You are what you eat is a phrase that most of us are familiar with and maybe just a little tired of hearing.  I've been thinking lately that the phrase 'You are what you do' is also very apt.
Recently Kid #1 was having a conversation with her uncle and telling him that she wasn't very good at sports.  That got me thinking.  We're a pretty music and dance focussed family.  She's been doing piano lessons since she was about 4 and dance of some kind or other from about the same age.  Now it's not that she hasn't done anything else.  She's had the requisite skating lessons.  She's done a couple of years of soccer teams.  She loves bike riding with me and sometimes I can even twist her arm to do some yoga.  But when you compare the kind of hours that she spends doing music or dance compared with just about anything else outside of school then it's not surprising that she would say she's not good at sports.  I actually talked to her about it after her conversation.  I told her that it's not fair to say that she is simply not good at sports.  It would be more accurate to say that she hasn't spent time on those things.  You see, she might be very good at sports but because she hasn't spent any time honing or training, then she's inevitably not good at it.
That got me thinking some more... if that goes for her then it certainly goes for me.  What do I spend my time on?  I totally respect one of my co-workers for her ability to focus on one thing.  She has become a leader in her field because of it.  It's wonderful to watch her live in the moment and do her thing.  It's like nothing else exists for her at the time.  I've got a lot to learn from her because a lot of my life has been spent doing quite the opposite.  I've always resisted focussing on one thing and wanted to diversify.  I've walked away from a lot of things because it would require me letting go of a lot of other things in my life.  It required focus and sacrifice.  I wasn't willing.  I'm not in a regretting mood right now so I just accept that those were my choices and they've made me what I am today.  That's the larger picture though.  What about the small one?  What do I spend the largest chunks of my time doing everyday and do those things reflect what's important to me, what I want to be, what I'll be happy about later?  I can already tell you that housework won't be one of those things that I'll be happy I spent so much time doing later (not that it won't happen I just gotta find a way for it to not dominate my home time)... if you know what I'm sayin'.  I know that I find myself instinctively in the kitchen, almost without thinking about it.  I'm puttering around in there if I'm not purposefully getting something ready.  It's where I'm at home and comfortable but it's also where I feel creative, satisfied and even (a little) fulfilled.  I like my job and doing music and getting the boys at school jazzed about doing music well.  I like spending time there.  I love running and biking and spending my time outside where I feel like I'm connecting with the world around me.  I know that I'm going to be so glad that I've done those things.


Those are my thoughts and here's my recipe.  I've wanted to make this bad boy for a long time.  We were having a friend over so I thought I'd just go for it.  For the record, you might want to have about 6 or even 7 friends over for this one.  It's super sweet - a little too sweet for me and I'd already cut the sugar down from the original recipe.  The espresso powder helps to cut the sweet a little but I think that you could probably cut the sugar back on the topping even more.  It's impressive for guests because of the pudding sauce and a little old fashioned as well which seems to go over well these days.  Best part... you can make it a day ahead and then just finish it during dinner so it's ready and hot for dessert.  BEST PART.


Chocolate Pudding Cake adapted from 'bbcgoodfood website'
serves 8 - 10

In bowl #1 sift together:

375g self raising flour
175g sugar
2 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp espresso powder

In bowl #2 combine:

140g butter (just about 1/2 cup) melted
350 ml milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Butter a 9x13 baking pan or baking dish and set aside.
Combine bowl #1 and bowl #2 and mix until combined and smooth.  Pour the batter into the baking dish and set aside or cover with plastic film and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
(If it's been refrigerated, remove the baking dish from the fridge and bring to room temperature)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bring 700ml of water to boiling

In bowl #3 combine:

400g light brown sugar
7 tbsp cocoa powder

Pour the contents over the cake batter.
Pour the boiling water over top of everything.
Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until the middle is firm to the touch but still jiggles underneath and the sides will be bubbly.
Remove from the oven and serve hot with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream or marshmallow fluff... or all of the above.