Quick Dark Chocolate Pudding

The perfect after dinner treat to have on a busy week night...my family loves it when it's still slightly warm and served in a mug.

2 1/2c milk

1 1/2c cream

1tsp vanilla

1 egg (beaten)

3/4c sugar

7tbsp coco powder (approx. 1/2c)

3tbsp cornstarch (dissolved in a little water)

Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium sized pot and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly for about 7 to 10 minutes until mixture begins to thicken. Be sure not to bring to a boil. When slightly thinner than your desired consistency pour about ½ a cup of the pudding into each bowl and let cool to desired temperature before serving.

If you prefer to have cold pudding simply cover the top of each bowl with plastic wrap and press onto the surface of the pudding. This will prevent a skin from forming on the top.



Makes 4 half cup servings.

I'm dreaming of a...white kitchen

OK, I know it's getting close to Christmas and I should be dreaming of a white Christmas...but I'm not! I'm dreaming of a white kitchen. I've lived in my current house for 2 1/2 years and although I knew the kitchen was small with little storage and prep space, I thought I could make my peace with it. At least temporarily. After all, everything else about this house was just what we were looking for. We have a huge yard, we can walk to shopping and the beach, the girls school is a hop skip and a jump away...really I should be pinching myself to have found such a little gem in our price range!

 But no, instead I find myself swearing like a longshoreman every time I have to make something for dinner. Surely any one of you who have had the misfortune of trying to live with a dysfunctional kitchen will know exactly what I'm talking about. I have to pull 5 things out of the cupboard to get out the one thing I was looking for!!!!!!! Not to mention the safety concerns of precariously perching hot pans over the sink because I don't have any counters to put them on. Thank goodness I have very little in the way of canned foods or prepackaged goods...I can't even begin to think of where I would store them, as it is now my platters are stored in my broken dishwasher! It broke a year ago and I refused to replace it because I couldn't bear to give up my newly discovered storage space LOL!

Well I've had it. I sound like I have turrets syndrome or some weird swearing tick every time I'm cooking and I'm not the swearing type. What has this kitchen done to me? Something has got to change. So the walls are coming down, the cupboards are being ripped out and a new kitchen will emerge along with a new attitude for me. Cooking once again will be a joy to share with my friends and family, not a secular frustrating annoyance!

Right now I'm in the planning/ dreaming stage, getting price quotes for some of the construction that we are not able to do ourselves and scoping out high end looks for a budget friendly price. Here are a few of the kitchens that I love: