3-Minute 'Chocolate Heaven' Pudding-in-a-Mug

Total prep. time: 5 mins.                                    Total cook time: 3 to 3 1/2 mins.
                                                                           (depending on microwave power)

     
     It took over 3 months of grueling testing, and believe me when I say I suffered. 😋The end result is a slight tummy ache and the most delicious, creamy, chocolatey microwave pudding for 1. After trying (and being disappointed) so many other posted concoctions, I almost gave up. Almost. This was one #lifehack I was going to master in the world of pudding-in-a-cup (or mug). 

    I was now on a mission to develop a adjust-to-taste pudding-in-a-cup recipe that would work for almost everybody. For those who may be calorie-conscious or have certain diet requirements, proceed with caution. As basic and minimal the ingredients may seem, this microwave dessert packs a punch of taste and fullness. You've been warned. 😏 

     Sometimes, recipes mention that the creation is made easily and simply, with basic everyday items. This turns out to be mostly untrue. I usually don't have any of the stuff and it's usually something I would never buy. Then I found a recipe by Bigger Bolder Baking (Microwave Chocolate Pudding in a Cup) . It was good. Yet it wasn't quite the "Eureka'! recipe. So it became the base for my obsession. Hopefully, my version will end the hunt for the perfect microwave-dessert-in-a-cup craving killer. It can easily be a kid's rainy day DYI reward/dessert project 😉, (with supervision cuz the cup gets pretty hot towards the end).  

     Check that you have the following on hand so that you enjoy the first time:

• Measuring Cup (at least 2 cups)
• tablespoon
• teaspoon
• small whisk (recommend for both texture and comfort)
• microwaveable mug at least 5 in. tall/12.7 cm and 4 in./10.16 cm diameter. - (Larger is better as the pudding will expand and quickly. FYI - I used a funneled cup which makes a slight difference is appearance of amount of pudding actually in the cup.) 

Ingredients:

• Milk - 3/4 cup  ( I used 2%, Whole, 3%; all delicious)
• Milk Chocolate Chips or - 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon
• Corn Starch - 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 teaspoon 
• Sugar - 1/2 to 1 shallow tablespoon 
• Salt - just a pinch (It makes a difference.)
• Vanilla Extract - 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon teaspoon (optional) 

(Sidenote: The sugar measurements also work if you are using Semi-Sweet or Dark Chocolate chips. Yes, I tried a lot of both. I might need help😳.)

     Once you have all that is listed above, you can begin. If you are unsure about the size of your cup/mug or the power of your microwave, place a bowl or deep plate under your creation, to minimize any overflow that could occur. 

     With your tablespoon, mix all your ingredients, expect for the vanilla extract. Blend it so that the everything is fairly covered. Make sure to scrap bottom edge of cup so all the cornstarch is well-dissolved. 

    Set your microwave for 1 min. 30 secs. Remove from microwave and whisk for at least 1 min or until froth starts to appear. When whisking, gently work from bottom of cup to top, in circular motion, The melted chocolate chips will blend smoothly with the milk and cornstarch. Once you have whisked to your satisfaction, return to microwave for another 30 secs. 

    Whisk for another 1 mins. to 2 min.. Be careful, as the liquid will have heated up significantly. (I tend to whisk up to 2 mins. as I find this puts more air into the cornstarch mixture, making it extra light and smooth when cooled.)

    Cook for another 20 secs and whisk for about 1 min., for further blending of the pudding and also to check how thick it is. At this point, if you prefer more of a custard consistency then you can let it cool now, after adding your vanilla flavour. 

     If you prefer a more stable pudding, with that awesome thicker top that forms when it cools off, then put it back in the microwave for another 20 secs. KEEP AN EYE ON THE CUP CONTINUOUSLY. (I can't stress this enough as it will avoid disappointment, unnecessary clean-ups and, of course, less pudding in the actual cup 😢.)

    So let me know if I've done your taste buds a favour or wrecked them for life. If the response is good, I'll post a Purely Vanilla version in the next few weeks. I also DON'T recommend using flour, unless you're comfortable with the substitution. I tried it myself and it was a bust.

Please leave some feedback, good or bad. If it needs more work, I want to know. If it's what you were looking for, let me know and share with your friends, on Facebook, Twitter and other social media by copy/paste or using the link buttons on my blog page. 

Enjoy!!! With caution. (No skinny jeans!) 

Why Would You Do That? - ( Social Media Madness & Mob Mentality )

Social Media and mob mentality. "U.S Army 'stands ready' from 1 million Facebook users" to defend Area 51 This seems like a good issue as a launch point for a first article on my new blog, On The #Twitter Board This Week .

