Cultivating kindness . . .

"Train your minds and your hands that you may be equipped to serve well in the society of which you are a part. Cultivate the art of being kind, of being thoughtful, of being helpful. Refine within you the quality of mercy, which comes as part of the divine attributes you have inherited."
~Gordon B Hinckley

I like to think that I am a kind person. People have not always been kind to me, but I have always tried my hardest to be kind to others. It costs nothing to be kind and thoughtful, and I have found that the dividends that you reap in the long run, far outweigh anything you might perceive it as having cost you . . . things such as pride, or saving face. (pride goeth before the fall you know . . . )



Sometimes when others are being unkind to you, you may feel like you want to be unkind back, but there is more value to be had in turning the other cheek. When a nasty person is faced with a complete opposite reaction to what they were expecting, it often knocks them back a peg or two, and may even make them feel a bit sheepish for having been so nasty in the first place. They may think twice before being unkind to you another time.

When I was growing up, my father had a saying that he used to repeat to me and my siblings all the time. "You catch a lot more flies with honey than with vinegar." I often think about those words, and I can see the value in them now that I am an adult myself and have matured with time and experience. I find that in any given situation if I ask myself, "What would Jesus do" . . . and then follow up on that thought, by actually doing what I think He would do, I have made the wisest choice . . . and taken the higher road.

It's not always easy, in the heat of passion or anger, to do the right thing, or to react in kindness when faced with hurt, or negativity . . . but with time and practice it does come easier, and I can assure you that the feelings you walk away with are a lot nicer to live with than the alternative. The feeling that comes from knowing you have done the right thing is worth more than it's weight in gold, and feels so much better than knowing you could have done better or that the adversary has had another little victory in your life . . .



Try to do one kind thing each day and before long it has become a way of life . . . The truth is you always reap what you sow. Good karma begets good karma and life is so much sweeter. Just my thoughts this morning . . .



I am sorry if you came here looking for Tuesdays With Dorie this week. This week's challenge was Tiramisu Cake on pages 266 to 268 as chosen by My Baking Adventures by Megan. I just did not have the ingredients at hand. We don't do alcohol or coffee in our house either. Normally I would have tried to come up with another version but my brain just wouldn't co-operate this time around. If you want the recipe, do hop on over to Megan's page to check it out and as always you can check out the Dorie Blogroll to see what the others may have done. Next week's recipe is going to be a Lemon Tart, which is something I can do . . . in fact, hmmm . . . is this prophetic or what? (This is what I made yesterday afternoon . . . )



*Lemon and Raspberry Meringue Tart*
Serves 12
Printable Recipe

There was a recipe quite similar to this in the Good Food magazine this month using lemon curd as a filling. I much prefer my own lemon filling. It's creamy and quite delicious.

Pastry (your own or store bought) to fill a 10 inch tart case
For the filling:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sifted cake flour
1 TBS cornstarch
1/2 cup milk
1 cup boiling water
1 TBS butter
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 egg yolks (save the whites for the topping)
the grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
For the Meringue:
4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp cornstarch



Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Prepare your pastry and line your tart tin, leaving a bit of an overhand all around. Line with some parchment paper and fill with some baking beans or rice. Place on a baking sheet and bake blind for about 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and bake for another 15 minutes. Allow to cool. Trim the overhang off with a serrated knife when cool.

To make the filling: Whisk the sugar, cake flour, and cornstarch together in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Whisk in the milk until smooth. Wisk in the boiling water and butter. Cook and stir for approximately 20 minutes. It will have become quite thick. Whisk the egg yolks, lemon juice and lemon zest together in a small bowl. Whisk in a bit of the hot mixture to temper the eggs, and then wisk this mixture back into the hot mixture. Cook for no more than 5 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Set aside to cool.

Once the filling is cool proceed as follows.

Scatter 1 cup of the raspberries in the bottom of your tart shell. Spread the lemon filling over top.

Whisk the egg whites together in a large clean bowl until they are quite stiff. Whisk in the sugar in two batches, whisking back to shiny stiff peaks each time. Fold in the vinegar and cornstarch. Swirl the meringue over top of the lemon filling. Bake for 10 minutes until it is lightly golden.

Cool for 20 minutes before lifting out of the tin and onto a serving plate. Scatter the remaining raspberries over top and dust with a bit of icing sugar if desired.