Rice Pudding

I love rice pudding! It's probably my favorite pudding.

Rice Pudding
1 3/4 cups water
2" cinnamon stick OR 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup medium grain rice
4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup raisins
Measure 1 3/4 cups water into a pan. Add cinnamon and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat 5 minutes. (If using ground cinnamon, skip the previous simmering step) Stir in the rice. Cover and cook about 20 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick. Add milk and sugar. Set over medium low heat and simmer about 15-20 minutes until mixture just begins to thicken to the consistency of heavy cream. Remove from heat. Stir in raisins. Cool. Serve hot or cold.