Start of the winter flu season and I've been knocked over for more than a week, food the least thought in my head for most of that time, in fact eating was nowhere on my agenda for about 4 days.

So now that it's back at the top end of the list I'm underway in braising a nice large eye round of beef in a slow oven after 15 hours of marination in a bottle of Merlot, slice onions, and herbs, back pepper etc. A nice mound of potato mash and creamed spinach on the side should be enough to see Mothers Day through for the Mother in Law, since Zoe's in Perth leading another weekend course.

The boy (all six foot tall, 100kgs and size 15 feet) is turning some bananas on the turn into banana cake for dessert while daughter is at work at the restaurant bemoaning the fact that her boy (Jordan) is flying north today for 10 days to start his 'sparky' course.

If time had allowed today this would have been the dessert option, but with the beef in the oven for 4 hours, no time for a long bake rice pudding, this is an adaption I created a few years back from an Italian baked rice pudding receipe that used dried fruits as part of the mix, the orange option caramelises a little more than the lemon due to the higher sugar component, serve with a chocolate or vanilla icecream scoop at the side, or sprinkle with a cinnmon/nutmeg combination and drizzle with pouring cream.

Caramelised Lemon (Orange) Rice Pudding


100g short grain rice
600ml each full cream milk & thickened plain cream
Zest of 2 lemons or 3 oranges
Juice of 2-3 lemons or oranges
1 ½ cups caster or white sugar (I often use vanilla sugar if I have on hand)
Pinch salt

optional - 2 tablespoons icing sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon for dusting

Preheat oven to 150c.

Put all ingredients into an ovenproof dish with a tight fitting lid, mixing the cream, juice, zest and sugar well through. Let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes to allow the ingredients to combine fully.

Mix well and place in the oven, bake for two hours, stirring occasionally but leaving undisturbed for the final 30 minutes. The mix will occasionally look as if the liquid has curdled but this is part of the process, simply mix well again and replace in the oven, the rice may also 'break' slightly if you stir to vigorously, be gentle.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the lemon juice and serve with scoops of ice cream along with the icing sugar and cinnamon.

Serves 6-8

Variation – spoon the rice pudding mix into individual ramekins and sprinkle with soft brown or muscovado sugar, either run under a hot grill to brule or use a blowtorch to do the same.