Just Desserts

Self-rising flour (don’t judge me, REAL cooks) and hand-held mixers might be in short supply these days, but recipes are rampant. Thank goodness for those creative cooks and kitchens who are happy to share their delicacies. 

Evidently, like a large portion of Americans in the recent months, I’ve been baking more than I have in recent years. 
We haven’t done desserts on a regular basis for a long time, like never. They were usually for special occasions.

Enter the quarantine and being cut off from the outside world. But, you know what, Dear Reader, God doesn’t get quarantined. He can teach us anywhere, with anything. He’s taught me a few lessons with just desserts.

Tom always loved Mama’s sour cream pound cake, so I took up the mantle when she passed. Since it’s typically been for family gatherings, I didn’t think twice about making one, except…oh yeah! There’s only two of us and it makes a sizable cake.​

LESSON ONE: Even, or maybe especially, with something you enjoy a great deal, it’s okay to put a little back for another time. I would just love to totally binge on the entire Marvel movie series, but what am I going to watch the rest of the summer?

Tom and I both like coconut cream pie. So far, I’ve done the whole thing, including crust, from scratch. Added coconut to instant pudding and put into graham tart shells with toasted coconut on top (just to fancy it up a bit). Then I found the “Impossible Coconut Pie” and we both thought it sounded great, except…Tom’s not big on custard fillings. 

LESSON TWO: When Tom and I first married, our driver’s licenses read almost the same, height, weight, hair color, eye color. Despite our physical resemblance, after decades of marriage, we’re still quite different in many of our likes and dislikes, and that’s okay. I think God knows too much similarity would drive us crazy. Can we all give a thankful amen to being unique?

One dessert hit earlier this spring was pineapple upside-down cake. When a friend told me about the two-ingredient pineapple cake, it also sounded like a winner. 

How hard can it be to mix an angel food cake mix and crushed pineapple, right? Unfortuntely, I had never made a plain angel food cake. When the batter threatened to go Ghostbusters Slimer, I got a little worried. Nevertheless, this one turned out to be a keeper. From six-year-olds to eighty-year-olds, everyone liked it!

LESSON THREE: Sometimes things don’t start out quite like we expected. God’s not worried, and we shouldn’t be either. Even when things start out a bit messy, the result can be one of joy and pleasure.

What are you cooking up these days, Dear Reader? I’d love to hear about your adventures in the kitchen, too! Has God been whispering new lessons in unexpected places for you?