Grape-Nuts Pudding for Mother’s Day

There was a lovely article in the newspaper this morning about a recipe that will forever connect Sarah DiGregorio with her Mother.  In her words ” My Mother was particularly attached to Grape-Nuts pudding – an austere, milky New England custard.  When I realized she had left behind the recipe, I was overwhelmed with relief.  It took me years to work up the nerve to make it.  When I finally did, the aroma of nutmeg filled my apartment.  The pudding emerged from the oven jiggling, an unlovely brown film on top and a pleasantly gummy layer of Grape-Nuts on the bottom, just like hers.  It was the best thing I’d ever made.”

“I was 21 when my Mother died, and every year that passes without her is like a map of a foreign country, unfurling with new, unexpected ways to miss her, new ways that she is gone, still gone.  But when I make this pudding, and all the other dishes she left behind, we are together in a way that is not a metaphor.  A recipe is a magic trick: it makes the past live.”

What is the dish that connects you to your Mother? Mine is Turkey Tettrazini, the Christmas night dinner made with the remains of the Christmas Eve turkey. (recipe on Heronearth) The reverse is also true…. As a mother you treasure the recipes that your children clamored for.  My son Jimmy’s favorite dinner was Spaghetti Carbonara, and I can’t bear to make it now that he is gone.  Maybe I will learn from this story of the Grape-Nuts pudding and make it in his honor and feel the love.  In all the countries and cultures all over the earth, this connection between your mother and certain meals must be a universal truth.                                   Love you Mom  xo

Butter a 2 quart baking dish and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Whisk 6 large eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and 1 tsp. vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk in 4 cups whole milk. Pour a thin layer of Grape-Nuts cereal  into a baking dish, barely covering the bottom of the dish.  Pour in the milk mixture.  Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until mostly set but jiggly in the center.  Serve with whipped cream.