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”
That cookbook sounds wonderful and I CANT WAIT to make that rice pudding when I get home from work today.
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That looks wonderful! I’m always on the lookout for something different and interesting for breakfast.
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I’d love to try making this recipe
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question- is the rice purple sticky rice or non-sticky rice? i’m assuming sticky due to the pudding texture, but wanted to make sure! book looks great!
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Wow, this book seems really nice. I would love to cook from it!
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Thank you for another great post and recipe. Love your blog! Now I only hope I can get my hands on some black rice soon to try this pudding!!
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I love black rice- will try for the morning!
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Now I know what to do with the baggy of black rice I bought so long ago; and even better it’s toddler approved!
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This recipe gives me hope! I have just learned that I have to seriously restrict my diet for health reasons, and having this cookbook would definitely bolster ideas for my limited menu options!! Thanks Luisa.
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The cookbook sounds so inspiring! would love to get a copy of it
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I love cookbooks that work as reading material before bed. I read them again and again!
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This looks great! I have been on a quick for new, healthy breakfast ideas to get me out of my normal eggs, yogurt, or smoothie rut. Will have to try this!
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This sounds like a cookbook I would really use! I’m constantly looking for new vegetarian/vegan recipes I can make for my family. I like the thought of a new hibiscus recipe! I missed hibiscus tea so much here in the States, but then I found a middle eastern food market that sells them in bulk and I can’t stop drinking tea!
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The cookbook looks great! Thanks!
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ooh, black rice smells wonderful! and easily found on my local asian market
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I think I would love this book. . . just what I need as I try to incorporate more whole foods into my son’s diet.
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I’m always looking for ways to add more plants into my diet, and this book looks like it would be a big help. The Black Rice Breakfast Pudding looks delicious!
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I am dying to add this to my (out-of-control, hiding-new-arrivals-from-boyfriend) cookbook collection!!!
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I’m sitting at work, and I’m salivating! This sounds so good. And since the black rice is purple, the kids will probably try it, too.
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Oh man. Both things seem essential to Minnesota’s winter. Yum!
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Sounds like a great book to perk up your cooking!
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I could use some good comfort food after the winter we’re having in Boston!
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I recently bought some black rice with the intent of making it with coconut milk so this is perfect timing!
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Everything you described about the book sounds so enticing. I would love to win a copy. 🙂 Bookmarked to make this pudding real soon.
Best,
Siri
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yum! my family loves rice pudding. last night was wednesday chef night in my house–i made braised beans with bacon and wine and cranberry brownies. both were a hit! my picky toddler loved the beans, which was a happy surprise.
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I’m hope sick for the umpteenth time in 2015 (seriously what adult gets an ear infection?) and now all I want is this pudding! I’m always on the lookout for things that are dairy-free but still rich and creamy. This would definitely qualify!
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I hadn’t heard about Amy or her book until now, but it has promptly made it onto my must-buy-cookbook list! I’m not vegan, but as a gluten-avoiding, cooking-obsessed, alternative-ingredient-loving vegetarian (could I fit anymore hyphens into that description?), this is definitely right up my street! Thanks for the recommendation.
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I have a bag of black rice just waiting for this recipe. Pick me!!
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Hello! This cookbook looks great and I have had it on my Amazon wish list for some time. I would love to cook from it
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I need breakfast rice pudding in my life, stat.
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Ooh I’d love this as a gift for my vegan sister (if she promises to share some of the bounty gleaned) and I LOVE your
photo of a pot running over — not only does it remind me of that wonderful nursery story of porridge run amok but
it makes me aware of the beauty in spills, splashes, unbuttoned (unlidded) abandon. Love your spirit and your recipes.
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This looks so good! I love everything Amy does😀
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I like how your pudding bubbled and dripped. I thought I was the only one that happened to 🙂
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Oh! I’ve been eyeing that cookbook since it came out and this breakfust pudding (that color!)is pulling at my heart strings. I can’t wait to try it.
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I am intrigued by the seaweed with beans! I’d love to win this book!
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When you make the black bean butternut stew; double the recipe. You’ll be so happy you did. It’s absolutely delicious!
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Nothing beats rice pudding for breakfast… except maybe this.
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Me please! And if not, at least I finally have remembered to tell you that your Alice Medrich buckwheat cranberry cake was truly sublime. Thank you.
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I’d love a copy of this gorgeous book!
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This recipe looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it.
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This sounds like a wonderful book. With our very cold weather something warm and tropical sounds wonderful.
Thank you for an always entertaining and interesting read.
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Ummmmmm…pick me pick me pick me? LOL
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This looks like a great entry point for introducing vegan cooking to my meat and dairy-eating family.
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Looks delicious!
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I would love to get my hands on this gorgeous book! Thank you!
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Lecker, lecker! This would be fab addition to my kitchen : )
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I love black rice pudding!
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This looks wonderful. I definitely need to get some plant based cooking shakeup around here. I’ll try this recipe too!
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I love rice pudding! Now I only need to find black rice 😀
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This pudding sounds wonderful! I’d love to win the cookbook! Your recipe posts always inspire me!
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