Chia Seed Pudding and Apricot Layered Parfait

I just ran into a couple of great looking blogs featuring the use of chia seeds as a thickener to make pudding.  The puddings looked like cool tasty treats for hot afternoon snacks, after dinner deserts, or quick,  healthy, grab and go breakfast for days when I volunteer at Juniper Flats.  Both recipes looked devine, but I didn’t have the same ingredients on hand.  Rather than run off to the store to buy more ingredients, I thought I would allow myself to be inspired by them with ingredients that I happened to have in my kitchen. Since I am in the midst of canning apricots that are raining out of my trees, oh thank you Mojave wind;), a cool usage of the apricot pulp generated by the canning project looked like a good idea.

Chia Seed Pudding and Apricot Parafait

This Morning’s Inspiration

Rice Milk Recipe.  Posted by Tiffany on Don’t Waste the Crumbs.  Recipe accessed on July 3, 2016.

Overnight Mango Chia Pudding. Posted by Andrea  on Cooking with a Wallflower.  Recipe accessed on July 3, 2016.

Summer Chia Seeds Pudding. Posted on Cooking without Limits. Recipe accessed on July 3, 2016.

Ingredients

1 cup filtered water

1/4 cup cooked brown rice

1 tsp Vanilla

Pinch cinnamon

1 or 2 cured and mashed apricot seeds (optional.  Substitute almonds if you don’t process your own apricot pits)

1/3 cup chia seeds

Sweetener of choice to taste

1 cup apricot pulp

2 table spoons lemon juice

Zest from one orange

Chia Rice Pudding

Put water, rice, vanilla and cured apricot seeds in a blender  and blend until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl. Add chia seeds and mix thoroughly until mixture thickens. Make sure that there are no clumps of seeds.  Chill in refrigerator for about 1 hour.

Apricot Puré

Remove seeds from apricot pulp strained from making apricot juice and apricot jam.  If you are not in the middle of canning apricots, use canned or fresh whole apricots.  Pure pulp in a blender with lemon juice until smooth.  Add lemon juice and heat until puré coats a dipped spoon.  Sweeten to taste with sugar, honey, or alternative sweetener of choice. Chill in refrigerator for about 1 hour.  Whip in blender to create a fluffy texture.

Apricot Chia Parfait

Alternate layers of chia rice pudding, and apricot puré in a dish.  Add grated orange peel and cinnamon over each chia rice pudding layer.  Garnish with your choice of granola, ground and roasted chick peas, nuts, fresh fruit, or herbs that happen to be on hand. Chill over night (or for as long as you can stand to leave it alone.)

When packed in a travel container with blue ice, the parafait makes a handy grab and go breakfast.