Memories Go Better with Pudding

In 1965,  Jim was in graduate school, and I was pregnant with our second son. We rented one side of a duplex in the Green Hills section of Nashville and in the late Spring, a young couple moved into the other side. Carlene was pregnant with their first child and her husband was also a Vanderbilt student.  It didn’t take long to discover that both our husbands worked long hours after classes, and Carlene and I spent many a week night alone.  Once my two-year-old was bedded down for the night, she would come over and through those long evenings and the misery of late pregnancy in the heat of summer,  we bonded. We spent those evenings sharing experiences of school, dating, parents, fears and excitement and being pregnant, we were constantly hungry.  Carlene and I both craved butterscotch pudding, and I’m sure we kept the makers of Jello Cook and Serve Pudding in business that long, hot summer.

My friend and I shared many happy and extremely sad moments over the next 50 years. Carlene is gone now…murdered by her drug-fueled youngest daughter. As she lives on in the hearts of her older girls, Ann and Ginger, she will always hold a special place in my own heart. And though I miss her terribly, I have many memories of special times we shared, including hot Nashville summer nights on our shared screened porch eating bowls of hot butterscotch pudding. Maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t have the following recipe back in 1965!

Homemade Butterscotch Pudding

1  1/4 Cups Packed Dark Brown Sugar
4 TBSPS. Flour
2 Eggs
1/8 tsp. Salt
2 Cups Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla

Combine sugar, flour, eggs, salt and milk in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture starts to bubble and thicken. Remove from heat and add vanilla with a hand beater or whisk. Pour into dessert cups and chill.  Makes 4 servings.