Tuesday, but no Dorie here . . .

What can I say? It's Tuesday and once again I have no lovely delicacy from that delicious baking book, Baking, from my home to yours by the equally delicious Dorie Greenspan to show you. Yes, it's Tuesdays With Dorie day, but alas my kitchen is still not finished although to be fair they did get it semi finished yesterday and I shall now be able to cook in it, but not in time to do this lovely Kugelhopf on pages 61-63, as chosen by Yolanda of The All-Purpose Girl . If you would like to see some of the delicious creations please feel free to stop by the Dorie Blog Roll and check them out and also if you would like the recipe you can access it on Yolanda's page. (DO pop over and take a look, it looks fantastic!!!) I shall have to take out my kugelhopf pan as soon as I can, dust it off and bake this myself, along with the Rugelach from last week!

Yes, my kitchen is semi-finished now and it looks great! There is still a unit of drawers that have not arrived yet to be fitted, but once they are here, that should not take to long to finish. Then there is the re-tiling to do and of course my kitchen will need a coat of paint to cover up the spots where the new cupboards and the old cupboards don't actually fit! Look for some pictures real soon!

Speaking of pictures, I have something else to get used to now as well. My camera broke last Friday. (I know . . . sad!!! and I was just getting used to it!) Fortunately it was on warrantee so we have had it replaced, but since technology moves so quickly these days, it is not with the same camera and so I have to figure out the new one before I will be able to take any nice pictures with it. I should manage to do that today, hopefully. It is my short day afterall, and I don't work tonight . . . however . . .

It is my wedding anniversary!!! Yippee!! Yes, eight years ago today Todd and I were married to each other in a little Chapel in Wrexham, Wales and then afterwards we were sealed to each other for "Time and All Eternity" in the Preston Temple.
(Yes, that man is stuck with me F-O-R-E-V-E-R !)



It was a very simple wedding ceremony, and actually didn't cost us a cent, except for the wedding liscence. The Bishop of the Chester Ward married us at no charge, and the registrar was also a member of the church. (nobody in our church, at least at the local level, gets paid for the things they do) The wonderful ladies of the Chester Ward relief society provided refreshments for afterwards, lovely bubbly bottles of Schloer (mormon wine <=== Sparkling grape juice) and then our good friends Audrey and Peter drove us up to the Temple. (We didn't have a car at that point) I didn't really know anyone here that I could ask as a friend to stand up with me at the wedding, except for the lady who had so generously given me one of the rooms in her rooming house to stay in when I had come over to visit Todd and meet him for the first time, and then again when I had come over to live before we got married. She very kindly stood up with me, and Peter was Todd's best man. I wore a periwinkle blue suit, with a lovely jacket that was edged in beautiful matchng blue lace and had a pink rose corsage. Todd wore a brand new grey suit with a shirt and tie that matched my dress. My goodness but we did look dapper, at least I think we did. We certainly both had grins on our faces that stretched a mile wide. I know my face was aching for days afterwards. It would have been nice if I had been able to have some family with me to help me celebrate but alas, I would have to go and get married in a foreign country!! I am quite sure they were with me in mind and spirit.



Anyways, that was eight years ago today and you know what? The time has just flown by, as it does when you are having fun, and it hardly seems possible it has been that long. I am sure that some people in my family felt that I was making a huge mistake, and hadn't put enough thought into it, but I am happy to say that marrying Todd was the wisest decision I ever made in my life. Are things perfect??? Absolutely not! Nothing in life is. Are we meant for each other??? Absolultely yes! In him I have found my soulmate, and the other half of me that had been missing for my whole life. We get along like peas and carrots, bread and butter, kids and candy, Mutt and Jeff . . . We are two halves of a whole.

He is neat and tidy. I am messy. He is as tall and thin as I am short and fat. We compliment each other perfectly. We both love the Lord with all of our hearts. We both love each other with all of our hearts. Sometimes he is a grumpy old man. Sometimes I am a grumpy menopausal woman. Thankfully, this doesn't happen at the same time. We are best friends and companions, and there is no place on earth that either of us would rather be than right here with each other, and that's how it should be.



You know, Madonna met her Guy and moved over here at the same time as I did, and also got married around the same time. All along I have kind of thought to myself as I was going through all the things one has to go through to live over here, such as becoming nationalized and such, and I would say to myself . . . I bet Madonna has applied for her leave to stay . . . I bet Madonna has just applied for nationalization . . . etc. Well, Madonna and Guy are separated and getting divorced now , but thankfully Todd and I aren't!

I crossed an ocean to be with my "guy", and I'm staying put. He is my sweetie pie and my poochkins and all I ever wanted in a man and a partner. So today we celebrate our eight years together. We reflect on how much we mean to each other and tonight I will cook us a special meal. We'll put on some soft music to listen to and I dare say we may even take a turn or two around the kitchen tiles in each other's arms. I will look into his blue eyes and he will look into my hazel eyes and we will know that this was the best thing ever, that this IS the best thing ever and we will thank God for having brought us together. The end.



Here’s a simple little dessert that’s very easy to throw together and makes good use of those punnets of hard nectarines you buy at the shops that never seem to soften enough to eat before they go off and taste all mealy.




*Baked Nectarine Crumbles*
Serves 4

Quick, easy and cheap to do. You get the lovely fruity sweetness of juicy nectarines combined with the sweet crunch of an oatmeal praline on top. I like to serve this with dollops of thick plain yoghurt, but you could serve it with vanilla ice cream or pouring cream and they would be just as delicious!

4 firm, ripe nectarines, halved and stones removed
2 TBS plain flour
2 TBS cold butter, diced
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 TBS firmly packed soft light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 extra TBS butter diced
A drizzle of Framboise liqueur or Amaretto(Optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Put the nectarines, cut side up into a shallow baking tray and set aside.

Put the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until it is quite crumbly. Stir in the oats, sugar and cinnamon.

Drizzle the nectarines with the liqueur if using, then sprinkle the crumbled mixture evenly over the top of all. Dot the remaining TBS of butter over top and then bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the nectarines are soft and juicy and the crumble is golden brown. Serve warm with yoghurt, ice cream or cream.