MLK Day was Monday, January 15th. School was off for obvious reasons, as were businesses and government offices. Today is Thursday, January 18th. We’re still out, as is the rest of the Mid-South except for essential workers like hospital and law enforcement workers (and the unfortunate souls who work for major retail chains). Tomorrow isn’t looking too promising either. Why for pray tell? Snow. Arctic-like temps. And freezing rain that transformed side roads and neighborhoods like mine into veritable skating rinks (in addition to the 4-wheeling masses spinning donuts).
Sure it’s pretty. Fluffy and fresh. It always is…until you can’t escape from it. On the first day, Son B tested out his 1950’s era white-out surplus gear. Seven layers of wool, cotton and flannel later (yes 7!), he decided he was definitely warm. I told him to shovel the driveway off since he was outside. **Insert grumbling.** And since I was outside doing photo ops for the poser in ops gear, I figured I’d generously put the second snow shovel to use. **Insert ibuprofen later.**
After moving snow around and into piles, Minion B moved his teenage-girl car so we could shovel around it. (Proactive thinking on his part to make leaving for work easier.) As usual and in auto-pilot mode, he backed the car down the driveway hill. Sure, we moved the snow away from where the car once sat, but it created another project. Shoveling the snow-covered thin ice layer off the driveway to move Son B’s car back up to the garages. **Insert sigh, head smack, and more ibuprofen.** Needless to say, our driveway is cleared…unlike the rest of the driveways and roads in the ‘hood.
Now we wait for today’s freezing rain to end and temps to warm up. Our chores are done. Pipes are checked often.
Morning and afternoon naps occur with Timex-like precision.
And when there’s nothing else to binge watch on the idiot box, we read–catching up on those Christmas gifts!
Minion B gifted me with the pie history book this year. Besides the obligatory American as apple and traditional (not really) Thanksgiving pumpkin pies, Anastopoulo wrote about a chocolate haupia pie (no recipe included). Having never heard of this, I did a little digging on the WWW. It turns out haupia (how-p-ahh) is a fabulously exotic Hawaiian way of saying coconut pudding. Chocolate haupia pie is layered tropical lusciousness in a flaky pie crust. (The Tropics sound delightful right about now!) **Insert just one more bite.**
To contain this tastiness, use either a butter crust or a graham cracker crust–homemade or store-bought. The coconut pudding is a boiled blend of unsweetened coconut milk (full-fat), sugar, whole milk, and cornstarch. Once all is thick and creamy, pour half of it into a bowl and add chocolate chips to what’s left in the saucepan. This becomes the bottom layer, and is topped with the rest of the coconut pudding and whipped cream. Put in the chill chest for 4-6 hours, slice, and try to show some adult-like restraint. (Seriously, we’ve eaten this as breakfast, lunch and after-dinner snacks for the past three days!)
Let’s hope Mother Nature turns the thermostat up soon. My not-so-adoring-anymore public is starting to question why everyday is looking like Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day!
Chocolate Haupia Pie
Exotic sounding, chocolate haupia pie is Hawaii’s quintessential coconut milk pudding pie. Layers of rich chocolate pudding, topped with coconut kissed pudding and whipped cream are light and luscious. (I can almost feel the tropical breezes now.)
Ingredients
1–9” pie crust, baked*
For Haupia Pudding Layers:
1/2 c. whole milk
5 tbsp. cornstarch
1–14 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk (full-fat)**
1 c. whole milk
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
For Whipped Cream Top Layer:
1–1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. coconut extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
In a small bowl, whisk together the 1/2 cup whole milk and cornstarch. Set aside. In a saucepan over medium-heat, combine coconut milk, 1 cup whole milk and sugar. Bring mixture to a simmer, whisking consistently. Whisk in milk-cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. Cook until pudding is thick and shiny. (You’ll know it’s thick enough when you can run your finger leaves a line through the pudding on a spoon dipped into it.). Pour 1/2 of the pudding into a bowl and set aside. Add chocolate chips to remaining pudding in saucepan and stir to evenly combine. Pour chocolate pudding into prebaked pie crust. Top with remaining coconut pudding and smooth to evenly distribute. Place in refrigerator until cold and set, about 4 to 6 hours.
Just before serving, beat cold heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar, coconut extract and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Top pie with whipped cream. Slice and serve. Refrigerate pie, loosely covered, for up to 5 days.
Notes
*Prebake an unfilled traditional pie crust, either homemade or store-bought. Let cool completely before filling. You can also substitute a graham cracker crust if you prefer.
**Depending on the brand of unsweetened coconut milk, you may have a thick layer of fat in the can to scoop out. You can dump this into the saucepan with all pudding ingredients and cook as instructed.
IMNPB
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