Marie's Sunday Six

Welcome to my Sunday Six post for this, the 24th of January, 2010. My goodness but this month has just flown by. My head is almost spinning, the days have gone so quickly! I hope the rest of the year is not like this!! I have lots of lovely smiles to share with you this week though, so I guess it doesn't really matter how quickly the week's pass, just so long as you find something to smile about!



I started off my week by giving a talk in Sacrament Meeting last Sunday. I never mind giving talks. I always really enjoy them. I love the writing aspect of it and I love the delivering aspect of them. I just love to talk about the Gospel and everything about it, and I am a person that loves to share my thoughts and words. I don't really get nervous when I have to speak. It doesn't really bother me to stand up at the front and share what I have written with the people in my congregation. I am lucky that way I guess. I actually feel more nervous once I have finished than I do before I begin. It's really wierd. My talk was on how I came to accept the Book of Mormon as Scripture. A great topic that I really, really enjoyed writing and speaking about, and not something that I had really thought about in my nine 1/2 years in the church. I guess it was just something that I had taken for granted. I have found though, that with every talk I have been asked to give during those nine years, that I have learned something new . . . about the Gospel, about my Heavenly Father . . . about myself. That's one of the great things about giving a talk . . . learning. It usually ends up that I get a lot more out of it than anyone else I think!



I had been stuck on a bit of a plateau with my weight loss. I didn't gain anything over Christmas, but I hadn't really lost anything either, and then a couple of weeks ago I was finally down one pound and yayy!!! This week I was down two! It is good to stay the same, but it is even better to go down. Todd, however, has managed to gain half a stone. hmmm . . . . probably because he is eating all this yummy stuff I cook, and I am not! I do taste for, let's face it, I am only human. I really enjoy what I taste too. I just don't feel the need to over indulge anymore, and that's a good thing. I am so thankful for the hypno-therapy. It has been life saving for me, and very empowering. Sure, I do still have a long ways to go, but I have the confidence that I can and will do it. That makes me smile too!



Todd had a bit of a funny turn the other evening about 2 o'clock in the morning. I was fast asleep and I got woken up by the bed violently shaking. It was Todd. He had gotten up to go to the Loo, and he started shaking and could not stop. He was shaking really bad, from head to toe and it was really strong too . . . very scary. I got him downstairs and onto the sofa and covered him with a blanket, and then I got him a drink of water as he was very thirsty. I called the emergency number for the Doctor on call. When he called me back he told me just to keep an eye on him and if it didn't go off to call him again in an hours time. Thankfully it did go off and that made me smile. I was sooooo worried. It was very strange and disconcerting. Needless to say neither one of us slept again that night, and Todd took himself off to the Doctor's Surgery the next morning. They could find no reason for it, and it has not returned, but himself hasn't been feeling too well the rest of this week. He has flu like symptoms, in that he is kind of achy and very blah feeling, like with no energy, but that is all. I was so grateful though that the shaking stopped and that the Doctor couldn't find anything seriously wrong with him. He is my whole life. (Todd, not the Doctor)



Larkrise to Candleford is on our telly screens again, and that really makes me smile! I just love that show. The characters in it are so wonderfully loveable, even the strange ones . . . and some of them are quite strange to be sure. I love the sets, and I love the costumes, and I love the stories that it entertains us with each week. I love Larkrise, and I love Candleford and all the people that live in each town. It's just a sweet , sweet show and it makes me feel very happy when Todd and I watch it together. I am so glad that I have a husband who enjoys these things with me, who is an old softie and not hard. Oh, I am so very lucky!



The flowers that I got earlier this week are still making me smile. They are lasting ever so long and still looking ever so good! I am most impressed. The chocolates however . . . they haven't lasted near as long . . . but then, that's to be expected I suppose!!



Talking to my mom on the telephone last Sunday afternoon made me smile. I just love being able to speak with my mom. She has not been really well lately with her heart, but thankfully now she has been to see the heart specialist and is on a medication that will help, fingers crossed and prayers said. She has a heart arythemia, although the specialist says she has a really strong heart. There are three blockages though, so that is a concern. I think it must be heriditary though, as my mom is as small as a bird and eats like one too. She has always taken really good care of herself. There is heart disease in the family though so I expect I need to be really careful too. Anyways, it was very good to get to talk to her, and to laugh with her and to talk about our visit home to see her this summer. No fixed dates yet, but we are working on them. I can't wait! Talking to my mom makes me smile, but getting to spend real time with her makes me even happier!

And there you have it, my Sunday Six smilemakers for this week. I hope that you found lots of things to smile about this week as well. I'd love to hear about them so please, feel free to share!

