The Folklore Food Blog: Come Out To Play

I've always wondered how story influences food choice. So, I started a study. Culinary Folklore: A Study of Fiction as an Influence in Traditional Foodways Practices. Nursery rhymes are a great place to start. 

Girls and boys, come out to play,
The moon doth shine as bright as day;
Leave your supper, and leave your sleep,
And come with your playfellows into the street.
Come with a whoop, come with a call,
Come with a good will or not at all.
Up the ladder and down the wall,
A half-penny roll will serve us all.
You find milk, and I’ll find flour,
And we’ll have a pudding in half an hour.

This is one of Sean Penn’s favorites. He discovered this tasty dish one cold night on a remote set for the movie the Warriors. Jonesing for something sweet, he rummaged through the catering truck, only to find a few simple ingredients. Taking what he could find he cooked the pudding in a battered pot over an oil drum fire. He found it so satisfying, it resulted in him plumping up and losing his street thug look. He was replaced by David Kelly who is not famous for his line, “Warriors Come Out To Play.”

Milk and Flour Pudding
4 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp. rose water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
chopped nuts
Maple syrup or honey

1. Put the rice flour in a small bowl. Whisk in (1/2 cup) from the milk to dissolve.
2. Bring the rest of the milk, plus the sugar, to the boil. Stir in the rice flour/milk. Stir well to distribute the rice flour, but don’t scrape up the thickened layer that will form at the bottom of the pot – it will simply form lumps. Lower the heat to medium and cook the pudding for 5 minutes, stirring. Add the vanilla and the rosewater; stir. Pour or ladle it into 6 dessert-sized bowls. Cool it completely, then refrigerate it. Garnish the tops with chopped pistachios and drizzle with maple syrup or honey.