Butternut Squash Pudding

My son's girlfriend has a great love of squash/pumpkin based desserts and asked me to make her one the other day. I've already made her Pumpkin Bread and Pumpkin Cake, Pumpkin Pie and Steamed Kabocha Squash with Coconut Milk in the past. So, I decided this time to make something new and came up with this pudding using Butternut Squash. This squash is quite similar to pie pumpkins and is full of fiber, vitamins and minerals. In other words, besides tasting good, it is really healthy for you! In Chinese Medicine, winter squashes of all kinds are considered cooling, which means they clear heat from the body and calms people down down as well as quenching thirst.  It is good for the skin, swelling (edema) and irritability. So even though it is mostly thought of as a fall food, it is quite good for you in summer too.  

The only thing that makes it complicated at all is that you have to roast the squash ahead of time.  Other than that, it takes less than 10 minutes to make. This pudding is very simple and is quite wonderful served with a dollop of whipped cream, but I saved some and mixed it into oatmeal and it made my morning cereal into something spectacular!  

Butternut Squash Pudding

1 cup roasted Butternut Squash (see accompanying recipe below)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups Whole Milk (I used Lactaid)
2 eggs, beaten lightly
2 Tablespoons Butter, cut into small pieces

In a small pan, mix together the brown sugar, salt and cornstarch. Add in the milk, eggs and brown sugar.  Mix with a whisk while heating to a boil. Then turn down heat and keep stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes very thick.  Turn off heat and add in the butter, stirring until it is melted.  Pour into 4 or 5 small bowls and serve warm or cold with lightly sweetened whipped cream.  

To Roast the Butternut Squash:

1 Butternut Squash, washed, cut in half and seeds scraped out

Place squash, cut side up in a small baking dish.  Cover with foil and roast in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes.  Remove and scrape flesh out of the shell to use in recipes.  

Five Element Analysis

Squash belongs to the Earth Element and since this is also a dessert that includes sugar and cornstarch, this is a mostly Earthy dish. The milk and butter bring in the Metal Element and the eggs add the Water Element. But the Wood and Fire Elements are missing.  So, this dish is best served after a meal that has a lot of Wood and Fire foods yet is missing the Earth Element to create a Five Element balance.