Inspired Week of Cooking - Day 1 - Chocolate Risotto

Red Borong Rice

Okay, it is almost the end of summer and somehow, I found my inspiration this week. As to how, I am not sure. Maybe it is the new purple, fragrant orchid flowers which got me going. Or maybe the violin music that I play each night before I sleep. Or it could Oprah's magazine by my nightstand. Or the Balikbayan Magazine published by Asian Journal with breathtaking photographs and literary stories written well. One of my favorites was a story about Nick Joaquin by Joel Pablo Salud.

Enough of the introduction. Here are my recipes that I remember. I cook by instincts, smells and what my heart dictates. So, I really do not follow recipes. But this is what I recall...

Chocolate Risotto aka Champorrado

3 cups organic red borong rice ( obtained from Angge's Organic Rice Farm in Zambales )

16 cups of water

1 can of lechera condensed milk ( I like this brand, as the other brands are too sweet for my taste, this is the less sweet variety )

1 chocolate disc ( tableya, is the local name )

1 cup of Ghiradelli chocolate powder

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tablespoon vanilla flavor

pinch of salt

Combine water, condensed milk, chocolate disc, cinnamon sticks, salt and red borong rice. Since this is organic rice, it is best cooked using masipag technology. Impatience is not welcome. So, patiently stir the granules of rice in the liquid mixture until it is almost cooked. You will notice the transition from raw to almost cooked, just by looking at the kernels. Then, before it is fully cooked, add chocolate powder and vanilla flavor. Keep stirring. When you notice that there are no more raw kernels, and rice is almost cooked, turn off the flame and cover the pot. Allow the residual steam and heat from the covered pot, without any flame to finish the cooking of the rice. Oops, I forgot to give you my secret. Email me and I will disclose it.

Oh, this recipe is so good. How good? Well, I shared a small pot with my friend who has a platinum palate and she gingerly apportioned it for breakfast each morning. She would add pure cream, heat it up in the microwave for about a minute, or even less, and then, she sits down at 4am enjoying her breakfast of chocolate risotto or champorrado. How to pronounce it? Chum...po ra...do....

This is also good with smoked fish, or bacon, depending on what part of the globe you are in. For me, I had it with my P-1o juice, made from zucchini, bell pepper, carrot, apple, orange, kalamansi, spinach, parsley, cucumber, celery. Sometimes it is called P-11 as we add grapes to it. The best part of drinking this juice is you need not worry about eating 9 servings of fruits and vegetables. By juicing, you get your entire nutritional need in one 8 to 10 ounce glass. It is best to juice this fresh every morning.

Now, the hard working folks might say, who has time to do all this? Well, I figure I have a choice. I can do this for my body every morning or I can stay in a hospital bed, taking pharmaceuticals. When that choice is presented to me, I find the time to treat my body right.

Okay let me know how the tsamporado recipe turned out for you. If you do not have red borong rice, you can use California sweet rice. This recipe can feed a whole neighborhood, almost ten people and there are some more left. Happy eating!

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