Use the season's fresh strawberries and not a box to make homemade strawberry pudding. A sweet and slightly tangy dessert that's full of strawberry flavor.

Here we are, well into summer. While the summer has been seeming to go by pretty quickly for us in the Domestic Dreamboat household, it's definitely been a bit of a rough start. It started out with all members of the family getting sick. We got some kind of nasty virus that hung around for about 3 weeks and resulted in my coughing so much that I broke a rib. Then, just as we were starting to get better, my daughter broke her arm. Luckily, she was able to wear a removable splint instead of a cast, so she is allowed to go swimming and do her normal beach activities. Speaking of the beach, that's where we are headed in 3 short days - Nova Scotia. We will be staying 4 whole weeks this time, and here's hoping that the illnesses and injuries are over for us this summer.
It does mean that I'm going to say Bon Voyage to the blog for awhile. I have decided that I won't be posting while I'm away this year - I may not even bring a laptop with me! But, I will be keeping you up to date on Instagram, just expect to see more vacation and landscape photos showing off the beauty that is the Canadian Maritimes instead of food. And don't worry, I'll be back in the middle of August.

And for now I'll leave you with this - Fresh Strawberry Pudding. I had never had strawberry pudding before, and didn't even know if it was a thing. I got the idea for it when my kids were eating strawberry ice cream, and thought that strawberry pudding would be pretty delicious. After a bit of quick grocery store research, I found that that it is indeed a thing, as Jello offers strawberry flavored instant pudding. I decided to make it myself, using my pistachio pudding recipe as a starting point. What I got was a fairly tart pudding that was almost reminiscent of strawberry yogurt. I cut the strawberries down a little bit to make it more pudding like. I found it to be a nice, light summery dessert and a great way to use up extra strawberries (especially good for when you buy that giant, Costco sized box of strawberries and don't end up eating them as fast as you thought).
See you in a few weeks!

Fresh Strawberry Pudding
Ingredients
- 200 grams (7 ounces) fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and coarsely chopped
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- pinch salt
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- whipped cream optional, for garnish
- sliced strawberries, fresh mint or basil optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Toss chopped strawberries and sugar together in a medium saucepan. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes, until juice begins to form in the pot. Turn heat on to medium-high, and cook until strawberries soften, and the juice begins to reduce, about 5-7 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender, or transfer to a blender to puree.
- While you're waiting for the strawberries to cook, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl. The mixture will be a very thick paste. Set aside.
- Return pureed strawberries to the saucepan, and turn heat to medium. Slowly stir in the milk. Cook until the mixture is hot and steaming. Very slowly add ½ cup of the hot strawberry mixture to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. When it's smooth, add another ½ cup of the strawberry mixture, whisking until smooth. Add the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan with the remaining strawberry mixture and cook over medium heat until the pudding begins to simmer and thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Transfer the pudding to an airtight container and directly cover the surface with plastic wrap (to avoid a skin from forming). Chill the pudding for at least 4 hours. Serve in individual bowls, topped with whipped cream if desired, and garnished with sliced strawberries and basil or mint sprigs.
Nutrition Disclaimer: I try my best to make sure the nutrition information I provide is accurate to provide you with the best information possible. However, due to ingredient discrepancies and other factors, the above nutrition information should be considered an estimation only.

Strawberry Pudding Nutrition Notes:
The above nutrition information uses 1% milk, which is what I used to make it. It does not include any optional toppings like whipped cream.
Heather
It was a hit! Great recipe for using up left over strawberries, I reduced the sugar a little and made a raspberry coulis to add a little sharpness. Sorry no pictures- it disappeared too quickly!