I'm A Little TeaPot

"I'm a little teapot,
Short and stout!
Here is my handle,
Here is my spout!
When I get all steamed up
Watch me shout,
Tip me over
and pour me out!"
~author unknown

I used to love singing that song when I was a little girl and placing my arms just so . . . one as the handle and one as the spout. Little did I know that one day I would distinctly resemble that teapot that I was singing about.

Yes, friends . . . I'm a little stout teapot . . .



It wasn't always so. Right on up until after I had my fifth child I was slim, although I did have to struggle with it from time to time. My youngest son will be 20 in December and I'm ashamed to say that he has no recollection of me ever being slim, although I was up until he was about a year old. At that time, two things happened. One, I quit smoking. Two, I had my tubes tied. Now, I don't know if the two things happening in conjunction with each other have anything to do with it or not, but that is when the weight started to pile on, and pile on it has. I am twice the woman I used to be, and that's no lie!

When my Bruce was small, he used to say to me . . . "Mummy, you're not fat. You're just fluffy," and that used to make me feel good. It's ok being fluffy . . . but when you look in the mirror, it's a big reminder that umm . . . it's kinda not so good, you're not really fluffy you are . . .
f-a-t.



I've tried slimming too many times over the last 18 years or so to count. There is not a diet out there that I haven't tried and each one with a modicum of success. The problem is, for every ten pounds I have lost on a diet I have ended up gaining back fifteen. So, truthfully, every diet I have ever gone on has only made me fatter . . .

It's not easy slimming . . . not when you are married to stickman who can eat whatever he wants and never gain an ounce . . . not when you love food and spend your breakfast thinking about lunch and your lunch thinking about dinner . . . not when you cook for a living and everything you do at work revolves around that very thing and you are quite good at it!



I've been trying various recipes this past week, of the slimming kind and I would so love to share them with you, but my oh my . . . to be perfectly honest, they have all tasted like crapola and what's more . . . have looked like crapola. I think that when you take all the fat out of food . . . the flavour must go with it . . . It's quite disheartening.

My partner in Young Women's has lost over five stone since March. I am in awe of her. She never told a soul about it, but all of a sudden she started looking thinner. How has she done it? She told me she only eats a bowl of cereal and maybe a piece of toast for breakfast. Because she is a snacky type of person she then eats about 4 or 5 snacky types of things during the day . . . no lunch and then she has what everyone else has for supper, except on a smaller plate and in smaller amounts. I wonder do I have the willpower to do that . . . I know that I hate being the size I am now, and I cringe every time I look in the mirror. It's not pretty . . . it's not healthy . . . and it's more than a little annoying . . . I don't really like being a teapot. I would just love my son and my Todd, for that matter, to see me thinner . . .



So anyways, I am slimming, and hope to have some success with it, even if it's only to get back to the weight I was two summers ago when I had been doing the Food Doctor Diet. Yes, I did lose two stone on that and I would be happy with that, except now instead of losing two stone (that's 28 pounds to you North Americans) I now have to lose three . . . sigh . . .



Did you know that today is the World Day of Bread? Well, it is!

Bread is one of the staple foods of the world, and one of the oldest, dating back to ancient times. As a foodstuff of great historical and contemporary importance, in many cultures in the West and Near and Middle East bread has a significance beyond mere nutrition. The word bread is now commonly used around the world in English speaking countries as a synonymfor money (as also is the case with the word dough.) The cultural importance of 'bread' goes beyond slang, however, to serve as a metaphor for basic necessities and living conditions in general. A 'bread-winner' is a household's main economic contributor and has little to do with actual bread-provision, for example. This also goes along with the phrase "putting bread on the table." A remarkable or revolutionary innovation is often referred to as "the greatest thing since sliced bread."

In honor of the World Day of Bread, Kochtopf of This Page is holding their 3rd World Bread Day roundup! This is the second day I have been participating and I hope it won't be the last! To be included all one has to do is blog about bread on this day. Either buy or bake some bread and then post it on your page, hopefully with a delicious looking picture of it and then let Kochtopf know by the end of today. The full details can be found on their page.

Now, as you all know . . . I am not the greatest bread baker around. I make great doorstops, which are neither tasty nor great to look at. My breadmaker makes great bread. My ex husband makes great bread. Almost everyone I know makes great bread. I, sadly . . . do not. I do make wonderful biscuits, scones and teabreads though and that is what I am going to share with you today. I got this lovely recipe for these delicious scones from my good friend Joy several years back and I have to say that they have become a favourite in this house and also at work. I think you're going to love them too! Thanks Joy!



*Cheese and Chive Scones*
Makes 12

Easy to bake and very, very versatile. I have made these with cheddar cheese and I have made these with stilton. They're always delicious, no matter what.

12 ounces self rising flour
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
2 ounces margarine (I always use butter. Margarine is not something I ever have in my home)
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
1 TBS freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
5 ounces strong Cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup of milk to mix
pinch of salt
milk for brushing on top
one final ounces of cheddar grated to sprinkle on top before baking

Pre-heat the oven to 210-220*C/425*F. Lightly butter a baking tray and set aside.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together into a bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it is fine crumbs. Stir in the mustard, cheese and chives. Mix well and then stir in the milk to make a fairly soft dough.

Roll or pat out on a lightly floured surface to about 1 1/4 inches thickness. Cut with a sharp round cutter, 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter. Do not twist the cutter. Just give it a sharp tap down and then lift it straight up. Twisting gives you lopsided scones. Place a few inches apart on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of each with some milk and then sprinkle with the last bit of cheddar.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately 7 to 10 minutes until well risen and lightly browned. Enjoy!