The Bread Pudding Project take 1

I have a dream...

a very sweet dream...

of creating and perfecting a dessert that is delicately rich, moist, and savory.

For my palate, only bread pudding will do.

This is my attempt to recreate and invent bread pudding recipes.

Join me as I buy, botch, and bake a very temperamental desert.



Quick side note: 2nd Annual Hall-o-ween Birthday Fiesta was Fabulous!! I will post pictures as soon as I can!


From the kitchen of Cindy Wadsworth (Anna Wadsworth's mom):

Bread Pudding

6 eggs 1 1/2 c. stale bread crumbs
2 c. sugar 1/2 cup seedless raisins
2 tsp salt 1 T. all purpose flour
1 qt. milk 1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 T. butter

My changes:

I halved it. I used a mixture of brown and white sugar. Half of the milk was half &half. I added immitation rum extract. No raisins, instead I added frozen peaches. I layered French Bread, then peaches, then more french bread.

Results: Much too moist. Immitation rum + nutmeg= fake eggnog flavor (GROSS!). If you add fruit, add it at room temperature. Looked perfect out of the oven. The layering turned out nicely.


High Quality ingredients (upgrades):
Eggs- Miller's free-range organic eggs
Sugar- Central Market Light Brown Sugar
Butter- CM European Style, unsalted
Flour- CM Baker's Flour

What I will do next time: Use real rum, or a different flavor. I will again use the French Bread, it was perfect. Also, I will add less milk, and probably more cream. I might chop up the fruit and put a thinner layer within the bread.

Flavor Goals: Bananas Foster, Chocolate, Blackberry, Apple Cinammon, Peaches

Please let me know if you have any great recipes, tips or ideas to share! I want to haer them!!

Sick

Sickness brought to you by Bekah's immune system.

Poem brought to you by Shel Silverstein.

And images brought to you by George Lucas and Walt Disney.

I'm sitting in bed sneezing my brains out and watching movies. Yesterday I went to Aerofit on Villa Maria to swim. It was the first time for me to go there instead of the Bryan Aquatic Center because it was raining, I had to find an indoor swimming pool. And when I arrived I felt like I was in an Thriller/Alias sort of movie... where I was the spy and I got to go to all the coolest country clubs, underground hotspots, you know what I"m talking about. Walk down the steps and you arrive at the pool that is surrounded by glass windows. And I was the only person besides this really old man doing laps. I had a key for my locker and I was thinking that if the pool were super busy, I could sneak something into my locker like the plans for the Death Star.
Something good and secret you know.




And then when I was swimming laps I could hide the key in my hand and "accidentally" drop it in the lane beside me while I was swimming. And then the person in the lane next to me could pick up the key in the water, get out and go get the secret plans.
And no one would ever know!
And then we would foil the evil Emperor Palpatine!

Instead I just swam laps.
And it was the best swim ever.
I had so much endurance.
I"m learning how to keep a steady pace, breathe evenly and pace myself. And so I don't max out and run out of energy quickly.
I glide.
And I'm gradually getting faster.
Its incredibly peaceful.
Of course I'm imagining what I would do if I worked for the CIA, but in spite of that I still glide through the water. And somehow I did 16 laps at 50 yards? each. And then time caught up. I had promised Kelly I would watch a movie with her at 2pm. Alas, it was time to go. But I could have swam 10 more laps easily.

So I left the eerie square complex of glass and headed home. Kelly, Cassie-the-Payne, and I watched the old Parent Trap.
Don't pay me any mind. I just keep my nose out of it. I don't say a word, not a single word.



As we sat on the couch my body started yelling at me. At first it was soft and then it became much louder to where I couldn't ignore it. And it was not yelling at me because of swimming.
But I marched on, in hopes to get ready and dressed for church at 6 and prayer at 5.
My body screamed in protest.
It was very adamant.
All of it.
Finally, I succumbed to its cries and admitted defeat.
I was sick.
Blast!
I NEVER get "sick".
I'm always the last surviving partier who spectates while everyone suffers in the trenches of this season's illness.

