Vanilla, Coffee, Chocolate, Strawberry Pudding

***VANILLA RECIPE, ONE PORTION***

• 1 cup (237mL) milk or milk substitute
• 1 tablespoon + 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch, depending on how thick you like it
• 2-3 tablespoons sugar, depending on how sweet you like it
• small pinch of salt
• splash of vanilla extract (I used the beans from half a pod in the vid)
• 1/2 teaspoon butter or other fat (optional)

Combine the starch, sugar and salt and stir thoroughly to combine. Put the milk in a pot, whisk in the dry ingredients, bring to a simmer until the liquid visibly thickens. Turn off the heat, stir in the vanilla, melt in the butter (if using), pour in a serving bowl, let cool until it stops steaming, cover if you want to prevent a skin from forming, refrigerate for a few hours until wobbly.

***COFFEE RECIPE, ONE PORTION***

• 1 cup (237mL) coffee (I brewed mine with milk instead of water)
• 1 tablespoon + 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch, depending on how thick you like it
• 2-3 tablespoons sugar, depending on how sweet you like it
• small pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon butter or other fat (optional)

Combine the starch, sugar and salt and stir thoroughly to combine. Put the milk in a pot, whisk in the dry ingredients, bring to a simmer until the liquid visibly thickens. Turn off the heat, melt in the butter (if using), pour in a serving bowl, let cool until it stops steaming, cover if you want to prevent a skin from forming, refrigerate for a few hours until wobbly.

***CHOCOLATE RECIPE, ONE PORTION***

• 1 cup (237mL) milk, milk substitute or water
• 1 tablespoon + 0-1 teaspoons cornstarch, depending on how thick you like it
• 2-3 tablespoons sugar, depending on how sweet you like it
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• small pinch of salt
• a little square of solid chocolate, or a few chocolate chips (optional)

Combine the starch, sugar and salt and stir thoroughly to combine. Put the milk in a pot, whisk in the dry ingredients, bring to a simmer until the liquid visibly thickens. Turn off the heat, stir in the vanilla, melt in the solid chocolate (if using), pour in a serving bowl, let cool until it stops steaming, cover if you want to prevent a skin from forming, refrigerate for a few hours until wobbly.

***STRAWBERRY RECIPE, ONE PORTION***

• 1/2 lb (227g) fresh strawberries
• 1 tablespoon + 0-1 teaspoons cornstarch, depending on how thick you like it
• 2-3 tablespoons sugar, depending on how sweet you like it
• small pinch of salt
• a little milk

Cut the tops off the strawberries, cut them in half, put them in a pot with a splash of water, boil until soft. (They'll release their own water as soon as they get cooking, so the initial splash is just enough to get them started without burning on the bottom of the pot.) Pass the strawberries and their liquid through a sieve into a heat-safe bowl and grind down the solids with a wooden spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids.

You should have just under one cup (237mL) of strawberry juice. Top it off with enough milk to get you a full cup. The milk will curdle and that's ok — strain the liquid through the sieve one more time on its way back into the pot.

Combine the starch, sugar and salt and stir thoroughly to combine. Whisk in the dry ingredients into the strawberry liquid, bring to a simmer until the liquid visibly thickens. Turn off the heat, pour in a serving bowl, let cool until it stops steaming, cover if you want to prevent a skin from forming, refrigerate for a few hours until wobbly.