"The proof is in the pudding".

 I'm going to confess something. I have a slight addiction to recipe videos. I'm admitting that, not only do I watch them, I waltz into the kitchen and actually attempt to recreate the culinary feat, just observed. 

I am particularly attracted to simple recipes. My favorites are the "three ingredient" desserts and casseroles. I like to keep extra boxes of cake mix, cans, etc. in the pantry, because most of the recipes, that interest me, include pre-made ingredients. Measuring is essentially "too exact" a science for me.

The videos always begin with the cook pouring the box's ingredients into a bowl. That makes me laugh, because the cook almost always dumps the paper lining into the bowl, along with the mix. I mean, how stupid are they? Don't they ever rehearse? Everyone who has even used a box mix knows that that the paper liner is in there, and it's going to fall out!

In the next shot, the liner has been removed. You never see the cook actually remove it, but it's always gone. The video continues. Now, if the recipe calls for sweetened condensed milk, the video then shows the cook, pouring the contents of the can into the mixing bowl. It's always a slow, sensual pour. Again, anyone who has ever opened a can of sweetened condensed milk knows that half of the sticky contents of the can, will not "pour" out of the can. Your have to scrape the goo out of the can, lick your fingers, and scrape some more, before the can is empty.  

Continuing along. Ingredients mixed, I watch them attempt to pour the mixture into the pre-prepared baking dishes or cupcake liners. Maybe an assistant does the prepping beforehand. The video never shows where the cook sprayed Pam on the counter missing the cake pan, the flour that accidentally got dropped on the floor or the contents of the cupcake liner container that spilled liners all over the countertop.

Well, the results are always worth the wait. Perfectly rounded, equally filled cupcakes. Evenly balanced cake-to-filling sheet cakes. That's what happened in the video....., not exactly what came out of my oven.

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Dear Lord. We all try to be good stewards of Your Blessings. Some of us succeed better than others. Guide us and show us Your way along life's path.