You wanted to know!

Good morning and Happy Saturday. It's a bit cooler here this morning and quite cloudy, but the birds are singing and Jess is keeping my feet warm, so all is right with the world. (I hope it doesn't rain *grumble *grumble) I thought that I would get down to the business of answering some of your questions today. You all were so good in asking them, and asked some really interesting ones! There's far too many for me to address in this one post, so I will break them up into groups, and answer them over two days. Hope y'all don't mind! (If there's one thing you know about me by now, it is that I can be quite verbose so it will take at least two entries to do so, maybe even three!!!)



Colio from Poppins wanted to know the following: (I happen to know her. She's a lovely young American woman from Utah that has been over here working as a nanny for the past year and a half. She is due to go home in July and boy oh boy, will we ever miss her! You should check out her blog. It's a really great read!)

Did you take that pictures of the snails?
I wish I could say that I did Nicole, but unfortunately no, I didn't. I have a folder in my documents that I keep interesting little pictures I have found in and this was one of them. I thought it was quirky and cute!


If the Queen was coming over to your house for Dinner, what would you make for her?
First of all, let me just say that I love the Queen. I'm a real monarchist at heart. Probably because my mom and the queen greatly resemble each other in looks. When we were small, my brother, sister and I thought that it was a picture of our mom on our money. We thought our mom must be quite famous I guess! I like to think that I would treat the Queen as I would treat any other guest in my home and make her an old fashioned ordinary dinner, just as I would for anyone. She probably never gets much in the way of ordinary food, and so it would be a real treat for her! I'd probably make a cottage pie with a lovely array of steamed seasonal vegetables for the main course, accompanied with my homemade baking powder biscuits and then for dessert depending on what time of year it was I'd offer up some good old fashioned apple pie and custard. Of course we'd go for a nice walk across the orchards afterwards to burn off some of those stodgy calories! I think she'd enjoy that! I think the highest compliment you can pay someone is to treat them just like they belong!



Tracy of Pink Purl ( all the way over in Norway) wanted to know the following: (Tracy is another friend of mine. She's an American gal living in Norway and will be coming over here to England in a few weeks time, at which time we will finally get to meet in person! I'm so excited about that!)

Do you have a favorite food, and absolute favorite...and if you were to be on a desert island and could have that choice of food, what would it be?
Ohh, this is a hard one Tracy because I just love food full stop! (which my ever widening girth will attest to!) My favourite type of food has to be good old fashioned food, you know . . . the type my mother and my gran cooked. No artifice or pretense there. Plain old home cooking presented with love. My favourite (and this is a toughie) would have to be my mom's turkey dinner that she made twice each year, (Thanksgiving and Christmas) complete with her homemade stuffing. Nobody can make it taste like my mom's. It's the best! Must be that extra special touch of love that she put into it! On a desert island it would be something quite different though as I wouldn't have a refrigerator to keep things cold and so I'd probably stick to eating like the natives would and eat fresh fish and coconuts! (I could probably really use a Man Friday to help me with that!)

Given your love of art, as well as writing, when did you begin painting & drawing?
I have been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. It's always been a great love of mine. I remember painting one of the neighbours garage fronts with mud when I was about 5 or 6, which they were not impressed with and which my mom and dad made me go over and clean off in humiliation with some soap and water afterwards. No artist likes destroying their work!!! Art was always my favourite subject in school and I always did my very best with it. When I was about 10, I really wanted a Jon Gnagy art set for Christmas and was thrilled to get it. It contained a bit of everything. There were pastels and water colours, oils, charcoals. It even had a little bendy man that you could pose and sketch. I think it was the best Christmas gift I ever got! I also used to do a lot of those paint by number oil kits when I was a kid. I got quite good at them by the end as I would blend in the colours so that it didn't really look like a paint by number. I can still smell that lovely smell that came from all the little pots of paint . . . ahhh . . . bliss!

If you could invite anyone, living or dead, to a special dinner party, who would it be and what would you serve them?
I think that I'd like to invite the Saviour and Joseph Smith to dinner. I think it would be really interesting to hear what they each had to say. The Saviour, because of what He did for each of us, and Joseph, for his work in having restored the Gospel to the World. Then I'd throw Mother Teresa into the mix, because I think a woman's point of view would be needed, and, just so she would have someone to talk to besides men I'd also like to invite Eve, as she is the one who started the ball rolling in the first place. What an interesting mix that would be!!! I'd like to be cutesy and say I'd serve loaves and fishes but I won't! I'd probably do them a raclette! That way they could each do their own. The raclette is to the 21'st century like what fondue was to the 70's. A real social event!



