Day 43 - We Need More Pudding

I like pudding. Today for dessert I ordered grape-nut pudding and devoured it faster than I intended. It was creamy, crunchy and I could taste the vanilla and cinnamon. Thoroughly enjoyable. When did they start taking pudding off of the dessert menus? I remember when restaurants used to layer chocolate pudding alternating with whip cream putting it into a sundae glass and calling it a pudding parfait and as a kid I loved it. I bet I would still love it today. Pudding filling makes great pies. Lemon pudding, thrown into a crust topped with whipped egg whites makes a luscious lemon meringue pie. My mother in law used to make vanilla pudding, add a bag of shredded coconut and throw it all in a pie crust and voila coconut cream pie. And who doesn't like chocolate pudding pie that is piled sky high with whip cream? I have a theory about the demise of pudding. I blame it totally on the introduction of Mousse! That ever so trendy chocolate mousse started to appear as the dessert of choice at "All you can eat buffets", and puddings became totally passe, not cool enough to compete. I think we need to start a petition to get some recognition for this forgotten dessert. Come to think of it, when was the last time you saw Mousse on a menu? Maybe it is the perfect time for the return of pudding, seems like the reign of the Mousse is over.