Tasty Tuesday

“Any celebration meal to which guests are invited, be they family or friends, should be an occasion for generous hospitality.”

Julian Baggini

This is generous hospitality.

We are dressed in patriotic colors.
Grateful for this gracious hostess on the left.
In the front, can you see Hooch? 

Happy Birthday, William Shakespeare

"Shakespeare’s 450^th birthday happened this week.

Shakespeare was born on the same day that he died; April 23^rd. This happens to be St George’s Day, which is quite appropriate, considering that St George is England’s patron saint, and Shakespeare arguably England’s greatest writer.

He had three brothers and four sisters. When he married, he was 18 and his wife Anne was 26. They had 3 children, two daughters and a son called Hamnet, who died young. Their one granddaughter died childless, thus Shakespeare had no descendants. He left most of his property to his daughter, Susanna, and famously, his ‘second best bed’ to his wife. When he was buried, in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford, it was discovered that he had put a curse on anyone who moved his body. It read as follows:-

Good friend for Jesus’ sake forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here:
Blest be the man that spares these stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones.

No-one ever did!

Appropriately, there are thirteen incidents of suicide in his plays.

Shakespeare acted in many of his plays, and also collaborated with other writers from time to time.

His works are the second most widely quoted, second only to the Bible.

Though he is thought of as an Elizabethan playwright, most of his work was produced in the later, Jacobean era."

Penny across the pond

Eggs

     "In 2010, my husband and I had our last holiday in Montenegro. We had always enjoyed visiting other churches, in order to attend Sunday services there, during our stay, wherever we happened to be in the world, and always tried to find one closest to our own, in terms of denomination. This often wasn’t possible though, when traveling throughout Europe, but undaunted, we decided to try the local Greek Orthodox church in Budva.

It was a glorious sunny day, just perfect for Easter day, and the walk into the town was a pleasant one. However, we soon discovered that it wasn’t in fact Easter Sunday over there. Every few years, the date of Easter falls on the same day in the Western church as well as in the Greek Orthodox Church, but it can be up to four weeks different. This year, apparently, it was a week later.

The church was cool inside, but we immediately noticed several differences with our own place of worship back home. The men and women were standing, not sitting, and where on opposite sides of the church. It was quite uncomfortable having to stand throughout, although there was a low shelf which ran down the full length of the building, down the sides, on which we could ‘perch’, to relieve the strain abit. One thing was for sure; nobody would fall asleep in one of their services!    

Another difference was that many intricate icons adorned the walls, whereas apart from the simple, empty cross above our altar, and flower arrangement, ours is devoid of decoration. Of course, the service was not in our native tongue, but it’s easy to follow the proceedings, despite this, as they invariably follow a set pattern. The priest led the worship, but there was much singing, and others, including females, read lessons, etc. But the really lovely thing, and what sticks in my mind the clearest, was that before the service began, ladies had brought baskets, full of beautifully decorated hens eggs up to the altar, and laid them on the steps. The priest then blessed them, and they remained there throughout the service.

At the end, the ladies retrieved the baskets, and standing in the doorway, handed everyone, including us interlopers, with a hand-painted egg and a beautiful smile. We went out into the sunshine feeling truly blessed, and carefully packed the eggs in our luggage, for the return journey. We kept them in pride of place on the mantel shelf, for several years, as a reminder of our lovely, and final holiday together."

Penny from across the pond

Under the weather...

“I’m abit under the weather,” is a common expression we Brits use. As a nation, we are obsessed by the weather, and it’s the most common topic of conversation. Being taught that we have an equable climate here, it comes as something of a surprise to me to find that in recent years, this no longer appears to be true, and I wonder if schoolchildren in 2014 are still being told this ‘fact’.

"Since 2007, we have had several severe, nationwide flooding and storm crises, and in the last twelve months, there have been two such major incidents. Some areas have been under water since December 2013, and many home owners had no electricity for days over the Christmas period. So far, 2014 has been a miserable, desperate year for many of us.

In the little town of Dawlish, Devon, a popular holiday destination on the picturesque south coast, huge waves washed away the railway line, in unprecedented storms, and the farmers on the Somerset Levels, have been forced to abandon their farmsteads and evacuate their livestock.

And there is no let up, as forecasters inform us that there are weeks and weeks of it to come.

One of the side effects that we don’t think about is disease. This came home to me in a big (and expensive) way, when my little dog and precious companion, Millie was taken ill last Saturday, with a horrible sickness bug. A visit to the vet was imperative, given her condition. She ended up having to be admitted, put on a drip, having X rays and antibiotics. Thankfully, she is now back home with me, but our vet informed me that they had had many such problems due to the weather, and the fields where we dog walkers exercise our pets, being awash with sewage and other noxious and undesirable organisms, lurking in the stagnant water.

Almost three weeks ago, I became aware that my hearing, in one ear was failing. I did all the usual things and tried traditional remedies, like drops and syringing, but all to no avail. The doc put me on decongestants and steroids, but so far, there has been no improvement, and his opinion is that it is a deep-seated infection in the Eustachian tubes. All-in-all, it is a very depressing and tedious situation. So you see, when we Brits complain about the weather, I hope you will understand that we aren’t just being grouchy and negative, but, that with good reason, we really are feeling under the weather."

Penny across the pond

All things new ...

"At the end of every year, on December 31st, we get so excited about the prospect of the new year which is about to dawn. We have such high hopes and unreasonable expectations. People gather together with family and friends, or in large groups in public spaces such as Trafalgar Square, the Embankment, Times Square, Sydney and Dubai, to wave goodbye to the out-going year and celebrate the promise of the new one, with elaborate fireworks displays.

