“Comparison is the thief of joy.” I’ve said it probably a thousand times – maybe even a hundred thousand. “Comparison: it IS the thief of joy.”
Ever since I read these words from Theodore Roosevelt years ago, I’ve tried my best to keep them close at hand and at the forefront of my mind. We’re headed down the path of life and we divert our attention to someone else and immediately, we’re crippled. We see someone else better at it than we are. What is it? Well, it could be anything. Maybe they have a higher paying job, a bigger house, more expensive car, maybe they’re better at something than we are. The list goes on. We’re just bebopping along, perfectly content, until we’re distracted. Then it all goes downhill.
This Old Fashioned Banana Pudding is style of banana pudding my Mom and Gramma’s made. Made with a rich vanilla egg custard that’s layered with vanilla wafers and slices of bananas then topped with a billowy homemade meringue that’s like velvet on your tongue. The only difficult part about this vintage dessert is waiting for it to chill before eating.
Ingredients
1 box Nilla wafers (12 oz box)
2 ½ cups sugar
6 cups whole milk
6 sliced bananas
1 cup self-rising flour
6 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon real vanilla
Directions :
Preheat oven to 350°
Crumble enough wafers to cover the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ glass dish and set aside remaining wafers to use for decoration after it’s done.
Combine all dry ingredients (except for ½ cup of sugar to use later for meringue) in a large pot.
Then, in a different bowl, combine all wet ingredients (to include the 6 egg yolks only and set aside egg whites for meringue).
Slowly add wet into dry mixture and stir until completely dissolved and cook over low heat until thickened to pudding consistency. The trick is to stir continuously and not to get too hot so you don’t burn the pudding. Once ready, remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
Place sliced bananas over wafers and pour mixture over them.
In a separate bowl, beat the 6 egg whites and slowly add in the remaining ½ cup sugar until a stiff meringue forms and then pour over pudding.
Put in the oven for 8-10minutes or until golden brown on top.