A side note, a sweet text from a friend with encouraging words was just what I needed to start the day off right:
"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may rule in your heart through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to KNOW this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
Dear God, we're starting this one out right. I am going to nail it today.
I blared my Christian radio, sang earnestly at the top of my lungs and said an extra prayer of thanksgiving for the sunshine, blue sky, melting snow and the stop lights changing in my favor.
I arrived at the office earlier than normal, got my coffee fix and settled in to a productive, upbeat day. I smiled in triumph as I walked out the door at closing time, turned off the phones, flipped the lights and glanced down at my still spotless new white pants. "Alright now lady, this is what I'm talking about," I proudly proclaimed to self as I bounded down the halls and out the door.
Even the parking attendants seemed to sense this was my day. I smiled knowingly at Brian as I hopped into my car which had been conveniently moved to the very first spot. Prime real estate, indeed.
At home, here was the real test. Dare I tempt fate and try my hand at an intriguing s'more bread pudding recipe? The self answered in the affirmative, and I boldly plunged into the project, still donning the still spotless white pants, albeit protectively covered in my chili-pepper cooking apron.
With what other result could I meet than success? Scrumptious, gooey, rich success which met with approval from the lucky consumers thereof. "Oh that? Just a little something I whipped up on a whim. No big deal really."
And so I sat down to thank God for this fabulous day--- I owed him that much for his endorsement of my endeavors. "Well done, good and faithful one," I volunteered for the Man. After all, didn't I deserve this simple, sweet and satisfyingly perfect day, as spotless as my still perfectly white pants?
"Girl got it goin' on," I mused smugly, stretching and running my hands through my perfectly tousled curls, still bouncing and behaving after the long day. I was prepared to conquer this blog, to pour out all my morsels of wisdom upon the keys and subsequently, the wider web.
And that's about the time my fingers stuck in the ooey-gooey mess of marshmallow tangled up in my bouncing and behaving hair, now gnarled, laden with the remains of my bread pudding concoction. Shock, horror, indignation--- how could this be?! A burst to my bulging bubble, a kink in my perfect day, and literally in my dark locks!
That's about the time He caught me, and the lights came on. So, I laughed along with God, breathed a prayer of forgiveness, and thanked him all the more for the levity. For whenever I've kept my pants pure white, there's sure to be a bit of goo in my hair, dirt under my nails, or a run in my hose. Do you follow?
Yes, pride comes before a fall.
***Below is the bread pudding recipe from recipezaar.com, submitted by Sweet D and originally printed in Good Housekeeping. It was truly AMAZING. I added my changes in parentheses.***
S'mores Bread Pudding
55 min / 15 min prep
Serves 9
- 4 hot dog buns (or any white bread), cut in 1-inch pieces
-4 eggs (I used the Safeway brand egg substitute)
-1 (14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk)
-3/4 cup milk
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-1 cup miniature marshmallow
-3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips /chunks (I substituted Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips)
-5 graham cracker squares, crushed, about 1/2 cup (I opted for 1/2 cup of crushed Honey Nut Cheerios)
- 2 tablespoons milk
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 2-qt square baking dish; set aside. Place bun pieces on shallow baking sheet. Bake 7-8 minutes or until dry and crisp; cool.
2. In medium bowl lightly beat eggs. Stir in sweetened condensed milk, 3/4 cup milk, vanilla, and nutmeg; set aside.
3. Place bun pieces in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup each of marshmallows and chocolate chips. Evenly pour milk mixture over all. Let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle with crushed graham crackers. Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of remaining marshmallows. Bake about 5 minutes more or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.
4. For drizzle, in a small saucepan heat and whisk remaining marshmallows, remaining chocolate chips, and 2 tbsp milk over low heat until melted and smooth. Drizzle over bread pudding. Cool 20 to 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm.
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