December 22 – “Puppy chow … Christmas Mix … Divinity”

And so the cousins visits begin.  Yesterday the LaMarque cousins crew came over around lunch time.  I went to pick up Cailyn shortly after.  And the afternoon of kiddo craziness began. 

 

Actually it wasn’t bad at all.  Chris, with assistance from budding young kitchen aficionado Cailyn, guided Ezra and Noa to make some of her famous Christmas dish, not so appealingly called … Puppy Chow.  It’s made with Wheat Chex and Rice Chex and Corn Chex and whatever other kind of Chex there are out there.  That’s all mingled together with a bunch of melted chocolate and peanut butter, and topped off with powdered sugar.  Now why it is called Puppy Chow?  I have no idea. 

 

Next came that crunchy, chocolatey wonderfulness Chris calls Christmas Mix.  Some of that same Chex concoction gets thrown in to start.  But then add Cheerios.  And M&M’s.  And Pretzel sticks.  And here comes the most wonderfulest part.  All of that is topped with melted Almond Bark.  That’s a misrepresentative name for a chunk of white chocolatey goodness.  Mix all that together and let it cool into a tasty treat like you have never experienced before. 

 

Speaking of tasty treats, after the LaMarque crew left Chris and Cailyn attacked the kitchen again.  This time they delved into the realm of religious candy-making.  What do I mean by that?  Well, you have to have some divinity around Christmas time, don’t you?  Chris explained to the Vaughan child baker of the year all the ins and outs about taking the boiling sugar’s temperature and letting the mixture cool.  And before long the counter was aglow with the white and wonderful divinity. 

 

And the best part of all?  These are all actually healthy treats, aren’t they?  I mean, “wheat” and “corn” and “rice” and “almond.”  Those are words always mentioned in connection with dieting, right?  And how can you say anything bad about something called “divinity”?  Hey, it counts for me.

 

John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

 

Father, thank you for the youngsters coming over to spend time with Chris in the kitchen.  Thank you for giving her the patience to allow them to help.  And thank you for letting me be around to do some taste testing.  Amen.