We have a monthly feature in Cherished Magazine called In the Kitchen – Heartwarming Stories and Cherished Recipes. Andrea Jones shared her story and recipe in the Jan/Feb 2018 Issue of Cherished Magazine. Here it is:
Sweets weren’t a regular part of our family diet in my childhood. They were a treat, a special occasion. I was not, however, in any way deprived.
In the summertime, Mama tossed chunks of chilled honeydew melon with fresh lime juice and served them with fancy toothpicks. And in the winter she made me this pudding, still a very special treat to me. But as a child, it was pure heaven.
My four- or five- year old self-marveled at the patience it took to stand there and stir and stir and wait and wait for the pudding to thicken. And then, oh, the agony of more waiting until Mama said it was cool enough to eat. Then the fight to eat slowly, to savor every creamy chocolate- enriched spoonful like a lady, as she did to make it last as long as possible! I wish I still had the thick curved mugs (white, with blue butterflies) she served this in.
I felt so grown up helping mama cook and then sitting at the kitchen table with her having our treat out of those beautiful mugs.
She would pretend not to notice as I pretended I had not burned my tongue sneaking a taste before she assured it was cool enough, a gesture of her respect for a child’s dignity. On my part, I always dropped a few extra chocolate chips into her mug, a gesture of my adoration for the mother that always made me feel truly cherished.
Mama's Surprise Pudding
Ingredients
- 2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp butter (no substitute)
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
-
Mix up the sugar, salt and cornstarch in a bowl. In a heavy saucepan, scald the milk over medium heat. Stir gently until the little bubbles just start to rise around the edges. Then slowly whisk in the dry mix. Cook, constantly stirring to make sure the bottom doesn't scorch, while the pudding thickens, 15-20 minutes.
When it coats the back of a metal spoon, take it off the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter until the butter is melted and mixed through.
Drop 5-10 (or 50!) chocolate chips in the bottom of each of 4 serving dishes and pour 1/2 cup of pudding over them. Let it chill, (but not too long!) just until cool enough not to burn your tongue.
Dip your spoon into the melted chocolate at the bottom so it flavors every bite of the still-warm pudding.
Thank you, Angela, for this great heartwarming story and recipe!
You are cherished
I love sharing at these lovely blogs.
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I enjoyed reading this post. My favorite part is the special story of making the pudding with mom. I can’t wait for my daughter and I to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing this special story on the #LMMLinkup this past week.