Out of One, Many

Or, for those of you speak Latin, "The Opposite of E Pluribus Unum."

Today's recipe is super-exciting because it's flexible, so it yields itself to over a million variations. You get to be creative-- Banana pudding? Sweet-Potato Pudding? Coconut-Cream Pudding? Eggnog Pudding? Pina-Colada Pudding? Pumpkin Pudding? Chocolate-Mocha-Fudge Pudding? You can make all these AND MORE from this one basic recipe!

Working with agar agar can be troublesome because certain ingredients (such as citrus fruits) may inhibit the gelling process. So you're never sure if the final product'll turn out right. Now I don't know about you, but personally I don't like to make recipes on a prayer; that is, if I'm making something, I want to KNOW it's going to turn out well and that my time won't have been wasted.

But agar is such a useful ingredient when it does work, so I didn't want to give up on it completely. Therefore, I experimented until I figured out a way to have my agar and eat it too-- no risk involved!

If you've made the Chocolicious Pudding or the Apple Pie Pudding then you'll recognize the basic concept; however, I've tweaked the recipe so it'll work with just about any add-ins, even those pesky citrus fruits. Plus, you can make up a big batch of the "base" ahead of time and then portion it out to make different-flavored puddings all at once! Can I hear a "Yay!" for variety?

Basic Agar Pudding
(makes 2 servings)

• 1 and 1/3 cups non-dairy milk of choice
• 3 heaping teaspoons agar agar flakes (the more you use, the thicker the pudding)
• Tiny dash of salt
• Sugar to taste, if you want

Procedure:

• Measure the non-dairy milk into a pot.
• Slowly bring to a boil with the agar flakes
• After it starts to boil, lower to a simmer until the agar flakes pretty much dissolve.
• Turn off heat and leave for a few minutes to cool, then cover and put in the fridge.

When it's cooled and gelled, the fun part begins. Now you get to start adding mix-ins-- anything your mind thinks up; be creative! And, as I said before, nothing's stopping you from dividing the recipe and adding different mix-ins to each serving!

Put your mix-ins into the pot, and use your hand blender to blend it all together (or, transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor. Lately, I've been loving my Magic Bullet).

Below are some add-in ideas I've brainstormed (not all of which I've tried)... maybe after you experiment, you can come back and leave me comments telling me what YOU did with the basic mix. I'd love to know! (Seriously.)



Add-In IDEAS! (I've tried #s 1, 3, 5, and 6, with great results)

1. Add pureed pumpkin, winter squash, or sweet potato, and also add some cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.

2. Add a fruit cup, pureed fruit, or even a jar of baby food!

3. Decrease the amount of milk, and add some coffee, for a coffee-flavored pudding.

4. Use, as your non-dairy milk, a flavored beverage such as Silk Coffee, Silk Eggnog or Pumpkin Spice, Chai Latte, etc. and don't add any other fruit... or do! It's up to you!


5. Mix in some protein powder.

6. Add veggies to make a thick, creamy soup.

7. Use coconut milk as the non-dairy milk, and add coconut shavings (and maybe even chocolate chips!).



8. Mix in some nut butter, and jelly, fruit, or chocolate chips(!) for PB&J, PB-Banana, or Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Cup Pudding.

Pictures of the process:
Photo One-- this is what the agar, combined with almond milk, looks like after being cooled. In the pic, I'm about to transfer it to my Magic Bullet blender.

Photo Two-- I added frozen strawberries...
Photo Three-- ... and then blended it up until it looked like this: Photo Four-- Finished Product; a creamy, delicious strawberry pudding

Photos of more variations:Above, Vanilla Protein Pudding (ingredients for 1 serving: almond milk, agar, and 14 grams vanilla protein powder)

Below, Peach Pudding (ingredients for one serving: soymilk, agar, and a Whole Foods' brand peach fruit cup)

I'll try and catch up on comments tomorrow! Night, all!