Here Come the Berries!

I'm always so happy to see the first domestic blueberries of the season, which are coming in now. Hooray for the sweet little blue guys now coming in from Florida and Georgia -- not Chile and Argentina. (Thanks, South America, for getting us through the winter, but those sour berries that have traveled thousands of miles to get to our cereal bowls just don't measure up to the delicious fruit from such states as North Carolina, New Jersey and Michigan.)
In honor of the new crop, here's a pudding recipe from my friend, Mary Ann Barnes. Although she made it with blackberries, not blueberries, I'm making mine with the blue fellas!

Banana-Berry Pudding

RECIPE: Banana-Berry Pudding

(Serves 6 – 8)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup natural sugar

¼ cup ground tapioca flour

3 eggs

2 cups (preferably whole) milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons butter (or butter substitute with plant sterols)

2 bananas, chopped

6 ounces blueberries (or blackberries, chopped)

1 pound strawberries, chopped (reserving 6 – 8 for decoration)

Instructions:

Rinse berries and set aside to dry.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth.  Pour into medium saucepan and cook on medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to thicken (about 15 – 20 minutes).  Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla, stirring until smooth.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes. 

Gently stir fruit in pudding mixture.  Spoon into serving dishes.  Decorate with reserved strawberries.  Chill until ready to serve, or for at least an hour.

Comfort food made healthier: rice pudding

This pudding recipe is from my friend, Mary Ann Barnes. She excels at making healthy desserts, and her brown rice pudding is another winner.
Brown rice is much more nutritious than white -- though I love them both -- and the addition of lovely fruits make it a scrumptious ending to any meal.
By the way, I never cook brown rice from scratch any more, now that you can get the frozen boxes with microwaveable packets of pre-cooked rice.

Recipe: Brown Rice Pudding Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 14-ounce can low fat coconut milk

½ cup skim milk

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup unsalted pistachios

½ fresh mango, peeled and cut into bites sized pieces (or frozen mango, thawed)

4 fresh strawberries, sliced

Instructions:

Place rice, coconut milk, skim milk, cardamom and cinnamon in a medium sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until boiling, and then about 5 minutes longer, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in pistachios. Cool a little, then spoon into serving dishes and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until served. Top with fresh mango and strawberries.