The 13 Days of Pumpkin: Pudding!

(Note: I drew several lovely pictures to accompany this post, but my scanner and computer appear to be having a lover's quarrel and aren't communicating, so alas, no new doodles.  I will have another go at scanning tomorrow, I promise!)

Who doesn't love pudding?  I see no hands.  That's because EVERYONE loves pudding.  And because this is The 13 Days of Pumpkin, tonight we are making Pumpkin Pudding.

It's just such a good pumpkin, I feel the need to put it in every pumpkin post.

Hokay!  First, throw 6 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons cornstarch into a saucepan over medium heat.  In a bowl, combine 1 3/4 cup low fat milk (I used 1%) and 1 egg with a whisk.  Slowly add the milk mixture to the sugar mixture on the stove, stirring constantly.  Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute, and KEEP STIRRING!  Remove the pan from the burner and turn the heat to medium low.  Combine 1/2 cup pumpkin, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg in a bowl.  Slowly add this mixture to the saucepan, whisking constantly.  Put the pan back on the burner and cook 3 minutes until heated through and--you guessed it--KEEP STIRRING.  Also, do not boil.  Divide the pudding evenly between four small cups or bowls (I conveniently have 4 tiny coffee mugs that came with the dinnerware set my Gram sent me when I moved out that are just perfect for the job), cover them in cling film and set them in the fridge to set and chill.

I like most things better than coffee, so pudding is a no brainer.

To make a lovely little topping for the puddings, we shall make our own whipped cream and glazed walnuts.  What!  Sounds so fancy, yet is surprisingly easy to do.  First, the nuts.  Cover a cooking sheet with foil and slather that puppy with cooking spray.  Coarsely chop 1/4 cup of walnuts and toss them in a skillet with 2 tablespoons sugar and a dash of salt.  Cook over medium-low to medium heat to dissolve the sugar (the recipe told me to do this over low heat and that it would take about 3 minutes to accomplish--Commie lies, unless they have a magic fast cooking low setting on their stove or a Cheaty McCheaterson clock), stirring frequently to prevent the sugar from burning and to coat the walnuts.  Spread the nuts on your greased foil and allow them to cool.

While everything is chilling and cooling, you can make your whipped cream, which is not a challenging thing but is quite a nice arm workout!  Pour 1/4 cup (or more) heavy whipping cream into a small bowl and whip the bloody bejesus out of it until stiff peaks form.

To serve, top each cup of pudding with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of nuts.  Voila!  It's like pumpkin pie without the crust and the hassle of baking!