Not this time. This year I'm a trend-starter. I'm the winner of the F.L.U gameshow.
And yes, my body hates me with a flaming passion, and my temperature reflects that every 3 hours. But for being so useless, and missing so many anticipated events, I have a strange peace.
There is peace in knowing I have no control.
I will have to miss work tomorrow and I HATE that. But there is NOTHING I can do.
I do not have the power to will my body to speed up its germ killing process.
And so I have the freedom to sit and wait.
And I'm loving that!
Its my job to sit here and watch movies and nap.
Sure this isn't my first choice of a Sunday afternoon.
I would rather hang out and laugh and be with people, and get chores done.
But that would be in vain.
I might get even more sick and do everyone even less of favors.

So to satiate your need for a drama... I give you a poem by Shel Silverstein...

"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut--my eyes are blue--
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb.
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is. . .Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

Preteen camp by the numbers

Number of kids who attended from living hope: 33
Number of adults from Living hope going as sponsors: 12
Number of churches represented: 3
Number of pranks played throughout the week: 329
Average Hours of sleep each night for counselors: 4.5
Average Hours of sleep for kids: 7.5
Number of cafteria trays used by one person: 11
Number of people who jumped onto the blob: 25
Number of people blobbed: 20

Number of times we played dodgeball: 3
types of dodgeball played: 8
number of times people from LH got hit in the face: 42



Price of candy bar at the gift shop: $1.50
Amount of Candy Bars purchased by Living Hope: 207
Average number of wrappers in a single dorm room: 8

Boys before...




And boys after:



Average temperature throughout the week: 102
Average humidity: 80%
Average amount of showers taken by the kids: 2
Average number of showers taken by adults: 5

Youngest age of person doing ropes course: 3 years old (Jericho Tipton)




Amount of kids from the whole camp who got saved: 44
Kids from living hope who got saved :2



Amount of farts by living hope counselors throught the week: 743
Amount of fart jokes told by Howard about said counselors: 46



Amount of times Davondria twisted her ankle: 1



Number of people that can fit in a Ford Expedition: 15

Adventure of the week: Preteen camp

Barney calls it prison camp.

And Chelsi calls it pro-tein camp.

But alas, it will be me, 12 other insane counselors, and 33 or so half-humans between the ages of 9 and 12.
I love them a lot, but I call them half humans because that is just what they are. Have you ever stepped foot in a middle school?!?

I won't tell you exactly where we are going, but I will tell you this:
Its south of College Station and near Huntsville AND its close to a body of water.
So as hot and humid as it is here, I imagine that we will daily bathe in the non-deodorized sweat of 11 year olds. I'm pumped... and cringing.

Ingredients:
13 counselors + 32 humanoid life forms + sweat = FuN!

So please pray for us.

Pray that the kids would taste the Lord if they haven't already and have eyes to see and ears to hear of the great things he has done on their behalf.

Pray that we would be counselors who consider it a priviledge to work with these kids. It is a joy and I pray that we would act as such!

Pray over 1 John chapters 3-5. We have been loved greatly, and out of our thankfulness we are called to love our brothers and sisters and give our lives for them. This week is about the Lord and the kids: not us!

Pray dicipleship would happen: that we would teach these kids how to love the Lord day in and out: reading the Word, prayer, fellowship, confession, praise, worship, etc.

And pray that because of this week, and in addition to everything else the Lord is doing that these kids would grow up to be MIGHTY warriors for the Lord taking His name boldly to the ends of the Earth.

And finally pray that ALL of this would come from the Lord, that he would be our words, he would be our rest, our patience, our joy, etc. Apart from me you can do nothing. Its true.

For a Limited time only....

Small Businesses!

Yes, they still exist!

Personal customer service.

Local, farm-fresh produce!

They eliminate the middle man so your food is cheaper!

Yesterday in my gracious gift of time because of teaching, I found two little Bryan, Texas treasures that I had been meaning to visit. The first is a Farmer's Market that sells locally-grown fruits and vegetables. The second is a Norman Rockwell hardware store in downtown.



I was standing at a bin with a puzzled look on my face and a very attentive employee walks up and asks if he can help me with anything.
I say, "Is a yam the same thing as a sweet potato?"
"No, but actually I can show you EXACTLY why its not."
Me: "Ok."
Employee walks me over to a laminated book and flips some pages to where there is a chart noting ALL the differences betweens yams and sweet potatoes.
"more than you ever wanted to know, huh"
"yeah, thanks!"

A yam is a tuber, but a sweet potato is a starch. One of them has 20n diploid somethings. Apparently that is yam Mendelian genetics. So you can't cross them? I'm not sure.
I was just looking for something to make sweet potato fries with, and if yams are dry tubers, then that is NOT what I want.

They have really adorable mini shopping carts. The same adorable carts are very difficult to maneuver throught the isles. But not a lot of people know about this secret little gem, so its not a huge problem.

Finally, you almost get swept away in its charm. I felt like I was in an underground European market. The brick walls and outdoor feel, yet with air conditioning is quite different from your normal Superstores.

For more information visit this website:

http://www.lifeinthebrazos.com/articles/farm_patch_report


Parker-Astin Hardware store:

My goal is to create something like this:



The goal is to attractively display jewelry in such a way that it is also easy to see everything you own, and organize. So, you take an empty frame and turn it over. Then you staple gun? mesh wire to the inside lip. I'm probably going to add a picture or two. I'm secretly making one for my roommate and I would also like to make one for myself, if I figure it out.

In my quest for "mesh wire" which I actually begun refering to as "tiny chicken wire." No one understood. So after a trip to Home Depot, Lowe's, Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby and JoAnne's, and after many employee giggles, I discovered that its called wire mesh, and NO ONE carries it. Come on! who doesn't want a jewelry holder?!?

Because my mother is in the know, even though she doesn't live here, I think its because older people are just more wise, she KNEW where I could find some.

So, finally, I broke down and drove to the Astin-Parker. Its adorable. I've been here before, they have a kitchen section, and a hardware section. Ok, I love Home Depot and Lowe's just as much as the next person, but half the stuff they have is USELESS! Not at Astin-Parker. I always want to buy everything that I see. Dangerous. But, they have twine, and those gift wrap sets that include the matching bag, tissue paper, and bow for one price. And they have hard to find kitchen items and good knives. These people KNOW. I don't know how, but there must be some very wise old lady, that secretly knows exactly what a person would need in their house, and what is just junk. All of that to say: they do not sell junk.
But they sell mesh wire!!! And plumbing supplies, and good shovels, and snicker's bars.

Again a very helpful attentive employee helped me find what I was looking for and cut how much I needed! I didn't have to buy 50 feet of the stuff! Amazing! What would I do with all of that wire? And since I didn't have to buy a lot of extra it was super cheap!

But I want you people to keep them in Business. They need loyal customers. You need good produce and perhaps a good shovel or two.

Please visit!!

Modest conversations

Speaking of 1 Peter 3 ....

If you get through the whole thing, comment and tell me what you think!

We are in a 1 Peter sermon series at my church, Living Hope Bryan:

I found this great article through Carolyn's McCulley's website

.

