Every Christmas that I cook dinner I prepare a Broccoli Soufflé Ring from a recipe that my sister gave me years ago. It’s a sort of family tradition now and makes for a lovely centerpiece to the meal. The original recipe calls for heavy whipping cream, which I never seem to have on hand or always forget to buy, so I have always used half & half instead. I recall my sister telling me, the first few times she made it, that it stuck to the ring mold and wouldn’t turn out. I never had that issue. It was always light and fluffy and gorgeous as I flipped it out of the mold onto the serving plate—voila!
This year as I was shopping for the ingredients, I saw the heavy cream and thought, “For once, I am going to prepare the broccoli ring like you are supposed to, rather than my half-assed way with substitutions”
In the midst of preparing Christmas dinner for 10, the timer rang indicating the ring was ready to come out of the oven. It’s always the last item out, so it will be tall and fluffy when you put it on the table. So I have a dining room full of guests and I flip the mold onto the serving plate and…you guessed it…splat! Half the contents of the mold stayed inside and my ring looked like some sort of green pudding pile.
Crap! Why, didn’t I prepare it the way I always have that has turned out so lovely? Why did I assume that even though it had always worked for me, the recipe must be right and I must be wrong?
Because that’s what we do, isn’t it? We don’t trust that our way could be better. We assume that the powers that be, in this case Martha Stewart, must be smarter, better prepared, and far more intelligent than we could ever hope to aspire.
Guess what? That’s a load of garbage. We are taught from childhood that others know best. Well, when you’re five that might be true. But you aren’t five anymore, and it’s more than ok to embrace your own wisdom. Trust your own inner knowing. Let my green pudding pile serve as a reminder and trust your own instincts in all things. You are an amazing being who’s hard wired to infinite intelligence. And when you allow yourself to connect to it, everything falls into place.
As we move into the New Year, my resolution is a simple one. I resolve to trust me, to listen to me, to love me – first. Embrace your inner wisdom, trust your feelings, don’t change what’s working because someone else says so. They have no idea of the power of YOU.
Happy New Year!
