- 4 cups milk (1 quart; see note)
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 medium egg
- 3 tablespoons margarine
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Get out a 2 or 3 quart saucepan. In it
combine the sugar and cornstarch. Gradually
stir in the milk. I use a whisk to make sure
the cornstarch doesn't lump. If the milk is
cold, so much the better, cornstarch
dissolves most completely in cold liquids.
Heat the pudding over medium heat. You will
have to stir it a lot. Maybe not constantly,
but darn close to it. Keep stirring it until
it boils. Then count to 60, so that it boils
for a full minute. The pudding will thicken
up considerably as it cooks.
Next crack your egg into a cereal bowl.
Ladle a bit of the hot pudding into the bowl
with the egg. Stir the egg up pretty fast
(so it doesn't cook in the hot pudding)
until it is well incorporated. Then scrape
this egg/pudding mixture back into the
saucepan. Whisk it up smooth. Bring the
pudding back to a boil and then remove it
from the stove. Drop in the margarine and
measure in the vanilla. Stir the margarine
in until it melts.
The egg is not completely necessary to this
recipe, but in my opinion, makes it taste a
whole lot better. Without the egg this
pudding just tastes like sweet milk gravy to
me. With the egg, it has a certain richness
which elevates it to something special. I
serve this sometimes with frozen
strawberries, sometimes with chocolate
syrup, and sometimes with pound cake. It can
be used like a custard sauce if you like. I
find it much easier to make than traditional
custard, which is usually thickened only
with egg yolks. With all of the distractions
from the kids, dogs, cats and Fred, I can
only make things which aren't too
intimidating. This one definitely fits that
category. This recipe makes about 8
servings. Pour it into small resealable
plastic containers if you want to send it in
a lunch box.
Note: To make a quart of reconstitued milk
to use in this recipe, combine 3-3/4 cups of
water and 1-1/3 cups of instant nonfat dry
milk powder . Stir to combine and then use
it for the milk called for above.
|
