Arborio Rice Pudding with Cinnamon-Cardamom Streusel

Guess what it's doing here today? Raining. Yep, we've had a lot of rain lately. Nothing terrible, like Iowa is experiencing, but we've had our fair share. I don't mind, though, because I like rain and thunderstorms.
Oh crap. Now we're under a tornado warning and there are sirens going off. Down the basement I shall go!.....................

But the other day we had a crazy thunderstorm and it hailed for 10 minutes. I think it was the worst hail I've ever seen, because it was constantly coming down hard for all of that time. At least it was the size of marbles, and not baseball sized.
I took a picture of the hail...this is right when it was coming down. The porch is filled with ice, and the sidewalk is filled with water.

Yesterday, my sister gave me a trivia game called, Foodie Fight. Well, I got really excited, because I'm a huge nerd. I haven't played it yet, but I thought I'd ask you all a few questions. Let's see who gets these right in the comment section. And no looking up answers - that's cheating.

1. At what hour on a clock face does the starch go for a traditionally set dinner plate?

2. What state is the top producer of cultivated oysters in the United States?

3. What vegetables are Amish Deer Tongue, Grandpa Admire's, and Tennis Ball?

4. What cultivated mushroom grows in brown, leafy clusters and also goes by the name "hen-of-the-woods"?

5. What kind of meat was traditionally used in the 1800s to make Brunswick stew?

Okay. Where was I? Oh, yes. Rice pudding.

This is the first thing I've made in a while that actually excites me. I love rice pudding - goes back to the days when mom would buy Kozy Shack. All of my sisters like it too, with a little cinnamon sprinkled on top. We also used to eat cold rice with milk and sugar on it (some of them still do).
This reminds me of something my mom ate when she was a kid: bread with milk and sugar on it, or what she likes to call "milk toast". Shhh...don't tell anyone this, but, her grandma used to call it this.

This was the best rice pudding I've ever made, and it was so easy! You just throw everything in a pot and stir it occasionally while it cooks. It's so creamy, that you would think it contained heavy cream, but it doesn't. The starchy arborio rice is what makes it creamy. I made mine with one percent milk, and it was perfect.
While I think this would be delicious on its own, I made a cinnamon-cardamom streusel to go on top, instead of just cinnamon.
I'm already thinking of variations I can do with this.

Arborio Rice Pudding with Cinnamon-Cardamom Streusel (Recipe by Me)
Printable Recipe

4 1/4 cups reduced fat milk
3/4 cup arborio rice, uncooked
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 teaspoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Combine milk, rice and sugar, in a large saucepan, over medium-medium high heat, and bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Reduce heat to medium low, and cook for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is soft, and most of the liquid has absorbed; stir in vanilla extract. Cool rice to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator until cold.

To make the streusel: Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a small sheet pan with foil.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and salt, until well combined. Cut in the butter, using your fingertips or a pastry blender, until mixture is crumbly. Knead the mixture a bit, with your hands, until it starts to come together. Spread evenly, into a mass, on the sheet pan.
Bake at 250 degrees F, for 15 minutes (to cook out some of the flour, and melt the sugar and butter a bit), or until warm and fragrant. Turn oven broiler on, and broil for 1-2 minutes, until streusel starts to brown and crisp; remove pan from oven and cool streusel completely, before crumbling up into pieces.

Sprinkle streusel over rice pudding, and serve.

Yield: 6 servings