Risengrynsgrøt, Norwegian Rice Pudding

I am half Norwegian, and a little Swede too - among a few other nationalities. While a lot of the foods we ate at my grandma's just seemed like normal food, the older I got I realized that a lot of people had no idea what I was talking about when describing what we had for a meal (unless they were Scandinavian too). This was especially common during the holidays, when we were more apt to bake Norsk or Svensk (Norwegian or Swedish) cookies. Not all of these recipes are for the holidays, though. Here's a good one for anytime:

Norsk Risengrynsgrøt, Norwegian Rice Pudding with Raisins

Ingredients:

1 cup white rice

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup raisins (optional)

milk &/or cream (see below)

Bring water to a boil and add rice, and salt according to directions.
Bring up to a boil again for a few minutes and turn heat down to simmer. Add raisins if you want, and cover with lid.
When rice is soft and all the water is absorbed add milk and stir until you have a creamy consistency (lots of stirring!). It will take a while for the rice to fully expand and all the milk to absorb into the rice.
For an extra creamy pudding, add 1 cup heavy cream before serving.
Rice will keep expand as it cools. So be sure you add enough milk while it is still simmering and keep stirring to prevent it from burning.When the risengrynsgroten is done, ladle it onto regular dinner plates; sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. My mom used to put a dollop of butter on top, but that part's optional.

I like mine with vanilla ice cream :)