So much optimism; so many possibilities. Yet within a matter of a few hours, it all evaporates. This January, many of us have been battling widespread flooding once again. Something we all hoped was behind us, following a similar situation in 2012, which caused so much damage and disruption, and loss of life. Yes, it didn’t take long for us to start cursing 2014 and longing for January to be gone.

Many of us still make resolutions, and with the best of intentions vow to make changes which will improve our health, our wealth, our relationships, and if we aim really high, the plight of those less fortunate than ourselves, and the world in general.

Spring is a time for cleaning and sorting and stocktaking. Cupboards are emptied, paperwork is filed.  Rooms are tidied and redecorated. And in the removing of clutter, we feel better in our spirits when the physical and mental and emotional cobwebs are dusted off. We can think more clearly and react more logically. For a while,

For myself, I resolved to be more like my dear, late husband; more positive, tolerant and loving. He was such an inspiration, and I want to be worthy of him. Spring-cleaning and a healthier lifestyle involving taking more exercise also feature on my list of ‘must dos’. But even as I resolved all this, I know beyond doubt, that come February, they will be history, and both my house and me will be as messed up as before.

Really, in all honesty, the only new thing to have permanence in my life is a wonderful little granddaughter, Emily, a cousin for Sam, who is now almost fourteen. Aside from her, “Vanity, vanity. All is vanity. “As it says in Ecclesiastes. But I know that come December 2014, we will go through the whole business once again. And maybe that’s the human spirit and to use another famous quote about second marriages, from Samuel Johnson, is “The triumph of hope over experience”. I will just add that in my own case, my second marriage was a match made in heaven."

Penny from across the pond. 

Granny's Sugar Cookies

Granny’s Sugar Cookies

The holidays are full of memories for many and I am one of those with a polaroid camera full of memories.  You do remember those cameras.  The ones where the picture came out of the bottom of the camera. 

Every year, my girls and I set out on a mission to make Granny’s sugar cookies.  These are the cookies that my grandmother made for us each year to eat after the Christmas program at church.  The cookies are sugary, thick and buttery little masterpieces!  Out from the bottom drawer of the kitchen cabinet comes the wooden rolling pin, next comes the slightly tattered original recipe that my grandmother used when she made the cookies. Next, let the combining of ingredients begin. 

·      2 cups of flour

·      2 tsp. baking powder

·      ½ tsp. salt

·      ½ tsp. nutmeg

·      2 eggs

·      2/3 cup vegetable oil

·      1/tsp. vanilla

·      ¾ cups sugar (One year I mistakenly used salt)

o   Sift together flour baking powder salt and nutmeg.  Beat eggs in large bowl, stir in oil and vanilla.  Blend in sugar and add flour mixture.  Drop on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten cookies with an oiled glassed, dipped in sugar. 

The recipe seems simple enough, but let’s add a few twists and turns to this delightful experience.  This Christmas, we added Farm Fresh eggs.  “Can you get the eggs from the refrigerator Keiana?”  Let me get it; let me get them, screams came from both Kelaina and Keiana.  Both girls were so excited to be able to retrieve the eggs from the big black box that sits majestically in the corner of our kitchen.  No, the girls didn’t travel down the road less traveled to a red painted barn an bypass Wilbur to uncover the eggs.  But, they did have farm fresh, never been to a grocery store eggs.  After retrieving the eggs, they began to examine the eggs.  “Why mom, why do these eggs have dirt on them, what is that?”  Why, it’s bird poop!  These are farm fresh eggs!  You must wash them before each using them and wash your hands after using them?  “What are you kidding?”  You mean these came from the chicken’s butt?  OMG mom, why?  “What is wrong with you mom?  I  have never truly reviewed in detail a chicken’s private parts.  Nor, have I had the urge to do so.  And, we didn’t decide why the chicken crossed the road or which came first, the chicken or the egg.  However, we got past the chicken butt dilemma and moved into the sticky dough rollout and all of the sugar sprinkles.  You see, I have every color of sprinkle that a bakery would have and my girls want to use every drop.  The dough is rolled out on the cold marble surface and just the right cookie cutter is selected, an angel, a star, not so well formed Christmas tree.  Then, the sprinkles, red, green, yellow, U.K. blue, you take your pick; we have to add the sprinkles.  The problem comes about, when too many sprinkles are placed on a cookie and the sugar begins resembling a stained glass window. 

Did I mention that the older daughter volunteered me to make 300 cookies so that all of her friends could have some of the cookies before she went to break?  Three Hundred, 300, how many other ways can I say that?  A lot of cookies!  So, with that, we made chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, sugar cookies, fudge and even a few brownies!  We placed the cookies in baggies and boxes and tied them with ribbons and bows.  After placing the last cookie into the baggie, the youngest daughter made her request!  “Mom, can you make Puppy Chow for my class for tomorrow! “  For a minute, I thought I as on a new reality show, Extreme Baking challenge.  I tell you what, we had three straight nights of baking, and I wouldn’t change a thing. After all of the baking, the best part of all, is we made more memories, more stories to tell! 

When the girls and I first started baking, they couldn’t reach the counter.  They stood on chairs and stools to help me stir and mix the dough.  As the years have gone by, the girls have grown taller, one in particular, is taller than I.  However, the cookie recipe is the same, the rolling pin and our tradition is untouched.  The same cookie cutter still exists.  We have now switched from store bought to organic free range chicken eggs and I have a new story to tell!