Love is . . .

Love is patient, Love is kind,
It does not envy, it does not boast,

It is not proud, It is not rude,
It is not self-seeking,

It is not easily angered,
It keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil,
but rejoices with the truth.

Love always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres.

Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends.

L o v e N e v e r F a i l s.

Corinthians 13 : 4 - 8

Love is a family

And I'm so glad God gave me mine...

When you taste this you are going to fall in love. I did …

*Chocolate Chip Brioche Bread Pudding*

Serves 8 - 10 (can be halved successfully)

Eating this lovely pudding is like having all your birthday’s come at once! It is wonderfully rich and sinfully good! The toasted brioche crumbs on the top give it a delightful crunch and the caramel sauce is well worth the effort of making. Although it is still good without it, it is truly magnificent with it drizzled on top!

1 (1 pound) brioche bread, crusts trimmed and reserved, bread cut into ½ inch cubes

8 large eggs

2 cups of whipping cream or half and half

2 cups milk (2% or whole)

1 ½ to 2 cups sugar

¼ cup chocolate Schnapps

1 TBS vanilla essence

½ tsp almond essence

200g good quality of milk chocolate, broken into chunks (I use 2 bars of Green & Black’s Organic Milk chocolate)

Place bread into a buttered 13 X 9 X 2 inch baking dish. Scatter with the chocolate chunks. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, whipping cream, milk, sugar, Chocolate Schnapps, vanilla and almond essences, mixing well to blend. Pout over the bread cubes and let stand for 30 minutes, pressing the bread down into the custard from time to time. (You can do this up to 2 hours ahead if you wish. Cover and refrigerate)

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Arrange the reserved bread crusts on a baking sheet and bake until dry, about ten minutes. Let cool and then crush in a food processor to make fine crumbs. Sprinkle 1 cup of the crumbs over the pudding. Give the rest to the birds!

Bake the pudding until it is set in the centre, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Serve warm with the caramel sauce.

*Caramel Sauce*

Makes approximately 2 cups

2 cups caster sugar

½ cup water

1 ¼ cups whipping cream

¾ tsp vanilla essence

Combine the sugar and water in a heavy medium sized saucepan. Stir over medium low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Boil, without stirring until the syrup is a deep amber in colour (about 8 minutes). Watch it carefully as soon as it starts to turn, remove it from the heat as it can burn very quickly from then on! The residual heat from the pan can finish it off to the right colour. Gradually add the cream. It will spit and sputter vigorously, but that’s ok. Stir over low heat until any caramel bits dissolve and the sauce is smooth. Stir in Vanilla. Let stand until cool but still pourable.

(This has been another reposting from my old AOL journal, just to give you something to read while I am away. These are family pictures, taken during my last visit home. Hope you enjoyed! )