Dan's Pudding

 My son is dealing with lymphoma and food allergies. Not a fun combo. One of the few foods that's sitting well for him is pudding. Made from scratch to avoid the stuff he's allergic to. This is his recipe. It takes a lot of effort, mostly standing at the stove stirring and stirring and stirring and stirring..., but it's very tasty. And very rich, definitely not anywhere close to diet. And right now, any calories we can get in him are a plus. So it's worth the effort.

I just made a half gallon of the stuff. That should last him a few days. Maybe.

Dan's Pudding

2 c. cream (half and half or whipping)

1 c. sugar (organic cane sugar for him)

2 c. milk (2% or whole)

6 T. flour

1/2 t. salt

1 t. vanilla

1/4 c. butter

In a 2-quart saucepan, heat cream and sugar over medium low heat. Stir constantly until it comes to a low boil. Keep stirring for five minutes.

Mix milk, flour, and salt, whisk until as smooth as you can get it. Add to the cream mixture, straining through a fine strainer to get all the lumps out.

Stir constantly (I use a flat whisk). Keep stirring until it barely comes to a low boil. That's just a few big bubbles. It will thicken up some before it hits this stage. Once it's bubbling a little, stir over low heat for 20 minutes. Set a timer and just keep stirring.

Remove from the heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Pour into serving dishes and chill. It will thicken up more as it cools.

Banana variation:

Chop up a banana or two and stir in with the butter and vanilla.

Makes 1 quart of pudding, which is anywhere from one really big serving to eight small ones.

Thursday Recipe - Basic Pudding from Scratch

I posted this a while back, but it was buried in a multi-recipe post. It's good enough and easy enough it needs its own post. So here it is.

Pudding from scratch
1/3 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1/8 t. salt
2 c. milk
2 t. vanilla

Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a 2 qt saucepan. Stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.

To keep it from forming a skin while it cools, take a large piece of plastic wrap and press it on top of the pudding inside the pan. Remove and discard the plastic when the pudding is cool. Whisk the pudding until smooth. Put in a tightly covered container and refrigerate until ready to use or serve.

Variation: Use 2 c. of canned coconut milk instead of regular milk. Dairy free and just as tasty!

Pair it with homemade graham crackers and berry sauce for a delicious dessert.