Meyer Lemon Pudding--Wow

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

Oh, is this yummy. Marty brought back some Meyer lemons from Palm Springs. These lemons are so incredible-a blend of lemons and oranges. And they are huge!

So I made a pudding and it's a winner:

3/4 c sugar
1/4 c cornstarch
2 1/2 c milk
3 large egg yolks, beaten
1/8 t salt
the zest of one Meyer lemon
1/2 c freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1T butter

Mix together the sugar and cornstarch and then wisk in 1/2 c milk until smooth. Let stand for 5 minutes. (You can zest and squeeze the lemon while this is standing). Wisk in remaining milk and then add egg yolks, zest, and salt.

Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the pudding thickens, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and butter.

Pour through a strainer or steamer basket (I used a steamer basket) to remove zest from the pudding. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the pudding to keep a skin from forming. I cooled the pudding on the counter for about 15 min and then refrigerated. However, in that 15 min., I had to eat some of the pudding warm!

Mom used to serve us warm chocolate pudding on top of lady fingers. This pudding would be outstanding on lady fingers or drizzled over angel food cake. Tasty!

Creamy Date Rice Pudding

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

This is an incredible rice pudding! The secret ingredient: date crystals. These are dried dates that are in small chunks that look somewhat like Grape Nuts. We stumbled upon date crystals years ago when visiting the Palm Springs, CA area. The Shields date crystals can be used in baked goods, the famous Shields date shake, in granola, blended with my home made yogurt, you name it.

We bought a cookbook in New Orleans on our honeymoon and over the years, I've adapted a rice pudding recipe from this cookbook to my own by adding the date crystals (and a few other tweaks). The date crystals dissolve into the pudding and add color, texture, and incredible taste to the twist I've put on rice pudding.

1 cup uncooked Jasmine rice (this rice makes a creamier pudding, but any white rice will do)
1 qt milk
4 T butter
3/4 c sugar
1 t vanilla extract
3/4 c date crystals (ok, you can substitute with other dried fruit but it won't be the same!)
5 eggs, beaten
1 t cinnamon

Combine rice and milk. Simmer over low heat until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the milk. I like this rice pudding creamy so I take it off the heat when it still has quite a bit of milk remaining.

Add butter, sugar, vanilla, date crystals, vanilla, eggs, and 1/2 t cinnamon. Pour into greased 2 qt casserole. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 t cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

We love this both hot out of the oven and cold the next day. It never lasts long at our house!

Shields Date Crystals:
http://shieldsdates.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=2