dark elixir

(mə-lăs'ĭz) 
n., pl., molasses.
A thick syrup produced in refining raw sugar and ranging from light to dark brown in color.

I love any recipe containing rich, dark molasses. Some time back, I was quite surprised when one of my European blog friends had never heard of such a thing.  I didn't realize it was such an American commodity.  This week, I stumbled upon a recipe for Indian Pudding.  Of course, the name alone made my Cherokee DNA tingle, but it also contains a double treat:  molasses and cornmeal.  This might be considered a fall or winter dish, since it is delightfully earthy, rich and spicy. Since they are my favorite months of the year, I celebrated in my usual quirky way, by making it on the first day of spring. It was delicious. And still cool enough in Central Ohio to enjoy it while wearing woolly socks.

Indian Pudding

1 cup yellow cornmeal
4 cups milk, heated, but not boiling
2 eggs, beaten
3 ounces of finely minced suet (Okay? Fresh out; used butter. Isn't this what birds eat?)
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup molasses
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (this is always fun)
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F, butter an eight inch baking dish (I used a 9 inch round stoneware). Gradually add the cornmeal to the milk and stir; mix until thickened. Cool slightly, fold in the eggs. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into baking dish and bake for 2 hours.  Serve hot with vanilla ice cream.

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