I made a very tasty dessert for Todd yesterday. A good old fashioned dessert, the type that he loves most of all. This falls under the cottage pudding type of desserts. Cottage puddings, aren't really puddings at all, but moist cakes, usually served with a sauce of some sort. The sauce with this one is exceptionally good. With each bite, you get the delicious tartness from the cranberries, mingled with the sweet richness of the wonderful butter sauce. Oh, my . . . this is some good. I had a tiny piece and I enjoyed every morsel to the n'th degree!




*Cranberry Pudding*
Serves 9
Printable Recipe

A delicious cottage type of pudding that is stogged full of delicious cranberries and covered in a lucious, reich creamy butter sauce. Fantastic!

2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup milk
2 cups whole raw cranberries

For the Sauce:
1 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter and flour a 9 inch square baking pan. Set aside.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a mixing bowl. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender until it resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the milk, and then the cranberries.

Pour this mixture into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the cake tests down when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

While the cake is baking make the butter sauce. Combine the butter, sugar and cream in the top of a double boiler. Bring to the boil, stirring, and then leave to set over the simmering water, cooking until thickened. This should take about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

To serve, cut the warm cake into squares with a portion of the hot butter sauce spooned over top. Delicious!!



There's some very tasty Pains Aux Chocolate over on The English Kitchen this morning.

I dreamed a dream . . .

When you were a child, did you ever take a magnifying glass and play with it? I can remember one time several friends and I had one and we used it to catch paper alight simply by allowing the sun to shine down through the glass and onto a spot on the paper . . . it took quite a while, but, with perseverance and diligence, it did happen eventually.

In one of the laboratories in Washington, DC, there is a great sun glass that measures three feet across. Very much like the "Burning" glass that we used as children, except that it is much, much larger. This great glass gathers the rays of the sun that strike it's flat surface and focuses them in a single point in space, just a few feet below. That single spot is hotter than a blow torch. It will melt through a steel plate as easily as a red-hot needle burns through paper. This terrific heat cannot be measured, for it melts through all instruments. It is just three feet of ordinary sunshine, concentrated on a single point.

Scattered . . . these rays are hardly felt, perhaps they are pleasantly warm, but concentrated . . . they meld adamant.

This same principle applies to human endeavors. Scattered . . . a person's energies do not seem to amount to much. Once focused on the task at hand, seemingly tremendous difficulties melt like snow on a hot surface.



We recently purchased the Susan Boyle Album, I Dreamed a Dream. Oh, it is so very lovely. Her voice, crystal clear and so very touching . . . it pierces my heart in a very special way. Some of her songs even moved me to tears. I think that's because Susan Boyle represents that little voice in each of us that hopes and dares to be something other than what we are . . . that longs to stretch beyond the boundaries that we have set about ourselves, and to say that if we dream it . . . we can do it. Susan Boyle had a dream . . . to be a world class singer.



At first glance, the powers that be thought . . . never . . . she just didn't fit the image that they had of a world class singer. But Susan Boyle had a dream and she never lost sight of her goal. She pursued it in the face of all the naysayers, and she struck a chord in each of us. She touched the hearts of the world, with her belief in herself and her talent . . . pure raw talent. She focused all her energy on that one thing that she wanted more than anything else and, lo and behold, the impossible has happened. She is a world class singer.



Sometimes I get a bit down about my own talents. In particular my artwork. It doesn't seem to get that much attention really. I have a dream that, one day I will be able to make a comfortable living by doing what I love most, and that is creating with my pencil and pens and colours, beautiful pictures that people will want to see and to own for themselves.



Sometimes I stop believing in that dream and then I have to kick myself and tell myself, that, just like Susan Boyle . . . I must never let go of my dream. I must believe in myself, otherwise I cannot expect anyone else to believe in me. That if three feet of sunshine, when concentrated, can burn through anything . . . if I focus on my talents and believe in myself, I can one day be, what I dream myself to be . . .


I'd like to share a lovely tea bread with you today. I just love tea breads. They're not quite cake. They're not quite bread. They're usually quite scrumptious and they're very handy to keep in the freezer to drag out when unexpected company drops by. I can remember my mother having tea parties when I was very young and one of the things she always served was thinly sliced tea breads, spread with butter. Oh how good they tasted. This recipe today is one of my particular favourites. I think you will enjoy it as well, spread with butter or not, it is delicious!



*Almond Glazed Poppy Seed Bread*
Makes 2 loaves
Printable Recipe

This is an excellent sweet bread with rich flavours and a tangy orange sugar glaze. Delicious!

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
1 1/2 TBS poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp butter flavouring

For the almond glaze:
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3/4 cup fine white sugar



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter and flour 2 medium/large loaf tins. Set aside.

COmbine all the ingredients for the bread in a large bowl. Beat well with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Divide into the two prepared loaf tins. Bake for about 1 hour, but start checking after 45 minutes. The loaves are done when they are well risen and brown, and the top springs back when lightly touched. Also a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing from the pans to cool on a wire rack. Glaze with the glaze whilst still warm, spooning it generously over the tops. Once cooled completely, wrap in foil to store or freeze.

To make the glaze, combine all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well together until the sugar has dissolved.



Over on The English Kitchen today . . . Spicy Pork Burgers with Honey Mustard Onions.

Fancy Men, Flowers and Valentines Giveaways!

There's a rumour running rampant through the village!!! It is said that a certain lady of good import has a fancy man! Yes, tis hard to believe but true. The other day a van was seen delivering flowers to her door!!! A beautiful big bouquet filled with roses and all sorts, in a pretty red box . . . Valentine Flowers.



The other afternoon, when I was out being tortured, oops I mean treated, by the Dentist . . . a lovely bouquet of flowers was delivered to my door by the people at Inter Flora. Not only that, but there was a delicious box of chocolates tucked into the bag as well. Am I a lucky woman or what???



Aren't they just beautiful??? I was totally thrilled.



No, not romance, and not a fancy man . . . I hate to disappoint . . . but a lovely thankyou from the good people at Inter Flora for my recent review of their beautiful Christmas Hamper that they sent before Christmas. It wasn't hard really . . . to say such nice things about these people. I've been using them for years to send flowers to my mom on all her special occasions with great satisfaction.



It is nice to be appreciated though, and I am enjoying the flowers . . . and . . . ahem . . . the chocolates! Thanks Inter Flora, you really made my day . . . and as for the rumour in the village, well . . . a little notoriety never hurt. I think I'll keep em guessing for just a little while longer . . .



Today is the day I am announcing the winner of my Valentines Giveaway as well! I went to Random.org and had them pick a number between 1 and 51 (the number of comments I had on that post) and they came up with the number 6. I'd like to be fancy and show you the little widget, but I don't know how to do that, so you 'll just have to take my word for it all! Rachel! You are my lucky winner. The cookbook, monkey and cookie cutters are yours! I'll be popping your goodies into the post for you as soon as you give me your particulars! E-mail me on MarieAliceJoan at aol dot com. Enjoy the monkey, cookbook and cookie cutters! I wish I could give something to all my readers, but alas . . . I think that would just about give Todd a heart attack and we don't want to do that do we . . . but never fear . . . knowing me, there'll be another giveway real soon, after all Spring and Easter are both just around the corner!



I made the Toddster these lovely gingerbread pancakes for his brekkie at the weekend. Ok, so I had a couple myself as well. Gingerbread is one of our weaknesses, we love it so and this lemon sauce went so very well with them. I did opt for a bit of spray cream on mine, leftover from the holidays . . . it needs using up you know. They were fabulous, simply fabulous!



*Gingerbread Pancakes with Lemon Nutmeg Sauce*
Makes about 18 (3 inch) pancakes
Printable Recipe

You can have whipped cream on these. Tis quite optional and quite nice actually. Deliciously spice pancakes, gilded with a sweet/tart lemon sauce delicately spiced with nutmeg. These are fabulous!

For the sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBS cornstarch
1/8th to 1/4 tsp of freshly ground nutmeg
1 cup hot water
2 TBS butter
1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
2 TBS fresh lemon juice

For the pancakes:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 large egg
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup mild molasses
3 TBS melted butter, or all vegetable oil

oil for cooking



First make the sauce. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and nutmeg. This helps to keep the cornstarch from clumping together. Slowly whisk in the hot water. Cook, over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and turns clear. Cook for one minute longer. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, lemon zest and lemon juice. Cover and set aside to keep warm while you make your pancakes.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon together i a large bowl. Measure the milk in a large measuring cup. Add he molasses, melted butter and egg, mixing all well together. Add this mixture to the dry mixture all at once and stir just until combined, making sure there are no dry pockets and all of it is uniformly moistened.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add a drop of oil, swirling it to coat the pan lightly, or use low fat cooking spray. Ladle the batter onto the heated pan in 1/4 cup measures. (I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to do this) You can probably cook 3 ot 4 at a time. Cook until the top is covered with small bubbles and the underside is nicely browned. Flip over and brown on the other side. Remove and keep warm while you are cooking the rest, adding more oil as needed to keep them from sticking. Be sure not to keep the pan too hot as these do burn quite easily. Once the pan is heated, you must turn the heat down to medium low. Serve hot with the lemon sauce and some whipped cream if desired. Delicious!!



Over on The English Kitchen today . . . Stilton and Scalloped Potato Pie!!

If there is light . . .

If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in
the person.
If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony
in the house.
If there is harmony in the house, there will be order
in the nation.
If there is order in the nation, there will be peace
in the world.

