Saturday, November 19, 2005

Pudding For Friday

Dear Friday,

Would you believe it, Ms. Juanita Mannerly-Appe recovered from her chest-cold in record time. It's funny, because I could have sworn she still had a bit of congestion (it was very hard to understand her over the phone), but she was insistent on completing the seminars on gorilla etiquette. "You've done enough," she said. I detected a note of grumpiness in her voice, but perhaps Ms. Mannerly-Appe was starting to get worried that I'd take over her newspaper column when I returned. No such chance! I'm running Bradley Enterprises, taking art classes at Cornish, trying to get another rock and roll band together and I'm running this blog. Then, there's cooking the Thanksgiving dinner... but enough of that. You need cheering up, and I, Brad the Gorilla, am here to do it. First off, you need a little chocolate therapy. I have prepared for you my signature quick-and-easy chocolate pudding layered with banana slices:



I know Hitman J likes recipes, so here goes:

4 tablespoons cocoa powder (more if you want!)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups milk (lowfat okay)
1/4 cup of maple syrup (sugar is fine too, but Grade B maple syrup has more nutrients, and you might as well have some fortifying pudding)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 banana

Mix cocoa powder and cornstarch together. Get a double-boiler ready (if you don't have one, simply put a pot on the stove with a couple of inches of water in it, and put another pot over top of it so that it rests on the rim. Try to get the pots to be around the same size so that you don't lose your pudding to boiling water). Combine all ingredients except vanilla, and stir constantly over medium heat. The mixture will seem to be simply chocolate milk until it begins to boil, and then it will get thick. The longer you keep it over the heat, the thicker the pudding will be. I like my pudding to be pretty intense, and if you do too, you might want to double the recipe.

Take the pudding mixture off of the heat, and stir in vanilla. While the pudding begins to cool, slice up a banana and place a layer in the bottom of each bowl (technically, this makes four servings, but I prefer 3 servings! Or two. Ho ho.) Pour pudding over the banana slices. Garnish each pudding bowl with more bananas. Eat the leftover banana bits.

Of course, if that doesn't work, I can always get out my puppets.

9 comments:

Yorkshire Pudding said...

It's not chocolate banana pudding that Friday needs it's a nice big portion of Yorkshire Pudding. Second helpings are also available. Your pudding is good enough for gorillas and other mildly intelligent primates but female humans require something else in their bellies.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

You could never drink me under the table and besides it is far too cold for gorillas in Yorkshire at present. Your banana would freeze.

Brad the Gorilla said...

I am a big fan of frozen bananas. Besides, it shouldn't be too cold for me if I wear my slippers.

Yorkshire Pudding said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Yorkshire Pudding said...

Sorry if my last comment - the one you deleted - has made you think about returning to the jungles of Zaire and Burundi where gorillas belong. It was meant in fun. Sorry.

Brad the Gorilla said...

Thank you, Yorkshire Pudding. I wish gorillas really could return to Zaire and Burundi. It's scary that there are only 650 mountain gorillas left in the wild.

All is forgiven. And now for that drinking match (the part where I do indeed drink you under the table)...

Melangell said...

Can't a gorilla merely step on Adam Ant and be done with it?

And shouldn't it be Mannerly-Ape, not Appe? Appe would be bad mannerly, I should think.

Ivanhoe

Brad the Gorilla said...

Melangell,
What is going on here? I am starting to suspect that someone has hijacked your blogger account. This "Ivanhoe" person has cropped up before, and he is most suspicious, most suspicious indeed. In fact, the more I think of it, the more I realize just exactly who Ivanhoe is. However, I have not yet deduced his nefarious plans.

Um, Ivanhoe, what exactly are your nefarious plans?

Melangell said...

Indeed, someone has hijacked my blog. I am disconsolate.