The blonde duck from A Duck In Her Pond wanted to know: (Duckie is one of my favourite bloggers as well. She writes wonderfully brilliant children's stories about the Land of the Flowered Bed! I just love reading her stories. One day she will be famous, mark my words! She also really likes pie.)

What's your favorite type of pie?
Ohhh, that is a really hard one, as I love pie of all kinds, sweet or savoury. If it's in a crust I'm there! If I had to pick an absolute favourite one it would have to be lemon meringue! You get the lovely crispy crust and the delicious and tangy lemon filling and then the beautifully sweet and sticky meringue. Ice cold please, fresh from the refrigerator!

What's the best gift you ever gave anybody?
I just love shopping for and giving gifts to people! I don't think you can ever go far wrong when you gift someone with something you'd love to have yourself. I think the best gift I ever gave anyone was a clock that I gave to my mom for her birthday about 8 years ago. It was a teddy bear angel clock. It has a double pendulum with two little bear angels at the top that swing back and forth and a larger one at the bottom. It's really quite cute and adorable, and I think almost makes up for me having picked to bits the cowboy clock we had in our living room when were growing up. (I loved that thing and found it quite fascinating! I was always stroking it and petting it!)





If you could have any kind of an animal for a pet, what would you have?
I have recently discovered Bengal Cats, and fallen in love. They're like a cross between an Asian Leopard cat and a domestic house cat, and they are so beautiful, with the markings of the leopard and a tabby mixed. According to Wikipedia: "Bengals cats vocalize to communicate with their humans and can be taught tricks such as sit and shaking hands, and going outdoors on leashes for walks! It would be a toss up between one of those and a Chiuaua! I have always loved Chiuaua's as well. Maybe I could have both??? (Todd says a chiuaua's not really a dog, but I beg to differ!!)

What's your favorite holiday?
Hands down . . . Christmas! NO if's, and's or but's!!! It's my absolute favourite time of year. I love the music, decorating the tree, the cheesy old Christmas movies that you watch on the telly, wrapping presents, cooking special foods, gifting the special people in my life and watching them open them, the sharing with friends and family . . . I love it all . . . but mostly I love remembering the Saviour's birth and everything associated with it. It's just a really special time of year for me! Sacred and special in every way. I especially love visiting our temple at Christmas time too!



Whew! I'm only about a third of the way through the list, but I think that's enough for today! I don't want to bore anyone senseless so will leave some for another day!

In the meantime the Lemon Meringue Cake was the winner of my baking poll, so look for that real soon. I'll be putting another one up later today!

I cooked some lamb chops for our tea the other night and they were scrumdiddelyupmptious! Can you believe I had never really eaten much lamb at all before I moved over here. (read never!) The lamb here is so tasty and affordable, compared to the lamb back home. It was rather expensive there, and I suppose because I lived in a rather rural area with not a lot of choice it was always kind of blah . . . I can remember my mom buying lamb chops once when I was growing up and they smelled like someone was burning an old woolen mitten when she was cooking them. None of us would eat them. That was my sum total of experience with lamb before moving over here. I have fallen in love with it here!



*Parmesan Herb Crusted Lamb Chops*
Serves 4
This is the way I like to cook my lamb chops when I want to lift them out of the ordinary. They are always tender and delicious. I buy rack of lamb which I then cut into cutlets. Served with mint sauce, steamed new potatoes and baby peas, you can’t ask for a nicer or a tastier dinner.

¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint
½ cup fresh soft breadcrumbs
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
8 lamb rib chops
½ tsp salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, beaten
3 TBS olive oil

Heat the oven to 205*C/425*F. Combine the fresh herbs in a medium bowl. In another bowl combine the bread crumbs and the parmesan cheese. Place the beaten eggs in a third bowl.

Lightly season the chops on each side with the salt and some pepper. Press the fresh herbs into each side of the chops, covering them completely. Dip the chops into the beaten eggs and then into the breadcrumb mixture, coating them well and pressing the crumbs onto them with your fingertips if necessary. Let them sit for a few minutes while you get the pan ready.

Take a large skillet with an oven proof handle and place it over medium high heat. When it is hot add the olive oil and heat just until it begins to shimmer. Add the chops and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes on each side. Carefully turn and brown the edges, about 30 seconds. Transfer theskillet to the oven and finish cooking the chops for about 2 minutes longer which will give you beautifully done, medium rare chops. If you want them done to medium or well done, leave them a bit longer.