Another time it was arctic char with carrot-curry reduction sauce, coconut rice and wilted rainbow chard, eaten in a secret enclave lit by dozens of candles near the pond.

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There, I continued my affair with rice puddings, exploring variations like Spanish arroz con leche, Indian kheer and khao niao sang khaya a sticky rice and coconut custard that's popular in Thailand.

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The diner (now there's a grand word in this context) is offered a plate of rice cooked in coconut milk, onto which can be added any number of side dishes.

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He prepared a coconut oil poached red snapper with red rice and citrus butter.

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Start your morning in South Indian culinary heaven at one of several branches of Saravana Bhavan with a masala dosa, a huge, crisp rice pancake stuffed with a potato-onion filling served with tangy coconut chutneys.

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Meals also usually include malum, a salad of chopped leafy greens and coconut, crispy poppadoms (a large circular piece of thin, spiced bread), dal (a type of lentil stew), coconut sambal (a spicy condiment), home-made chutney and of course, fragrant steamed rice.

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One of the Rice University scientists conducted experiments in which flakes of rust were made into nanoparticles by heating them in coconut or olive oil at 350C and could then be used in water purification.

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