Chocolate Pudding

Mmmmm.... chocolate pudding. I'd write an ode to warm chocolate pudding, but I can't write odes. (Luckily I know this, and thus won't torture you by writing one here. ;) )

I made chocolate pudding today, since my milk was stamped for two days ago. (I'm not sure if that's a sell-by or use-by date, but it still seems fine.) I used to have an allergy to milk, but apparently I don't any more. I still don't use it very fast, because I only use it in baking: pita bread (1/3 cup), and chocolate pudding (3 cups). I've tried drinking it, but it makes me want to gag. However, I don't want osteoporosis, and drinking milk is supposed to help you lose weight... hence the chocolate pudding. Yeah, chocolate pudding isn't exactly "healthy", or "low calorie", but I do use skim milk, and only half the amount of sugar it calls for. (It still tastes yummy that way.) I wish my baking used up exactly a litre, because then I wouldn't have little bits left over that spoil in my fridge. (I only bake every second week, and it takes me about a week after I buy my milk to get around to using it.) Maybe I'll do some calculations on the pudding, to see if I can get it to use the right amount of milk.

I'm also baking chocolate chip gingerbread cookies. Mmmm.... well, I'm mixing them today, and then will put them in the fridge. They need to cool before I can slice & bake. I don't need all these calories, but I like them, and it's harder to make them in the summer. :( (The dough gets sticky and hard to handle.)

Well, I should get to my grocery shopping before the sun sets. That whole "it's going to snow this weekend" thing was a real bummer... there was a bit of ice yesterday, but no snow! :( (Any of you blizzard recipients want to ship some of your stuff down here? ;) )

Oh... and one last thing. A few years ago I got to go to Barcelona for a conference. To make sure I wasn't jet-lagged, I arrived several days before the conference started. ;) Just so I'd have something to do, I bought one of those tourist books... My guide book talked about the drinks called "chocolate" in Barcelona, and described them as a melted chocolate bar. I was *so* excited about trying this mysterious drink. Want to know the secret? It's simply warm chocolate pudding. I was rather disappointed... not at all like a melted chocolate bar, especially since they didn't cook the pudding long enough, so you could still taste the corn starch. I make much better pudding. :) (I don't claim it tastes like a melted chocolate bar, but it is very nice both warm and cold.)

Sun's getting low... time to grocery shop!