Why is it a good launch point? Because this issue illustrates my motivation behind the blog and my intention of distributing useful information and dispelling falsehoods of various forms and subjects. These include bad health advice, government mismanagement, entertainment raves and personal concerns regarding how our species is evolving or regressing in Life itself. That should cover everybody, I think. - Gonna use this in my bio, actually. -😎

So let's start with the article that made me concerned for our species, as individuals, social communities and as digital beings. As individuals, we each responsible for our behavior, our understanding of daily responsiblities and obligations (well, you are suppose to know anyway) to function in society and within family/work/group units. That's what apparently separates us from the other species that we 'rule over' on this globe.  Unfortunately, this is not the case in more resent years, as headlines such as "As Tide pod Challenge videos Go Viral Experts Warn Of Risk" and "Russian Man Kicks Bear.....Instant Dose Of Karma" are more common and shared/retweeted/snapchat as viral posts more than a current Ebola outbreak in the country of Congo, Central Africa or the fact that Type I Diabetes insulin medication still isn't covered as a necessity by any government  in the world.  There's is so much imbalance within personal priorities and communal obligations/responsibilities. Individuals are more concerned about boycotting big corporations over personal politics beliefs, storming military buildings - which are f.y.i.: private property - (link both stories) ; they ignore a racist head of state "Trump .... " (still picking a headline; so many of them...), his scheming, criminal underlings - (link both stories) and truly criminal acts commited against their own children for the sake of money, title and position. I question my own sanity when I seriously ask "What year is this?" almost every day I read or hear about the regression of our society as the intelligent species of our little, insignificant, blue planet. Whether it's Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and a few more social media sites, they all are guilty of enticing less than peaceful protests.  (list 10 articles of other viral challenges gone deadly, pollution of ocean pics, government protests and uprisings, human rights violations and crimes of human on human- wars ).

A basic example of not learning but repeating our mistakes as a species would be genocide. We have dealt with genocides for so many centuries that we actually have a classification for the types of genocides we have lived through.  There's political, religious, cultural and ethnic genocides, throughout human history. I personally see these moments in time as a humanity fail of epic proportions, as we should have never repeated the first genocide of any nature on any civilization, if we had only learnt, as brain-bearing mammals, that it was horrific and morally wrong to use force and bully tactics to inflict our personal beliefs and traditions on others who don't share the same cultural and social systems. Having that kind of acceptance would most definitively advance our civilization, on a global scale. If anybody else agrees where I'm going with this 'theory', please leave a comment at anytime, with a yeah or nah. I'm actually pretty open to creative, productive criticism . And most of society is not. There's the root of many problems of conflict and discord. 

Which brings us to this week's social media riot-inspiring Twitter post, which incidentally started as a sarcastic comment by a educated avid social media influencer and went up like a bush fire thanks to keyboard warriors and a few bored snowflakes. Don't hate me for repeating common terms they or their friends created themselves. "I'm just trying to stay relevant and get paid". Who said that: me, I said that along with probably another 1/2 million people with the same thought but I'm not gonna scream 'That's mine' and be offended because somebody else is gonna say those same words. (Oh yeah, that's another story all together.)

What I am gonna do is try and show the self-defeating, destructive, negative effect and reactions that your own actions are going to have on the rest of the not-so-sensible group of commentors and readers that you may not have known or thought about when you wrote your post. Maybe you didn't think about your thoughts being public domain when you hit that send button, therefore open to both praise and support or profanity-ladened, death threats from those who don't share your personal opinion or your traditional beliefs that you wish to share with the world of social media, your friends. Right? 

Because of one person's comment regarding Area 51 in the timespan of less than 7 days we have a massive movement to cause actual damage and harm to other living, breathing humans because

 “They can’t stop all of us,” the Facebook event‘s description reads. “Let’s get them aliens.” via Global News viral/trends

WTF! Seriously, I want to know but I'm afraid to know because I think I already know the answer. Yet, I'm perceived as a crazy person because I refuse to accept this kind of stupidity to continue. I spend hours alone because others have tried to show me their lack of empathy, sympathy and individual thinking is the right way. No it's not. It's the very string that is unraveling society. Stop that, right now. Before we write into the history books the following headlines: 

"USA Under Martial Law After Riots At Area 51" 

This is a great possibility with your current raging leader in possession of power to send in the rest of the troops. And he will do it, trust me. 

So in closing this mini-rant and social media analysis, I beg my fellow people, no matter where you are standing on this tiny globe, be less self-centered, more individually-informed and practice actual empathy towards the person standing beside as much as the person you can't see on the other side of the country or continent. Pretty simple things to do to start a pretty simple plan to spread understanding, tolerance (if not acceptance) and peaceful mindfulness of all living things, including aliens. 

Any comments are welcome. That's why I wrote it. Share it please; it could start something.