The Single Woman and the Modesty of Personal Restraint
by Lydia Brownback

As the spring season blooms, talk about modesty heats up in Christian conversation as fast as the weather. Bloggers, radio hosts, and the rest of us lament the shorter hemlines, deeper necklines, exposed bellies, and bare bottoms in thong bikinis at the neighborhood swim club. But immodesty deals with a lot more than revealing too much skin. We are just as prone—if not more so—to overexpose what’s under our skin. Revealing too much about ourselves is immodest too. When Peter painted his picture of godly womanhood, it included outward modesty—how we handle “the braiding of hair, the wearing of gold, or the putting on of clothing”—but it also included the modesty of personal restraint—“a gentle and quiet spirit,” which, he said, is very precious in God’s sight (1 Pet. 3:4).
I wish Carrie had known the wisdom of Peter’s words. Fresh out of college and starting her first “real” job, she came to work each day eager to be part of the team. But after just two months of work, Carrie experienced a personal crisis, and it began to affect her performance. Carrie was never at her desk. Instead, she spent the better part of the workday pouring out her struggles to her colleagues behind closed office doors. Finally, a female colleague was asked to talk to Carrie and to put a stop to it. But Carrie didn’t understand. What was wrong with being open and honest? Were office friendships forbidden? “It’s not appropriate, especially with the men,” she was told. “After all, how would their wives feel if they knew you were pouring your heart out to their husbands?” Carrie had no boundaries because she lacked a “gentle and quiet spirit,” the modesty of personal restraint that Peter taught. Happily, Carrie learned through the experience and went on to cultivate a godly self-restraint.
There is a time and place to open up and share our sin struggles and personal concerns, and if we are careful to apply Peter’s words about the modesty of personal restraint, we will be wise not only about the time and the place, but also about the people we choose to share our hearts with. The book of Proverbs warns us, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (4:23). Along with this there’s general biblical call on all of us to love one another, which means that we are called to guard the hearts of others, too. We might be tempted to think that this verse is guiding us toward self-protection, but it is not. What we are called to guard is our heart—our passion—for God, and we do this primarily by holding at bay anything that would compete with that passion in ourselves or in those around us.
Sharing confidences and personal experiences with someone forms a bond. There is always an element of vulnerability when we choose to trust another with our confidences and with not rejecting us when our weaknesses are exposed. If we share a little bit with someone and all goes well, it seems safe to share more, and before we know it, a bond has formed. This can be a great blessing, but when we allow it to happen in the wrong context, it is unwise, and great hurt can result.
Single women are free to enjoy the company of single men, but there is a way to go about it that reflects Peter’s idea of modesty and keeps hearts guarded. Time spent in groups is always wise because group conversations tend to be less personal. The group dynamic provides a safety net for the heart. On the other hand, private conversations and e-mail chats lead naturally to bond-forming, and if you overexpose your soul in a relationship where there has been no stated commitment, you are risking the hearts of both involved.
Single women are not free to enjoy the company of married men—other women’s husbands–in the same way they are with single men. This includes pastors. Pastors are our God-given shepherds, certainly, but many if not most are also husbands. We are free to take our concerns to them, but there is a way to open up that shows appropriate personal restraint.. It’s one thing to seek our pastor’s counsel, perhaps repeatedly. But there is a difference between a genuine need for his wisdom and our desire for his attention and involvement in our lives. Countless phone calls and endless e-mails are probably going too far. This is the point at which most pastors will wisely redirect us elsewhere.
Inward and outward modesty is also a must in the workplace, as we saw with Carrie. Many women today are likely to spend some portion of their lives out in the job market. This means that men in the workforce spend more waking hours with their business colleagues—a significant number of which are women—than with their wives. Those of us in the workplace ought to consider that one of the primary motivations for modesty is safeguarding the marriages of our colleagues. A low-cut blouse isn’t necessarily going to lead to an extra-marital affair; however, when we recall Jesus’ words about what constitutes adultery—“everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28)—we see the need to be extra careful about what we wear in the office.
Modesty of speech is also crucial in the workplace. Office banter can be a slippery slope. Working together is also a bonding experience, and, naturally, friendships arise. But because this is so, it is all the more reason to restrain what we share about ourselves with our coworkers. “Wait a minute,” we say, like Carrie did. “We’re just friends! There’s nothing wrong with that.” Oh, but there is. Sharing verbal intimacies with a man is the exclusive right of his wife. It takes something away from her when we focus her husband’s attention onto ourselves, however harmless our intent. The best of marriages takes work, and because of that there are certainly seasons in which a man can be especially tempted by an illicit attraction. The new and different is exciting to almost everyone, so even the most innocuous revelations about ourselves can prove distracting.
Of course, there exists the very real possibility that friendship with a man—a single guy or another woman’s husband—however innocent at first, will morph into something more. But if there is no commitment to accompany the attachment that has developed, or the attachment violates a commitment made to someone else, heart destruction is sure to follow. Believing that this can’t happen makes the possibility of it happening even greater. “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall,” Paul warns (1 Cor. 10:12). We’re not above it. None of us is. No one intentionally seeks out a destructive relationship, but they happen all the time. And they typically develop one conversation, one shared laugh, one lunch meeting at a time.
Are you as modest with your heart as you are with your clothing? It is a great way to love your brothers in Christ. It is also the best way to guard your heart and the reputation of your Savior.