This is an old Chinese Proverb I found. It certainly conveys a number of wise thoughts that I can't help sharing. could this be the solution to many of the problems that ail society today?

I think so!

Short but sweet this morning.

I had my tooth extracted yesterday afternoon, and am not sorry to see it go. This tooth had been causing me no end of problems over the past couple of years. We spent a quiet evening eating rice pudding and watching a new film we had gotten, called One Good Man. It was really, really good, and we both really enjoyed it alot!

This is the ultimate movie watching snack. Something very tasty to make when you are having a movie night with the kids! (Obviously I didn't have any of these tonight with my sore mouth!)



*Ultimate Nachos*
Serves 6 to 8 as an appetizer
Printable Recipe

Crisp tortilla chips with a delicious topping of refried beans, salsa and cheese. Garnishes and dips are optional.

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 TBS olive oil
1 (16 ounce) tin of refried beans
1/2 cup fresh salsa
1 (13 ounce) package of restaurant style tortilla chips
1 1/2 cups grated Monterrey Jack cheese
1 cup sliced black olives
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
2 green onions, trimmed and sliced
1 cup quacomole (optional)
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
Pickled jalapeno slices, drained (optional)



Pre-heat the oven to 220*C/425*F. LIne a large baking tray with some foil. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Scatter the tortilla chips evenly over top. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened. Add the salsa and the refried beans, stirring until creamy amd heated throuigh. Pour this mixture over the chips. Top with the cheese, and jalapeno slices, if using. Bake in the heated oven for 8 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the edges are lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and scatter the olives, green onions and tomato over top. Serve with sour cream and guacamole for dipping.



Over on The English Kitchen this morning, a delicious Salmon Casserole Bake.

Broken bones . . .

Judy and Rose had been friends for a very long time, until one day, a small disagreement somehow led to a distancing between them. This went on for quite some time. One day though, Rose tripped and broke her wrist . . . a very unlucky event, but one which gave Judy the opportunity to drop by, bearing flowers and the offer of some help for her friend.

Now, some months later, Rose's wrist is completely healed and so is her friendship with Judy.

Rose confided . . .

"I was told that when a bone breaks, the healing process often makes it end up even stronger than it was before. I am sure friendships can be like that also."

It sounds a lovely idea, but . . . lets not all wait for broken bones to take that first step towards healing and mending bridges!!!

Remember, every journey begins with only one tiny step.



I have had a sore tooth the past couple of days. It's that same old tooth which keeps cropping up and causing me problems, it seems every couple of months or so. It is an old wisdom tooth and has already been broken once, so it is only half there anyways. I think I am going to ask the Dentist when I go this afternoon can he please extract it so that this doesn't keep happening. It is clearly a problem tooth that will continue to bother me loads in the years to come and it's not really a necessary tooth anyways. All of my other wisdom teeth have already been removed. When it flares up it aches across my whole face and feels like a combination earache, toothache, sinus ache. Very painful and distracting. I say enough already! Wish me luck!!

This is one of my favourite chicken salads. I am not a real fan of ordinary chicken salads with all the mayonnaise and celery in it, but I love the fresh clean flavours of this and the tasty spicy dressing. I just love peanut butter and so you can imagine how much I love this salad!



*Bang Bang Chicken Salad*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

This is another one of those tasty things you can do with leftover chicken from your Sunday Roast. The quantities given here make quite a lot but it is very easy to cut the amounts in half or even thirds to give you lesser amounts. I love the crunch of all the raw vegetables and the spicy, nutty sweetness of the dressing. In fact, I often roast extra chicken just so that I can make this delicious salad the day after.

for the dressing:
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
4 TBS sesame oil
3 TBS vegetable oil
2 TBS sweet chili sauce
2 TBS lime juice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
sea salt to taste

For the salad:
1 TBS toasted sesame seeds
1 cucumber, peeled, quartered, deseeded and cut into thin strips (3 inches long)
4 medium carrots, peeled, trimmed and then cut into thin strips (3 inches long)
(I use my vegetable peeler to get really thin strips)
2 large handfuls of fresh bean sprouts
4 spring onions, trimmed and cut into thin strips, about 3 inches long
a generous squeeze of lime juice
1 pound of cooked chicken, shredded

Begin by making the dressing. Warm the peanut butter for about 40 seconds in the microwave, until it melts, stirring it halfway through the cooking time. Whisk in the oils and then the chili sauce, lime juice and cayenne. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed. Set the dressing aside while you make the salad.

Combine all the prepared vegetables in a large bowl. Toss with a squeeze of lime juice and a little salt. Mix in the chicken. Divide amongst six chilled salad plates. Divide equally and drizzle the dressing over top of each and then scatter with the toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately.



Over on The English Kitchen today, delicious Spaghetti Puttanesca!