Ashlicles filled with Lemongrass, Apricots, Ginger and Love

I'm terrible at making rice.

It seems like a really silly thing to be bad at, but I swear I'm awful. The last guy I dated was always in charge of making rice if we were having it with dinner. In spite of this, these apricot rice pudding popsicles sounded so delicious that I decided to try and get over my ridiculous rice cooking apprehensions. 

Apricot Rice Pudding Popsicles 

(inspired by bon appetit) 

gluten free & vegan

1 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

1 cup coconut milk

1 lemongrass stalk, outer layer removed, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon minced peeled ginger

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (mine came from sweet Lisa's travels!)

1/2 cup water

3 tbsp short grain rice

1/3 cup 1/4" pieces dried organic apricots

1/8 cup agave

Instructions
Combine non-dairy milk, coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger, and water in a medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to a boil; remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, place rice and 1/2 cup water in a small bowl; let stand for 10 minutes (to soften and release some starch). Drain.
Strain coconut-milk mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a saucepan. Add rice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer (try to keep the stirring to a minimum so things don't get too starchy) until rice is very tender, 30-35 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Stir in apricots and agave. Transfer mixture to a large glass measuring cup to divide mixture among popsicle molds. You will need to spoon the rice and apricots into the molds. Freeze until firm and then enjoy.

Yields 4-6 popsicles depending on the size of your molds

So much deliciousness! I swear, coconut milk in popsicles is making my whole summer infinitely better. And the lemongrass and coconut (and mango I was eating while I was making them) reminded me of St. Lucia

Coming next week - NYC post (I promise!) plus all sorts of Fringe fun!