Ok folks, for a refreshing change of pace let’s talk about food, shall we?  Excellent.

I’ve been diving into our grains and beans, and am really excited to share so many recipes with you over the coming months!  First up, the pudding with totally politically incorrect name  – Indian Pudding.  Call it Corn Maple Pudding if you prefer.  This recipe comes from the original American colonies, and they called it Indian Pudding because the Native Americans showed them how to plant corn (and therefore saved their lives, since this grain was totally crucial to the colonies avoiding total starvation).  I’ve wanted to try this for years, and with our own freshly ground dent corn from the share, there was no time to waste!

I adapted this recipe from another – the original included a lot of spices (I left them out to enjoy the flavor of the corn itself), and also raisins, which we’re avoiding for Ella’s teeth health(really wish I had read this article 2 1/2 years ago).  I think dried cranberries would be wonderful, and more true to the New England cuisine this recipe arises from.  This was super simple and delicious – we ate it with dinner, but it would also work well with breakfast or brunch.

Indian Pudding

5 1/2 cups milk

2/3 cup cornmeal (preferably freshly ground organic – the better the cornmeal, the better this dish will be!)

4 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup maple syrup (you could substitute honey or brown sugar, but the maple is awesome)

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Butter a small casserole dish.  Over medium heat warm milk in a saucepan, but don’t boil.  Slowly whisk in cornmeal, and continue to stir until mixture begins to thicken (5-10 minutes, our corn thickened more quickly than store-bought will).  Add remaining ingredients, and stir just until heated through.  Pour into casserole and bake two-three hours, until sides are golden brown (the dish hardens a bit as it cools).  Again, our corn cooked more quickly than store-bought will – if you’re a PVHG CSA member, it will probably take 2 hours.  Serve warm or cold.  Yogurt is a wonderful side with this, as is fruit or jam.

Enjoy!