Tapioca Pudding With Blueberries And Chocolate Shavings

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Did your mom make you tapioca pudding as a child? Expecially when you were not feeling well? Mine did. The "quick" tapioca from the red and white box. I would watch her work her alchemic magic at the stove, stirring and stirring those small white granules into sweet warm comforting goodness. And when I grew up and had children of my own, I carried on the tradition (nod your heads here, boys) never giving a thought as to what those little white granules were. Not that they were bad, but...

Enter Let's Do... Organic small pearls tapioca. Lovely round white pearls that cook up in minutes and make a pudding that can be as fat, dairy and sugar-free as you desire. Compared with the recipe on that venerable red and white box, no eggs, no butter, no cornstarch, minimal sugar. Make this just once and I can almost guarantee that it will inspire you to experiment further, it's that simple and inspirational.

Small pearls tapioca are available at most well-stocked grocery and health food stores. I recommend that you find an organic, preferrably non-GMO product.

Combined with anti-oxident rich blueberries and shavings of dark chocolate, this pudding will warm your soul on a cold winter's night.

Tapioca Pudding with Blueberries and Shaved Chocolate
Inspired by the recipe on the box
Ingredients:
2 cups water
3 tablespoons (heaping) small tapioca pearls
2 tablespoons Splenda-Sugar blend (or 2 tablespoons sugar)
pinch salt
3/4 cup low-fat milk (you can use half n half or canned milk, or coconut milk for a vegan dish)
Preparation:

Bring water to a boil over high heat. Slowly whisk in the tapioca pearls, stirring so they don't stick together.

Reduce the heat to medium high and continue to cook for about 15 minutes until the pearls begin to lose their opacity and the water gets cloudy.

Meanwhile, combine the milk, sugar and salt in a measuring cup and stir well.

Whisk the milk mixture into the tapioca pearls and cook over medium low heat for an additional 5 minutes or until the pearls are soft and translucent.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Pour the pudding into a glass bowl, stir well, cover with plastic wrap if desired, and refrigerate until it has come to room temperature. The pudding will thicken as it cools, becoming thicker still if allowed to get refrigerator cold.

To serve:

Give the pudding a quick stir to fully incorporate the liquid with the pearls. Spoon some blueberries (I used our frozen stash from this post) into a dish then spoon a layer of tapioca pudding over them. Repeat layering one more time, topping the whole thing with a few more blueberries and a generous shaving of dark, organic chocolate. Prepare to be comforted.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Blueberry Sauce With Balsamic Vinegar And Thyme

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And oh yeah, a chicken breast. But as my friend Susan says, The chicken is just the vehicle. Actually, she says that about the slice of salami that brings the spicy mustard to the lips, but it all means the same thing. The reason for the chicken breast at all is to bring this simple, delicious, oh-so-good-for-you herby purple sauce to your tongue.

These deep blue beauties were organically grown within a figurative stone's throw of my kitchen. Simona called me up the other day and asked if I wanted to buy a share in 30-pounds of blueberries. Well, that was a no-brainer and now 10-pounds of antioxident-rich blueberries are living in my freezer.

We have five blueberry bushes on our property. The berries ripen toward mid-July and finish at about mid-October. There are never enough to freeze for the winter because we go out to the bushes and graze until they're all gone. So having this surplus of blueberries on hand is like winning the lottery. (Hmmm. That may be an overstatement.)

I'm beginning with a simple savory sauce enhanced with balsamic vinegar and thyme which is a delightful embellishment for a sautéed chicken breast but would not be shabby at all atop a perfectly grilled salmon. You should know that already there's a fast-disappearing quart of blueberry ice cream in the freezer, subject for another post.

Christine's Blueberry Sauce with Balsamic Vinegar and Thyme

Christine's original recipe
Makes about 1 cup
Ingredients:
1/2 cup chicken stock

1 heaping cup ripe blueberries (can be frozen)

1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1 tablespoon cold butter
Pinch kosher salt
Preparation:

You can see how I prepare chicken breasts here. Follow the directions, if you wish, through removing the sautéed breasts from the pan . . .

With the skillet in which you sautéed the chicken breasts still over medium-high heat, pour in the chicken stock and stir the pan to get up all the browned bits.

Add the blueberries, balsamic vinegar and thyme and stir well.

When the berries begin to bubble, mash some of them lightly using a flat spatula. Don't mash all of them.

Turn the heat to medium-low and stir for 1 minute.

Stir in the cold butter until it is incorporated and the sauce has thickened slightly.

Remove from the heat and add a pinch of salt it needed.

Serve immediately over grilled or sautéed chicken or fish.

Weekend Herb Blogging, now under the management of Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything, is being hosted this week by Heather of Diary of a Fanatic Foodie. Blueberries, being one of the world's healthiest foods, fit right in to this event. Check out Heather's blog late Sunday for the round-up.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved