True Beauty

A very prestigious beauty company was holding a contest. In order to enter the contestants had to send in a picture, along with a brief synopsis about the most beautiful woman they knew. The contest went on for a few weeks and during that time they received literally thousands upon thousands of letters and photos.

One letter in particular caught someones eye and before you could say "Jack Robin", it had been pass onwards and upwards until it was sitting on the desk in front of the company president. The letter had been written by a young man from a broken home, living in a very poor area of town. The company president sat at his desk and read . . .



"A beautiful woman lives down the street from me. I visit her every day. She makes me feel like the most important person in the world. We play games together and she listens to what I have to say, and to my problems and tries to help me. She understands me, and when I go to leave her house, as I'm walking down the pathway, she always yells out the door to me that she's proud of me."

The letter ended with the boy writing, "This picture shows you she is the most beautiful woman. I hope that one day I will have a wife as pretty as she is."

The president was greatly intrigued, and so he asked to see the picture that had accompanied this letter. His secretary handed him a photograph of an old woman, smiling . . . toothless . . . sitting in a wheel chair. Her sparse grey and white hair was pulled back into a bun and her face was lined with deep wrinkles, which were somehow diminished by the beautiful twinkle in her eyes.



"My goodness, " explained the president, smiling at his secretary, "We can't possibly use this woman. She would show the world that our beauty products weren't necessary in order to be beautiful."

"That which is striking and beautiful is not always good, but that which is good is always beautiful."
~Ninon de L'Enclos



I got the most wonderful award this past week from my good friend Miranda of A Duck In Her Pond. If you have never checked out her page, you really should. This gal can write! I am surprised that she hasn't been snapped up already by an amazing publisher. It can only be a matter of time, and then we'll all be able to say we knew her when! Thanks so much Duckie. Your award made my day and brought a HUGE smile to my face!

The rules of this award state I must post the rules and nominate five other bloggers. The rules are:
1) Choose 5 kick-*** bloggers
2) Let them know they've been awarded
3) Link back to the person who awarded you
4) Link back to MammaDawg (She created this award)

So . . . . Gloria, Angie, Misty, Raquel, and Holly . . . .

Congratulations, you so kick A**, it's not funny!

Most of the time on Sunday, Todd and I get back so late from church that, unless I have had enough forethought to put something into the slow cooker in the morning, we end up having something quick and easy to throw together for our tea, like egg and chips, or beans on toast. I usually try to make up for it during the week though, and cook Todd a proper Sunday lunch on Tuesday, when I don't have to rush back to work that night. Yesterday I did him a delicious roast chicken with sage and onion stuffing, one of our favourites. We had it with some swede and potato mash and a few mixed vegetables . . . okay, some roasted carrots and sweet potatoes. We both really enjoyed tucking into this and then spent the evening in quiet companionship, sitting at the kitchen table . . . he, studying his scriptures and me, preparing for my Seminary lesson. Mmmm . . . we have the lovely leftovers to look forward to today!



*Roast Chicken with Sage and Onion Stuffing*
Serves 4

This is a really great version of chicken and stuffing. The bacon which roasts on top of the chicken keeps it nice and moist and the stuffing, which is cooked in a casserole alongside of the chicken, is the perfect companion.

1 (1.75kg) roasting chicken
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
30g unsalted butter, softened
4 rashers of streaky bacon
1 TBS sunflower oil
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 stick celery, roughly chopped
1 leek, white part only, roughly chopped
1 sprig fresh sage
1 bay leaf
2 cups chicken stock

For the stuffing:
25g butter
2 rashers of streaky bacon, chopped
2 sprigs sage, leaves removed and finely chopped
1 tsp summer savoury
1 medium potato, peeled and grated
115g coarse fresh white bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper to taste
butter for dotting on top

Pre-heat the oven to 190*C/375*F. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Rub the breast with the salted butter and then lay the bacon rashers over top. Set aside.

Place a thick bottomed roasting tin on top of the stove to heat. Add the oil. Once it starts to smoke, through in the vegetables. Fry for 5 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the vegetables start to slightly colour. Remove the pan from the heat and add the sprig of sage and the bay leaf. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables and roast for about an hour and a half, until the juices run clear when pricked with a fork and the drumstick gives slightly when tugged.

In the meantime make the stuffing. Melt the butter in a skillet over moderate heat. Add the onions and bacon, and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until tender. (Don't let them colour) Remove from heat. Add the bread crumbs and grated potato. Give it all a good stir and then add the sage and summer savoury. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Stir in the beaten egg.

Rub the insides of a casserole dish with some butter. Pile in the stuffing and dot the top with some more butter. Cover with the lid and then bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, removing the lid for the last five minutes if desired to brown the top a bit.

When the chicken is done, put the roasting pan on top of the stove. Lift the chicken out, tilting it to let the juices run out into the pan, then set it aside to rest, covered with a bit of tinfoil. Pour the chicken stock into the pan with the vegetables and bring to the boil. Boil until it becomes a bit syrupy. Strain through a sieve into a small saucepan. Discard the solids in the sieve. Skim any fat from off of the top of the juices and heat until well warmed. You may thicken this with some cornflour if you wish.

Spoon out some of the stuffing onto each of 4 warmed plates. Top with some slices of roast chicken and a rasher of bacon on each. Spoon some of the warm gravy over top and serve.