Bliss

Bliss -noun
supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment: wedded bliss.
Theology . the joy of heaven.heaven; paradise: the road to eternal bliss.
Archaic . a cause of great joy or happiness.



A loving husband who does all that he can for me every day of my life . . . and who I can do the same for in return. There is great joy to be found in serving others . . . and especially when you serve the ones you love. It is not found in grandiose gestures . . . but in the small and simple things you do that may often go overlooked, or even taken for granted from time to time. Bliss comes . . .



Just as a bird feathers her nest . . . creating a warm and comfortable home, tweaking it here and there, making it a place of safety . . . a haven from the outside world . . . a refuge . . . a place filled with love and acceptance . . . small and everyday chores, small labours of love . . . with mop and broom and feather duster . . . with spoon and skillet . . . Bliss comes



A lesson taught . . . a lesson learned. Tears brushed away, hugs given . . . sharing all of the joy and all of the sorrow . . . the promise of bright tomorrows . . . amidst the darkness of yesterday . . growing together . . . unconditionally loving . . . unmade beds and socks on the floor . . . soft small heads . . . little arms that hold you close . . . small whispers of I love yous . . . dandelion bouquets . . . Bliss comes . . .



Tears and laughter . . . decisions made . . . letters written . . . homework done . . . hands held together . . . prayers of thanksgiving . . . bread broken . . . the celebrations of life . . . holidays shared . . . family . . . friends . . . Bliss comes . . .



High days and low days . . . the smell of baking bread and cakes . . . a hundred million dinners cooked, all labours of love . . . a thousand cups of tea . . . cookies baked together . . . laughter over suds . . . the squeak of clean glass . . . milk spilled . . . and then wiped up together . . . early morning radio shows . . . singing . . . home . . . Bliss comes . . .



Wags and licks . . . cuddles and nips . . . little whimpers of joy and then . . . whimpers of sadness . . . a warm welcome home . . . unconditional acceptance and love . . . no matter what . . . no matter when . . . laughter . . . memories built . . . little milestones passed . . . sniffles and snuffles . . . snorts and yelps . . . sit and stay . . . run and play . . . Bliss comes . . .



Atonement and forgiveness . . . covenants made and kept . . . a Saviour's undenying love . . . A Father's acceptance . . . learning . . . growing . . . finding our way home . . . togetherness . . . a place of solace . . . acceptance . . . love . . .always love . . . families forever . . . joy . . . peace . . . rest . . . Bliss comes . . .



It comes in many guises . . . in many shapes and sizes . . . in the familiar and in the unexpected . . . and when you're not even looking for it . . . here, and there, and everywhere . . . in the familiar . . . and in the not so familiar . . . it is all around us, beneath us . . . above us . . . it is here today and was here yesterday . . . will be here tomorrow . . . it shrinks . . . it grows . . . it is . . . Bliss comes . . . where is your bliss? Will you find it today? I hope so . . .



*Beefy Rigatoni Bake*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

Meaty and delicious, kind of like a loose lasagna. Your family will love this. Make sure you have plenty of crusty bread to help mop up all of that lovely sauce!!

For the meat sauce:
500g (1 pound) extra lean minced beef
1 TBS olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
2 TBS dried basil
3 TBS tomato puree
2 (400g) tins of chopped tomatoes in juice
2 TBS Balsamic vinegar
2 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
1 TBS sugar
salt and black pepper to taste

You will also need:
300g of rigatoni or other tubular pasta, cooked and drained
(about 2 cups dried)
600g of low fat cottage cheese, drained (about 2 cups)
100g of Parmesan cheese, finely grated (1 cup)
125g ball of Mozarella Cheese, sliced (1/4 pound)
2 aubergines, sliced into 1/2 inch slices (eggplants)
salt and black pepper
2 TBS olive oil



Put the sliced aubergine into a colander and sprinkle generously with salt. Set aside to drain.

Heat the olive oil for the meat sauce in a skillet. Add the onion, chili and garlic, Cook and stir until softened. Add the minced beef. Cook and stir until the meat is browned all over and is no longer pink. Add the tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, Worcestershire Sauce, Balsamic Vinegar, sugar and basil. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes on low. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary, adding salt and pepper if needed.

Rinse the aubergine slices and pat dry with some kitchen toweling. Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet and lightly brown them on both sides, working in batches.

Lightly butter a lasagna dish. Lay 1/3 of the browned aubergine slices in the bottom of the dish. Top with half of the pasta, half of the cottage cheese, half of the meat sauce and 1/3 of the Parmesan, in that order. Repeat the layers making sure you finish with the remainder of the aubergine slices and the Parmesan. Arrange the sliced Mozarella evenly over top. Bake in a preheated 190*C/375*F/ Gas mark 5 oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until browned and bubbling around the edges. Serve hot.



And in The English Kitchen today, Spiced Golden Syrup Jumbles. The perfect snack. They're blissful too . . . of course!