Success in abundance

Another little habit of mine, I love to tear ideas out of magazines. I have file folders of these loose pages. When assigned bread for the Thanksgiving dinner I was excited. Directly to the food/recipe stack, Real Simple circa 12/2004, holiday quick breads as hostess gifts.

Pumpkin-Date Corn Bread, Chocolate-Cherry-Walnut-Bread, and the standard Banana Bread a friend's recipe. Grocery shopped ahead of time. Well, okay worked all weekend but sent my husband to the grocery with a detailed list: flour (all-purpose), baking powder (red round can NOT orange box). Made special trip Tuesday night to Hobby Lobby with 10 minutes until store closing found pretty ribbon and fall foliage to decorate. Left work early Wednesday night turned the kitchen into baking central, with three breads in the oven. Success! Toothpicks came out clean, bread set to cool. Minutes later, breads collapsed, insides not baked, total disaster. What separates me from the true homemaker- like my mother who would have stayed up all night to to try again and make it all perfect. I picked up the phone, asked my husband to stop at the store on his way home from the gym.

He is a regular at the Bread Co. When he told the women there our story they loaded him up with five loaves- for free- he was there at closing. They collectively decided it is best to leave baking to the experts. Thanks. He was so proud to have saved the day, and with such abundance!

So for Thanksgiving I will bring one loaf of (tried and true) banana bread, wrapped in a holiday napkin with ribbon AND five loaves of day old bakery bread. Delightful.

But you know, I am really happy. A chuckle from the family will bring more then two perfect quick breads ever could have.