Breakfast Risotto

What do you do with the leftover rice from Chinese takeout? The next day, it tends to be dried out and pretty bland, and microwaving it only makes it worse. The rice and beans experiment last week left me with a large portion of leftover cooked rice. Not one to waste food, and thrilled that I didn't have to wait 30 minutes to make rice from scratch, I looked around the cupboard for ideas and turned it into:

Breakfast Risotto

1 1/2 c cooked rice (preferably sticky)
about 3/4 c coconut milk
sugar, cinnamon and cayenne to taste

Heat the rice in a saucepan over medium heat with 1/4 cup of the coconut milk. Warm it through and stir until the milk has been absorbed. Add another 1/4 c of milk and stir this into the rice as well. Add the spices, sugar, and final bit of milk and stir until it takes on a nice creamy consistency and is flavored to your liking.

I know, it's not really a risotto, but the leftover sticky rice has enough starch to make a creamy rice pudding in about 5 minutes.

I have a habit lately of putting cinnamon and cayenne pepper into everything I cook. This spicy tropical combo has found its way into quinoa, couscous, curries and most recently (this morning), oatmeal. Try it sometime, and don't forget the sugar: It will give your breakfast a kick in the pants!