Recipe - Ginger Tapioca Pudding

When I make tapoica, I always think of my Nana. When we'd go to her Brookline apartment for dinner, she'd have a dessert list posted. I wasn't one for sweets, but I loved the idea of having a menu of desserts to choose from and would immediately dart to the dining room to see the choices. In reality this list consisted of the homey stuff she always seemed to have on hand - baked apples, rice pudding, stewed prunes and tapioca which I wouldn't touch. There'd always be one special baked item that she prepared just for us, typically dutch apple pie.

1/3 cup small pearl tapioca
3/4 cup water
2 ¼ cups 2% milk
1/4 t salt
1 T finely minced or grated fresh ginger
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar or splenda
1/2 t vanilla

• Soak the tapioca in the water for a ½ hour in a 2 quart saucepan.
• Add the milk, salt, ginger and lightly beaten egg yolks.
• Stir over medium heat until boiling.
• Simmer 10-15 minutes over very low heat, stirring occassionally.
• Meanwhile beat the whites in the bowl of an electric mixer, adding sugar gradually until soft peaks form.
• fold about a cup of tapioca mixture into the whites to temper then fold back into saucepan.
• Stir over low heat 3 -5 minutes.
• Cool for 15 minutes, then add vanilla.
• Serve warm or chilled with fresh whipped cream.