like you, our household is not vegan nor vegetarian, but we like to mix things up and constantly keep looking for new inspiration, try to be mindful in our choices and, despite our sweet tooth, steer on the healthy side. You can never go wrong with something like this. As for the rice pudding, we’ll be trying it out real soon. Have a wonderful weekend!
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yum, yum, yum!!!! looks so tasty 🙂
https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/
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If I don’t win it, I hope my library gets it; coconut crust sounds ok to me
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My daughter is a vegetarian and I collect vegan/vegetarian recipes for when she visits! Thank you for your posts!
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Sounds wonderful! I keep coming across ideas for black rice – will have to try!
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All of the recipes you mentioned sound wonderful!
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Thank you for sharing! This looks delicious and that book is definitely on my list.
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… the first time a vegan cookbook sounds interesting 😉
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This sounds delightful! My cookbook shelf has a space 🙂
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Oh man that looks goooood! Seems like something I’m going to have to make!
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I’m with one of the commenters above-it’s great to see your boiled over pot! I’m also a great fan of pudding anything, especially if I can call it breakfast. Cheers!
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Would love the book! Thanks for highlighting this recipe – looks amazing
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That pudding looks delicious! Where can I find coconut nectar in Berlin? Sounds intriguing but I guess I’ll just use maple syrup, like you did. Thanks for sharing!
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This is a wonderful book of recipes for all. I keep borrowing it from the library and they just smile and renew it for me many times. It would be so nice to have my own copy. Oh, I just realized this contest might not be for folks in the US. Oh well, it’s still a great book and someone is going to be very happy.
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My husband has gout and I’m always looking for new meatless dishes to make dinnertime more interesting.
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I love warm cereals or grains for breakfast, so I will definitely be trying out this recipe!
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I’ve got the rice soaking… And love that this looks like eating dessert for breakfast.. Can’t wait to try the result in the morning!
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I have black rice in my pantry and have been wondering what to do with it. Now I know! Also provides some variety for breakfast. Thanks!
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I keep hearing about this cookbook! I’ll have to check it out. This breakfast sounds like just the thing for a long winter.
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Looks amazing, especially since we are getting another round of snow here in Colorado! Warm, gooey, yummy.
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Lecker lecker! Would love to win the book.
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Stunning recipe – thanks so much for sharing!
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Looks delicious!! Cannot wait to try this recipe. I have been following Amy for a long time. Now, excited she brought me to the Wednesday Chef.
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Rib-sticking, tropical – that description totally won me over. And the cauliflower soups sounds amazing. I will have to try it!
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Between BioCompany and Asian grocery stores, I almost always find everything I need.
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I used a can of regular coconut milk I bought at the Asian grocery store. From Thailand, I think?
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No, it’s not sticky black rice! Just regular black rice. Sticky black rice would turn into a glutinous mess if you cooked it this way.
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