today is my birthday. yup, december 23rd; happy birthday to me!!

i am currently in ireland!! spending the day in dublin and will have pictures for you when i get back. promise!

every year for my birthday my aunt belkis and my grandma make arroz con leche (rice pudding) for me and the baby jesus (yes, we celebrated the birth of jesus with rice pudding!). to this day, without fail, i always get some homemade arroz con leche.

this year i asked grandma and my aunt belkis for their arroz con leche recipe so i could share it with you. i have to admit that although this was amazingly delicious; it was not as good as theirs. i am not sure what their secret is - i guess i just have to keep practicing and hopefully one day will become as good a cook as they are. but back to my story… i would get arroz con leche every birthday and then, after my (and baby jesus’s) birthday party, we would all go to grandma’s home to get things ready for christmas dinner on the 24th (in dominican republic we have christmas dinner on the 24th). in one of my favorite memories my mom, aunts, grandma, cousins and i are all sitting around a table wrapping pasteles en hoja and we would take many breaks to eat arroz con leche. there was so much laughter and love in that room and i guess arroz con leche always reminds me of that (all together now: awwwww!) so here it is: my grandma and aunt belkis’ arroz con leche recipe!!

INGREDIENTS:
2 cinnamon sticks
pinch of salt
2 cups of rice
2 cans of evaporated milk
2 tbs butter
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
handful of raisins

INSTRUCTIONS:
get 2 cups of water to boil and add the cinnamon sticks and salt. 

clean and wash the rice while you wait for the water to boil. 

add the rice to the water after the cinnamon has been boiling for 5 minutes. 

cook the rice uncovered on medium heat until all the water evaporates. 

add the milk.

the butter. 

and the sugar.

don’t forget the raisins!

mix everything and cook covered until the rice is tender. 

the rice pudding should be a little moist but the rice should be tender and cooked through. 

and that’s it. you can eat the rice pudding warm or cold. i prefer my rice pudding cold - preferably after it has been in the fridge for a few hours. 

to me, this rice pudding means christmas and my birthday. no matter if i am living in new york or back when i lived in dominican republic, this rice pudding always managed to make me smile. it brings me back to my childhood and just screams family to me. 

and to continue with the childhood stories/trend; here is a nursery rhyme about rice pudding:

‘arroz con leche se quiere casar, con una viudita de la capital. que sepa tejer. que sepa bordar. que ponga la aguja en el mismo lugar. contigo si, contigo no. contigo mi vida me casare, yo.’

(rice pudding wants to get married, to a little widow from the capital. she must know how to sew, she must know how to knit. she must put the needle back where it belongs. with you yes, with you no. with you, my love, i will one day wed.)

i hope you have a fantastic weekend and a very happy christmas!!

hasta luego y feliz navidad!