Wednesday thoughts . . .

There are some of us who can manage to get our acts together enough to be able to look pretty good all of the time. The reality is that there are a lot more of us that can only manage to do it some of the time. It's a lot of work, can be quite expensive and let's face it . . . who really wants to be "on" all of the time. My ex boss used to spend hours before she went out anywhere doing her hair, applying makeup, picking out the right clothes to wear, etc. etc.

I'm a fairly low maintenance woman, and I guess it shows. To be honest I just can't be bothered with all of the faff. I'm pretty much a take me as you get me kind of a girl!

Unfortunately there are too many people out there in the world who make our outside packaging count for far more than it really should. They are quick to judge and quick to form opinions, based on what the media tells us that we should look like, or what size we should be, or what clothes we should wear, etc. etc. and I'm ashamed to say that I have certainly been guilty of it on occasions myself.



But really . . . what's on the outside really matters very little in the eternal scheme of things. All the money in the world, makeup, designer clothing, bo-tox, up to date hairdo's and other worldly things cannot buy a person true beauty . . . the beauty that radiates from within.

"Beauty is an internal light, a spiritual radiance that all women have but most women hide, unconsciously, denying it's existance. What we do not claim, remains invisible."
~Marianne Williamson, A Woman's Worth

If we spent as much time pampering our souls and feeding our spirits, I think we might find that we'd need far less of the outer trappings of beauty, as our outsides would be magically transformed with the radiant light of our spiritual growth and beauty from within. Joy is probably the best face lift we could ever experience. Let's face it . . . how could anything created by God ever be anything less than beautiful???



I just love lamb and never tire of looking for and trying out different ways of preparing it. This tasty dish came from a supermarket magazine. It's quick, easy and very delicious!




*Lamb with Couscous*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Tasty lamb cutlets with a delicous houmous dressing, served on a tasty bed of couscous!

8 lamb cutlets
2 TBS olive oil
the juice of one lemon
1 TBs fresh thyme leaves

For the couscous:
250g of coucous (a generous half pound)
400g tin of chickpeas (2 cups garbanzo beans)
6 TBs pinenuts, toasted
4 small tomatoes roughly chopped
small bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
the juice of one lemon

For the dressing:
200g tub of prepared houmous (about a cup)
200g tub of no fat Greek Yoghurt (about a ciup)
the juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 bunch of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

Preheat your grill to high. Place the cutlets into a shallow dish with the oil, lemon juice and thyme. Turn to coat. Set aside.

Place the couscous into a bowl. Cover with boiling water. Leave to set for 10 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. Fluff up with a fork and stir in the drained chickpeas, pinenuts, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, oil and lemon juice. Mix well.

Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

Place the lamb cutlets onto an oiled grill pan. Place under the heated grill and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until cooked to your liking.

To serve, pile the coucous onto plates, placing two cutlets on top of each and spooning on a bit of the dressing. Pass the remainder of the dressing at the table.



In The English Kitchen today, a delicious Lime and Ginger Posset!