This is what support looks like

Well, ok the backpack does provide great back support, but really this is my dad's way of saying, "I love you, Bekah. I acknowledge that you're wild and crazy, and I can't change that. And I acknowledge that you are going to another dangerous country and you will probably die of malaria, but I can't change that either, so have lots of fun!"

Thanks, dad! I love you too!

No really. This is my dad's idea of support. And truly it means the world to me. And it comes in my favorite color. Instead of writing a big fat check and paying for my trip, he went to Whole Earth Provision Company (gasp!) on his own accord and bought me this very nifty and perfect for future camping trips backpack, a water purifier, camping soap, a lovely green Nalgene (YAY!), and chocolate for Valentine's day.

As we sat on the couch checking out this nifty contraption that has 4.3 million straps and pockets, he asked me what I was going to do in Nicaragua. And I will tell you what I told him: We are going to spread the Gospel, we are going to tell them what the Lord has already done for everyone: he died for us because he loves us. And we are going to share that with the Nicaraguans. But we can't change their hearts, the Lord has to.

Just like the old adage goes, the journey is more important than the destination, so I have found in preparing to go on a short-term mission trip with my church, Living Hope Baptist Church Bryan and College Station.

For example:

1. We have to ask 12 people to pray for us.
This has been so convicting. Do I surround myself with people who are consistently allowing the Lord to be large in their lives? Would I ask me to pray for me? When its all said and done, who are my "people"? It was certainly NOT who I thought it was. But I am SO blessed beyond anything I could ever hope to deserve that He has surrounded me with SOLID, Biblical and sound people that make much of the Lord day in and day out.

If you are reading this and you would like to pray, here are some simple requests:

a. Pray for the hearts of the Nicaraguans: that the Lord would soften their hearts, open their eyes and ears, and call them by name.

b. Pray for team unity and purity. Pray that we would be less, so that he would be made much of. We cannot win people to Christ, it must be His words. But pray that we would get out of the way and let him be big. And pray that we would love each other deeply because he commands us to, and because His children are amazing!

c. Pray for me that I would wait for the Lord to speak and be faithful when he does, that I would not get sick, and that I would learn more about Him and grow closer and more intimate with the Lord, and that he would use this in the days to come.

2. How am I currently living in light of eternity? What treasures am I storing up? Is there fruit in my life? Am I sharing the Gospel and is it effective?

In this my answer is that the Lord is absolutely faithful and good, even when we are not, and he GRACIOUSLY prepares good works in advance for us to do. Also, he gives his children GOOD gifts that we don't deserve and some of these include front row seats to the evidences of His Hand in people's lives and how He, and He alone saves and changes lives.

I have more to write, but my roommates and I are going to drive around the great city of Bryan and search for housing options for next year.

Stay tuned. On the next episode of Blogging for the joy I'll tell you more about the country of Nicaragua and the Living Hope Bryan church plant. Thanks for joinging me!