Lola's Horchata

Submitted by Shauna Hinckley

From Allrecipes.com…tweaked by Shauna

1+ cup uncooked white long-grain rice
5 cups water
½-1 cup milk (or coconut milk to make this lactose-free)
½ Tbsp. vanilla extract
2-3 cinnamon sticks or 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
2/3 cup white sugar

Soak the rice, water, and one or two cinnamon sticks in a large container in the fridge for several hours or overnight. Remove the cinnamon sticks. Pour the rice and water into the bowl of a blender; blend until the rice just begins to break up, about 1 minute. Let rice and water stand at room temperature for a minimum of 3 hours. Strain the rice water into a pitcher and discard the rice (or save it to make rice pudding or something). Mix the sugar with some water, microwave it until the sugar is dissolved into the water and it makes a thin syrup. Stir the milk, vanilla, and sugar syrup into the rice water. If using ground cinnamon, stir that in now or float another cinnamon stick if desired. Chill and stir before serving.