Touchdown at the Newest Bluestocking Inn. Pudding, cups of tea, the vegetable garden coming into its own, and gerbils beautiful gerbils all furry.

[DeanElderberry]

All females welcome for intelligent discourse and non-harmful comestibles.

Night, Marie. Easter hols for me still, so I'm going to have (another) lazy day tomorrow. Although I do still have marking to do.

That is lovely @FuzzyPuffling ❤
3 gins please, one for each of my arms 💪💪💪
Hope i havent missed last orders....

Oooh, trade secrets, I'm afraid. It usually involves driving to the grocery store, parking as close to Shaws as possible so you don't have to walk any further than absolutely necessary, buying a package of plastic-wrapped, ready-made pots, full of trans fats and e-numbers, which have had the word "chocolate " written on a piece of paper, waved in front of them briefly, stamped " chocolate " and then driving your 4x4 home again ( the whole 5 blocks), parking it in your 4-car garage, dodging the sprinkler system on the way back inside your over-AC'd mansion, plopping the plastic containers down onto the kitchen table, ripping one open, grabbing a spoon, and calling it "pudding."

But I'll check to see if I still have my mother's recipe , and I'll get back to you?

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! (sorry to the Gerbils, I'll be better next time, promise) Goodnight, sleep well all!

They're on it! And Clara is supervising so they should do a good job.

@RumNotRun I googled chocolate pudding recipe USA to check exactly what was meant and came up with this recipe:
https://www.sweetestmenu.com/american-style-chocolate-pudding/

We also have Dr Bessie Badger, who does extremely good massages.

I used to visit a university library that had a paternoster lift. My brother went over the top in it once, which he said was less exciting than he expected.

I bet Dr Oetker Puddingpulver Schokolade would be very similar. Polish grocery shops often have them or the Polish version of it.

https://germandeli.co.uk/dr-oetker-original-pudding-schokolade.html

Hand sewn, so i can do it in a mindful way!
It's tacked round little bits of paper first, then oversewn to join it together. It really is a lot easier than it looks.

Thank you for your kind comments and likes. 😀

Thank you @AngleofRepose @ChristmasStars and @Igneococcus I will have fun experimenting with your ideas. I have a Polish shop just round the corner so will see what delights they have.

I think I still have an American cookbook somewhere that has a chocolate pudding recipe in it. I'll have a look.

I am hearing the guinea pigs squeaking "Can you see it ont'trolley?"

I'm very keen to know exactly what happens " over the top" in a paternoster lift.
I have used the one in Leicester Poly back in the day and found it really quite exciting!

He said that all it did was turn sideways, move along & then go down the other side. I’m not sure what he was expecting.

A washing machine experience perhaps? 😁

Except without the wet bit 😄

ChristmasStars and RumNotRun,
Yes, this pudding seems similar, although my mother's recipe made it much darker chocolate, and we definitely had it "skin on." It was the best part.

It was solid enough to hold up on its own when filling a pastry shell for a chocolate cream pie, but not nearly solid enough to turn out onto a plate (like the Polish one). She cooked it over a stove, and it definitely didn't come from a packet (anathema in our house, but she was a SAHM while we were growing up, and we didn't have a lot of money, so everything was from scratch).

Her go to cookbook was The Joy of Cooking, when she used one, which I now have, but I can't find the recipe in there. It may be something her grandmother taught her, but my mother also seemed to be able to just make great food without effort and recipes.

This is pretty much identical to a German Pudding. My mum always used a sachet of Dr Oetker Puddingpulver and added an egg yolk as well.

Speaking of Polish shops, the usually have Boromir brand products. Also sold in Germany, I understand.

The discovery of this fact caused great excitement in our geeky household.

German Chocolate Pudding Made from Scratch • Original Recipe

Yes! This does look very similar. Still don't understand why the Dr Oetker one shows it standing up just out of a mold. But, maybe depends on how long you cook it?

It was always served from a large glass bowl, not individual ramekin type dishes. That's all I remember...

Hope the link works.

I'll be in Poland for two weeks in summer (work, not a holiday) and I'm quite madly excited about it. I will be at least 25% pierogi when I return.

…so long as it wasn’t too scary😬

There’s a paternoster lift in one of the buildings at DS’s work. I’ve visited it but wasn’t brave enough to go for a ride inside.

Morning all. You just never know with the Bluestocking, do you? Chocolate Puddings of Many Nations
April isn't April on without the Glasgow Orpheus choir singing Katherine Tynan's poem 'All In The April Evening'

[just as May isn't May without Canon Sidney MacEwen singing 'Bring Flower of the Rarest] but it is a bit mournful, so here's something more upbeat about this time of year. It was found written into the back of a book belonging to the cleric and historian Guillaume le Breton,1165-1225, whether by himself or not is unknown, but you know what clerics were like in those days And I wish that all times were April and May, and every month renew all fruits again, and every day fleurs de lis and gillyflower and violets and roses wherever one goes and woods in leaf and meadows green, and every lover should have his lass, and they to love each other with a sure heart and true ,and to everyone his pleasure and a gay heart.

That's a good motto for the Bluey: to everyone her pleasure and a gay heart💙

I went to sleep “while visions of sugarplums danced in (my) head,” having read that pudding recipe.

It includes:
200g of chocolate (eg 2 x £2 block)
100g of caster sugar (20 flat teaspoons)
3 egg yolks
600ml milk
¼ cup cornflour

The recipe says 700 calories and serves one.
According to Tesco, 200g of Bourneville chocolate is already 1050 calories without adding anything else.

How we value the fine ways of eating here in The Bluestocking.

This was the recipe last night but it seems to go to a different one this morning. How odd. I’m sure I would remembered if I’d googled chocolate pudding for myself. Why would I, though? Decades ago I used to make chocolate pudding for parties from a Delia book - mostly double cream and dark chocolate if memory serves - and the book is still in the kitchen.