"BoY CrAzY" Creme Brulee

~The Preschool Boy~

He was my very first friend. We lived across the street from each other from birth until his family moved out of state when we were four and then my family moved to five acres in the country when I was six. I remember playing outside in his plastic pool while our mothers talked away the afternoons...
No one yet worried that I was "Boy Crazy"... 

~The Elementary School Boy~

He drew Garfield the Cat for me, and gave me a real, live  lop-eared rabbit who I named Butterscotch (which I was allowed to keep for all of one weekend-) in the third grade. I had a major crush on him for the entire third grade. My 'Dorthy Hamil' haircut did not draw him my way, and neither, I think, did chasing him on recess-. He did draw me a picture in fourth grade when I was out for two weeks with strep throat, though-.

My mom said, "Now, honey, don't get all 'boy crazy' on me, okay? Just enjoy being a kid."

~The Middle School Boy~

We signed notes to each other in middle school "T.T. F. N" {Ta-ta-for-now} and I was allowed to talk on the phone once a weekend for ten minutes while my mom or dad sat near, flipping through a magazine. I don't think we talked aloud much-except for the once a weekend phone call-but we passed a lot of notes in class.

My dad said, "Curly, one phone call a weekend. That's it. You aren't allowed to be 'boy-crazy'.

~The High School Boy~

We started dating in our junior year of high school and into college for a couple of years. I adored his family, and  had fond feelings for him as well. But, the relationship eventually had me in too many tears as it ended.

My dad called my apartment and prayed with me as that came to an end and said,
"Curly, Don't worry about being 'boy crazy', just concentrate on your last couple of years of college. God will bring the right guy along when its the right time..."

~The College Boy~

He taught me to play poker, and just have fun. We hung out in a big crowd at the University, and had a lot of friends in common. I broke it off as we ended college.

I remember asking my mom, "So how do you know if you love someone?"
And her rely was, "If you have to ask, honey, -it's not love."
So, that ended, not too painfully for either of us-because I think deep down-even he knew we weren't meant to take the next step...

My mom said at the time,
 "Honey, there is no need to be 'boy crazy'! God will bring the right guy when it is the right time...Oh! And have you met the "E's" son from church? I hear he is a really nice boy, and he is rather good looking..."

~The "One" For Life~

So I married the "E's" son barely a year and a half after I first set eyes on him
[in his terrible acid-washed jeans, even-],
 and fell madly, deeply, passionately in love.

Nearly 15 years have gone by.

 He loves me, loves God, and our three boys-

And one day recently, I came home on a random Wednesday evening to find he made me Creme Brulee for dessert after dinner. (!!)

I love that he knows me -and my sweet tooth- so well...

Life [with or without Creme Brulee on a Wednesday evening for no reason-]

with all these boys I call my own is great.

You might even call me a little 'boy crazy'  these days...

Happy Valentine's Day...

 Boy Crazy Creme Brulee:
What you need:
1 cup heavy cream
2 TBSP. plus additional 1/3 cup sugar
2 extra large or jumbo egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Prepare some boiling water
• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine cream and 2 TBS. sugar; cook, stirring occasionally until small bubbles appear around edges of pan, 5-6 minutes. Set aside.
• In a bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla until smooth and light. Pour hot cream mixture into egg yolks, a little at a time, beating continuously until well blended. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Divide mixture among four 4 oz. ramekins.
• Arrange ramekins in a baking pan and place on a middle shelf of preheated oven. Fill pan with boiling water to half way up sides of ramekins. Cover pan loosely with aluminum foil. Bake until custard is just set, about 25 minutes (-use caution when removing ramekins from oven as they will be very hot!) Chill 2-3 hours.
• Sprinkle remaining sugar evenly over top of cooled custards. With a kitchen torch, move the flame continuously over the surface of the ramekin, in a circular motion until sugar melts and becomes golden brown and bubbly. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for later use.

(..who loves the boy who made me Creme Brulee on a Wednesday night for no particular reason!)