The forces have been conspiring to get me to make pudding. First, Food 52 featured pudding in their recipe contest last week. I wanted to make an improved version of the Jell-O pistachio pudding that I loved as a child, but I didn't get around to testing it in time to submit it.
Then, on Friday, Olivia had some surgery on her mouth. Watching her have the surgery and recover from it has been like hearing nails on a chalkboard. It makes me cringe. Granted, she will be okay, but it is no fun to see her suffering. The recovery has been rockier than we thought it would be. She is still quite sore and eating is painful.
As a parent, it is heart wrenching to stand on the sidelines and watch her suffer. I want to reach in and take away her pain, or waive a wand to make it better. Maybe these times are necessary to teach both parent and child that children can handle adversity on their own. Maybe, but I don't like it.
So what is a mama to do? Cook, of course. To make eating easier on her, we have come up with a variety of soft foods, including, banana milkshakes, fruit shakes, rice and mild curry, mashed potatoes, garlicky butternut squash, and soft pasta (well past my standard for al dente).
And of course there has been pudding.
I gave the pistachio pudding a try, but I used arrowroot -- and too much of it -- and I ended up wtih a gloppy mess. Yuck. I'll give it another try, but in the meantime, I switched to chocolate because that is what Olivia was craving. I used coconut milk to give that standard chocolate pudding a tropical flair. That and Smitten Kitchen's pina colada cake got me thinking about adding an umbrella.
Most importantly, the texture was just what the patient ordered. Cold, creamy, and smooth. A treat to soothe that unhappy mouth.
Second Helping: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Thirds?: Vanilla Bean Pudding
Serves 6
15 minutes preparation and cooking time, plus time for chilling
1 15-ounce can coconut milk
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
In a small saucepan, heat the milks over medium heat just until they reach a simmer. Add the vanilla and mix it in. Remove the pot from the heat.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Sift in the cocoa powder, and whisk it again to combine. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the milk, whisking constantly.
Return the pot to the stove, and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the pudding thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Strain the pudding into a heat proof bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pushing the plastic wrap down onto the surface of the pudding. Refrigerate until the pudding sets, about an hour in the freezer or 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Hope Olivia's mouth is feeling better soon. However, it sounds to me like you'd better perfect the pistachio pudding now, to be ready in case of future pudding emergencies!
Posted by: Andrea | March 03, 2011 at 01:12 PM
Once my mother made chocolate pudding and covered all except one (hers) with plastic wrap. She was sure surprised when we all were fighting over the one with the skin.
Posted by: Andrea | March 03, 2011 at 01:13 PM
I just made chocolate-cinnamon pudding this week, and it was gone in a flash. We don't have mouth woes, just flu woes, so something smooth and sweet was in order. I remember when my oldest had his wisdom teeth pulled (all 4) a few years ago - he got very tired of eating mashed potatoes.
Posted by: Ellen | March 04, 2011 at 08:46 AM