Sunday 5 July 2009

Marie's Sunday Six . . .



Here it is the first Sunday of July, 2009! I have lots of smile makers this week, so best get started!




Hooray for the "Dog Days" of summer. Yes, we've had a really hot and humid week this week, which might be cause for complaint as I don't do humidity really well. But . . . it's been dry and the sun has shone, and the garden has grown by leaps and bounds! Our two fans have been working overtime, but that's ok. It will be back to rain and cold soon enough!



Yay for Facebook! I was able to get back in touch with a couple of friends from High School this week, which was great! It's been real fun catching up on all that has happened in their lives and sharing with them all the news of my life. I don't really spend a lot of time on facebook actually. I mostly just swoop in and then out. Mostly I just use it to scoop pictures of my grandsons and to see what my kids are up to, so it was really nice to find these two gals on there! I also ended up doing a "How Mormon Are You" Quiz on there, which came out that I am 100% Mormon. No surprise there!!



Yay, too, for losing weight this week and getting in more exercise. It's no secret that I have a rather rotund figure and I have been working hard these past few weeks on taking some of it off. I know, the food I post on here doesn't look like the food a slimmer would be eating and the simple answer is, I'm not eating it! Oh, I taste a lot, but Todd is the main eater, and my friends. I like to bring something special up to them at work for their elevenses, and Todd, well . . . he's the original stick man. He could eat for England and never gain an ounce, lucky man! Anyhow, I'm down about a stone now and have been taking nice long walks every day. It's a good thing . . . as Martha would say!



Yay, for the monthly Scripture Study group that I belong to. We had our monthly meeting on Friday last and, as usual, we had a wonderful evening together. It's so much fun getting together with like-minded people that you love and sharing thoughts and ideas together. We've been doing this with the same crowd for about 2 years now and Todd and I both really enjoy it. It's the highlight of our month, or at least one of them at any rate! Todd really loves to study scripture and bible prophecy anyways, and he really enjoys getting together and sharing the things he's discovered in the past month. I am not so great at studying scripture, probably because I don't have as much free time, but I do love to read scripture and I like to talk about it with people, so, really . . . it's a win/win situation!



We're all going on a summer holiday, summer holiday . . . lalala . . . (Darn . . . now I'll be singing that song all day in my head!) Yes, I'm going on my summer holidays, TOMMORROW! Yay!! I'm really looking forward to them. No surprise there either! I think when you happen to live where you work, well . . . it's really important to get away. If you try to take holidays and stay home, you only end up being called upon to do stuff anyways, so going away is the best thing really. As I have said we are off to Austria tommorrow and then when we get back from there, we are off to Broadstairs to stay with some friends for a week. It will be really nice to just relax and not have to worry about anything at all. Jess is going to her holiday camp as well. She always stays with some people from our church. They have six kids and so she will get lots of attention and activity for the next fortnight, and then, it's home to boring old us again!!



I finally got another piece of art done! That really made me smile. My fingers have been itching for weeks to get at some and I was so happy to finally get one done. If you want to see the whole piece you'll have to go to my page at Blossom Time Creations. I think she will make a really sweet Christmas Card, what do you think? I added word verification to the comments on that page and so far this morning I have not had any porn links dropped on it. So far, so good, fingers crossed. I think it's despicable that people go around doing things like that. How small minded and warped can you be? Anyways, this little gal really made me smile and I hope she makes you smile too!!!



I made these lovely little Madeleines the other day to serve with a lucious Lemon Mousse. It was the first time I had made Madeleines and I was so surprised at how easy they were to make! I don't know why I waited so long!!! The hardest part was having to wash the madeleine pan so often in between baking each batch. It's probably a lot better if you have two pans. Oh, and any batter that you can't use as madeleines bakes up great as cupcakes. (Yes, I got tired after about 3 batches. This recipe makes rather a lot!)




*Lemon Madeleines*
Makes quite a lot
Printable Recipe

These are like tiny baby lemon sponges, each one a heavenly bite just for you!

5 large eggs
200g (7 ounces) caster sugar
finely grated zest of one lemon
200g (7 ounces) plain flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
185g (6 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Icing sugar to dust



Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Whisk the eggs and sugar together with an electric whisk until they are pale yellow in colour and fluffy. Stir in the lemon zest. Fold in the flour, baking powder and melted butter. Leave to rest for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into well buttered madeleine trays and bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or a little bit longer until they test done. Repeat as necessary. Cool on wire rack and dust with icing sugar before serving.



You can find the recipe for the Lemon Mousse, over here, on The English Kitchen. It really was fabulous! Nice and light . . . the perfect recipe for a hot summer's day!


10 comments:

  1. I have never tried Madeleines either. They look lovely, I better get myself a pan.

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  2. Such a fun post--bursting with fun and excitement, Marie! Super you've been in touch with old friends, and will soon see your friends in Broadstairs too. So happy you're off on your holidays tomorrow--HOORAY! Wishing you & Todd safe, happy travels and that you enjoy every moment in Austria! :o) Look forward to photos and news when you get back. Congrats on the weight loss...I know how hard you've been working on that one. And LOVE your new painting--so sweet. Madeleines...I LOVE madeleines! My madeleine pan and all baking pans haven't had much work out lately though--it's been too, too HOT for baking here for 2-3 week. Rain at last today has cooled things down. Look forward to catching up with you when you get back from your holidays! LOVE YOU HEAPS ((BIG HUGS))

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  3. Marie, I hope you have a lovely time on your vacation. If you are not blogging on a laptop while away, I surely will miss you. Enjoy!

    Hugs, Bonnie

    P.S. Congratulations on losing a stone surrounded by food all day. Wow! I read another blog of a professional chef that lost over 200 pounds in one year. Not healthy to lose so fast but he did it and looks and feels amazing. It is such a struggle for me~always on my mind it seems. Just wanting to be healthy is my motivation. Good for you!!

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  4. Congrats on your weight loss! That's wonderful! Have a great time on holiday! I'll miss you!

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  5. Hi Marie: I've been away from the computer for awhile but I just spent a few moments catching up with you and enjoying you posts of the last week. I've missed you. Congrats on the weight loss! And, have a wonderful holiday. Especially the week with your friends. Sounds like heaven to me just now. Hugs, Jan

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  6. Oh, Madeleines ... yummy! Love the pics, they are wonderful. Safe & enjoyable travels ... TTFN ~Marydon

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  7. I want those lemon cookies. I think on fast Sunday I should wait until after dinner to look at your blog....now all I can think about is having one of those cookies.

    I am proud of you losing weight...unfortunately I think I found it... it is an endless battle with me.

    Have a great trip. I can't wait to hear about it. I will miss you while you are away but in my mind's eye I will see you spinning away on top of a hill side singing "The Hills are alive with the sound of music."

    I am sending love to you and Todd. XOXOX Lura

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  8. Oh, well done lovely friend on losing weight. At least I have a choice of whether to be looking at food or not, for you it's there all the time.

    dID YOU SAY YOU'RE GOING ON HOLIDAY?????????

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  9. Marie, the madeleines look just LOVELY. I have made them once and they turned out fine. Don't know why we (bakers) don't make them more frequently. Yours looks so delicious. Will have to look up the lemon mousse to go along with them too. Your photos are excellent too!

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