Spiced Banana Syrup Pudding and a nice slap back into reality

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You know when something speaks to you? I mean really speaks to you?

Whether it be a person’s conversation, a song, a documentary, a book, a simple quote written on a wall. Something that really resonates in your mind. Something that that has the potential to question everything you held dear, change your perspective, lift your mood or simply make you smile and think.

I know I’m not the only one to have been moved by a simple song. (Thankfully times have moved on from when they first did. Although as a early teenager I really did believe that Roxette and Bryan Adams knew my pain and lofty love ideals. They ‘spoke’ to me. THEY understood.)

In more recent times it was a song from John Butler. I was having a woe is me, poor us living in a 2 bedroom flat in the city- whatever are we to do? No room, blah, blah, blah. ‘Better Than’ comes on and suddenly the lyrics make sense  to me…..”life’s not about whats better than..” A nice slap back into reality that was. That two bedroom flat was just fine.

Watching a documentary awhile back of a young couple. Her terribly effected from a stroke, him being forced from the job he loved, to try his hand at something completely foreign in order to care for his disabled wife and two young children. All I could think about was, jeez, we had it so easy. This couple came across as so happy and yet to me their life seemed so incredibly hard.

A couple of  weeks ago, watching the second part of a Kevin Mc Cloud documentary on living in a slum in India. Watching this has made me question, really question things that I hold dear once more. In comparision we are so well off. So well off it’s almost difficult to comprehend. Honestly, I felt guilt at ever complaining of lack of space. Here these people were living 20 family members to a tiny dwelling with no indoor plumping and yet they were clean, happy looking, beautifully dressed. What on earth did I have to complain about?…(and perhaps it was time to get out of the yoga pants, baggy t’shirt and ugg boots- it’s not a particularly attractive look for me.)

Gavin (from Greening of Gavin) had a documentary ‘speak’ to him. He had a green moment that changed his whole lifestyle. A suburban family man now living a wonderfully inspiring sustainable life.

Running through the park recently, feeling pleased with my running, I paused to catch my breath. Two people over took me. Casually chatting, decked out in their uber cool running gear, going at a cracking pace. Gazelles would have had trouble keeping up. This was also another nice slap back into reality for me.

Reality was, that if I wanted to keep making things like Spiced Banana Syrup Pudding, I really had to run a lot further.

Spiced Banana Syrup Pudding

125gms softened butter

2/3 cup brown sugar

3 ripe mashed bananas

125mls cream

1 tps vanilla

1tps cinnamon

1 tps cardmom

1/2 tps nutmeg

1 1/2 cups s/r flour

Add all ingredients in order, bake in a spring form pan at 180C until golden. While that is cooking add 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1 tps cinnamon, 1/2 tps cardamom, and bring to a slow boil. Turn down slightly and keep at simmer until the mixture thickens just slightly (you don’t want toffee!) When it has thickened slightly turn off and add 1 tbs of dark rum. Allow to cool a little. When banana pudding is cooked through, place on serving plate and carefully pour spiced syrup over the pudding. Best served warm with perhaps a dollop of your favourite vanilla icecream.

 

19 thoughts on “Spiced Banana Syrup Pudding and a nice slap back into reality”

  1. I realised some time ago that you can decide to be happy. I decided to be happy. I know that my life is wonderful, but I have not always been in this position and I am grateful for everything I have. I don’t run, but I would very much like some of that banana pudding. I watched that program on India. I have been there and witnessed first hand how people live happy lives in terrible conditions. I loved India, mostly because of the people.

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  2. Don’t ya just hate that…., running…, I mean really running and feeling like your body is handling it, no more ungainly trotting going on for me, oh no…., the body’s getting better at all this running business and then some freakin’ fitness fanatic (cos they’d have to be fanatics right?) R U N S past you chatting with their freakin fitness fanatic friend!!! What the……???
    Times like this…., yep…. times like this I remember the big stuff…., I’m only competing against myself and I’m flippin stoked I my body has finally gotten out of the trotting stage & how cool is it that I can now go home and eat a slice or 2 of your spiced banana syrup pud. 🙂 🙂

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  3. I am going through a lot of this reframing at the moment. Life keeps throwing me curve balls and instead of dodging them I am trying to take them on. It sure is good to remember how lucky we really are some of the time. I don’t do bananas and my Cliffy Young shuffle wouldn’t suffice if I did eat your pudding, so happy that I won’t be tempted by this recipe! Have a great weekend 🙂

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  7. We all fill our little corners, don’t we?
    I try to always choose joy- life offers so much- to choose only to dwell on the tragedy of it is too exhausting.
    I enjoyed the song- I, too, had never heard him before- Thnks for sharing!

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  8. sorry Brydie, that was a bit of a cop out sort of comment on my part (wince) what I should have said is that I come to a grinding halt of despair and misery when I contemplate the injustices of this world, the random nature of the way Gaia’s resources are distributed amongst her children and as one gets older it seems to get worse year on year. So what to do? Renounce everything? Become an itinerant nun? I would if I had the courage. Would it help the world? That I don’t know. Scratch my thought processes and you find a pessimist at loggerheads with someone who hopes that things will get better. It must be very hard when you have children and wondering what sort of world they will inherit and how to bring them up to care and be responsible and thoughtful and ethical.

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    • *sigh*, having kids and wondering about those things, or worrying about those things can be incredibly overwhelming at times. But that’s me, I over think most things…
      Glad you liked John Butler, he has a lot of great songs.

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  10. Brydie, I just love that song – and wish that my kids would pay more attention to the lyrics.
    As for the running – well I say eat the pudding, run when you want/can. Life is short and it is important to take the joy where you find it!

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