Okay, so the other night, I got this massive craving for something sweet after dinner. You know how it goes. But I absolutely did not feel like baking a whole cake or anything complicated. Needed something fast, something simple. Pudding came to mind. Like, the old-school stuff.
I remembered my grandma used to make this vanilla pudding on the stove, seemed easy enough. So, I decided to give that a whirl. Went into the kitchen, started grabbing stuff.
My Go at Stovetop Vanilla Pudding
Here’s basically what I did:
- Got out the milk, sugar, some cornstarch (that’s the secret thickener, right?), and vanilla extract.
- Poured most of the milk into a saucepan. Like, maybe three cups? Eyeballed it. Added sugar. How much? Dunno, maybe half a cup? Tasted the milky sugar water. Seemed okay.
- Heated that up slowly. Important bit: While that was warming, I mixed the cornstarch with the little bit of cold milk I kept aside. Made like a slurry. Heard this stops it getting lumpy. Seemed smart.
- Once the milk on the stove was steaming a bit (not boiling!), I whisked in that cornstarch slurry. And man, you gotta whisk. Like, constantly. Or else. I just kept stirring and stirring.
- It started feeling thicker after a few minutes. That was the magic happening. Took it off the heat once it looked kinda pudding-like.
- Stirred in a splash of vanilla extract at the end.
- Poured it into some small bowls. It looked… okay. A bit rustic.
Then came the hard part: waiting for it to chill in the fridge. I’m not patient. Stuck my finger in after like 20 minutes. Still warm. Left it for maybe an hour total? Close enough.
The verdict? Honestly, pretty darn good for a first try winging it! It was smooth, sweet, vanilla-y. Comfort food central. And really didn’t take long to actually make, just the chilling time was a drag. Definitely quicker than wrestling with a fancy dessert.
Trying Something Even Easier: Chia Seed Pudding
Since that went okay, I thought about really quick stuff. Remembered seeing chia seed pudding things. That looked almost stupidly easy. So, next morning, I tried it for a snack.
This was even less effort:
- Grabbed a jar.
- Dumped in some chia seeds. Maybe a few tablespoons.
- Poured in milk. Almond milk this time, just ’cause. Maybe a cup?
- Added a squirt of maple syrup for sweetness.
- Put the lid on, gave it a really good shake.
- Stuck it in the fridge.
Checked it after a couple of hours. Whoa. Those little seeds had soaked up all the milk and turned into this jelly-like pudding. Texture’s kinda weird if you’re not expecting it, like tapioca’s strange cousin. But, super easy? Absolutely. Took like two minutes to mix. Added some berries on top.
So yeah, if you need a dessert fix fast, these pudding things are legit. The stovetop one feels more traditional ‘dessert’, the chia seed thing is more like a healthy-ish snack pudding. Both beat spending hours in the kitchen when you just want something sweet right now. Give ’em a try if you’re feeling lazy like me.