Coconut Pudding

This recipe has its origins in another seemingly un-related concoction found in the 1953 edition of "The Joy of Cooking". The recipe is called "Rothe Gruetze or Fruit Juice Thickened with Farina or Cornstarch". Although the original recipe contains only five ingredients (fruit juice, sugar, salt, farina, and cream) and my recipe also contains five ingredients, I managed to completely change all but one. I prefer to imagine myself as "creative" instead of as one who flouts authority. Whatever.
The other interesting thing to note is that this recipe (aside from being easy, delightful, and refreshing) is vegan and gluten-free.

Coconut Cream Pudding

1 1/2 cups coconut juice (approx. one 12 oz can)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk (again, a can)
3/4 cup white sugar
3 T cornstarch
3 T tapioca starch (or 6 T of either starch)

1. mix the two cans of liquid in a medium saucepan.
2. reserve 1/2 cup of this liquid in a small bowl: whisk the starches in.
3. set the saucepan over medium heat and add the sugar, stirring until dissolved. continue to heat it until steamy but not bubbling. add the reserved starchy coconut milk and stir constantly until thick.
4. remove from heat and put in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap (directly on pudding surface, to prevent a skin from forming) and cool to room temp, then refridgerate until cold and enjoy!

a note about canned coconut products: if you like coconut (and you must, if you're bothering with this), you may be aware that not all coconut is created equal. for instance, i have a personal vendetta against coco lopez for no real reason. i advise a trip to your local asian market, middle eastern market, or indian market (not sure there's one near you? there is. it's probably hiding.). mexican markets usually carry some or all of the products i use...turns out most of the world uses coconut products on a regular basis...anyway, there exist probably hundreds of brands of coconuty deliciousness. the three main products i look for are: 1) coconut juice, which comes in regular 12 oz cans as well as tall steel drink cans, soda cans, juice boxes and pretty much any other imaginable packaging. if you end up with a variety that says "with pulp", its ok, just strain it out. 2) coconut milk. this comes mostly in 12 oz cans, but also sometimes in cute little 4 oz cans. it is what most people are familiar with, which is a sweet heavy-cream consistency coconut product. listen, forget about "lite" coconut milk. 3) coconut cream. this is manna, and can be hard to find. it comes in big tetrapak containers, 12 oz cans and 4 oz cans. when you open the can, you'll find its about 3/4 of the way full of pasty white coconut goodness about the consistency of tomato paste. the bottom 1/4 is full of coconut juice, which i do not like to stir in but pour off and use elsewhere. a fourth amazing but relatively un-neccesary product is coconut cream powder. i want to find a reason to need it, but as of yet its still in the pantry, unopened.

now, say for argument's sake that you don't like coconut. no problem! just substitute something liquid you do like for the coconut juice and milk. say, raspberry juice with a squeeze of lemon...or maybe dark chocolate almond milk... you'll have to adjust the sugar to taste, but otherwise the recipe ought to be fine.

p.s. if you are un-concerned about the vegan-ness of this pudding, a tablespoon of butter stirred in right after removing from the heat is pretty awesome. heck, you can use margarine (ack!) if you are makin' it vegan.

p.p.s. a complimentary topping that goes along with the whole vegan, gluten-free thing is vegan style "whipped cream"...intriguing, right? i always wondered what was in that precious $6.69 canister at the co-op. the answer is: 50 cents worth of tofu, 25 cents worth of coconut cream, 15 cents of vanilla and a nickel's worth of sugar. here it is, and don't be scared cause even though it sounds weird, it isn't. at least, it doesn't taste weird.

vegan "whipped cream"

1 box extra firm silken tofu (don't try using another tofu)
1/3 cup coconut milk (if you happen to find a cute little mini can of coconut cream, which is a thicker coconut milk, use that)
3 to 5 Tbs powdered sugar, to taste
1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla, to taste.

this absolutely has to be done in a food processor or it will be grainy and disgusting.
put everything in a food processor and puree until smooth. let sit a minute then use. delicious!

*i found a use for the coconut powder...it thickens this cream up nicely, although makes it much coconuttier. just fyi.