Chris Gordon uses a rainy day as an excuse to test out

It’s raining outside. Pouring in fact. The air is cold and it seems winter is laying its heavy head on me already even though I’m sure I was outside frolicking in the sunshine only last week. Now I’m looking for warmth and Kathy Tsaples, bless her, has the answer.

I skim through her cookbook, Sweet Greek, before coming to rest on the great comfort food of all time: rice pudding. (Commonly known as rizogalo.) Kathy says in the recipe introduction that she feels like she’s nurturing her family when she makes this creamy dessert and so following in her footsteps, I embrace feelings of kindness and generosity as I start the process.

Twenty minutes later I’m feeling glad I’ve given myself plenty of time because I’m still stirring the rice and water. I’m also thankful I’ve used my largest saucepan because it looks like I’m going to be left with a lot of rice pudding - the recipe calls for two litres of milk - and once the water is finally absorbed I add this to the pan. I continue to stir.

All up it takes me nearly an hour to make the pudding. I’m stirring and stirring - and to be honest my feelings of devotion for my family have shifted during the process. I cannot leave the kitchen while my rice is cooking, I tell myself despite growing frustration, I must continue to stir!

It’s fair to say my kids demolished a serving each, and then another, until there was none left over. One hour of cooking had translated to ten minutes of eating. The rain continued throughout their feasting and afterwards, they trundled off to bed where, with stomachs full of milk and rice, they slept like angels.

One hour of cooking translated to ten hours of peace? Ah.

Chris Gordon