I got it right today, that balance between work and life, thank goodness!
.
I worked all morning and relaxed all afternoon and this evening, well I guess a little bit of both!
Working my computer to learn more about this blogging lark, the nuts and bolts of it. I always jump into the deep end, just to see if I can cope and, when I seems to be managing this, I begin to start casting about for ways and means of utilising the site I'm inhabiting, finding out what is meant by such and such a term, learning how to use certain tools and ideas for self-promotion and generally endeavouring to get beneath the skin of what I'm doing.
So while doing this, I've been watching some interesting TV, talking to Alice the dog and having supper. Mmm! a small jacket potato with butter and my tuna onion soured cream filling plus dried mixed herbs and sliced pickled walnuts. These are a Christmas treat which, generally, we do not have after Christmas for there's never any left - we both love them so much!!! So supper tonight was a real treat and we only ate when we were actually hungry, as opposed to eating because it's the eating time-slot! I'm a creature of habit and meal times fall into definite time-frame, unless I'm so frantically busy, when I "graze", which is not in fact, considered to be a good plan. You eat too much and often the food is not savoured or even tasted - it's just fodder to keep you going and, well occasionally, that's OK.
So if I don't eat, don't actually make a break with work, sit down and do something different while eating, like relaxing, reading a newspaper or watching TV, then I'm not really enjoying my food. Plus, if I don't stop, sit down and eat, I find myself "picking" or "grazing" all afternoon long,, which isn't any good at all!
So I think I've got it right today and that's great! I wonder how I'll get on tomorrow?
Byeeee for now
Daisy
Friday, 31 January 2014
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
Life Thoughts!
"Communication is a
passion - by people, for people, of people. No communication, no
connection, no life...Communicate or fade away....."
"A cheery hello brings out
the sunshine - so, how much more warmth from ... a conversation, a video, a
blog, a telephone call, a letter, an article, even a book....whatever. We
were meant to connect so communicate....make your life bright, warm, amusing
and meaningful, and love your life...."
My recent thinking...!
I've only just realised how long it's been since last I wrote to you! It's a staggering twenty days and the tragic reason for this long absence of words has been me and my state of being!!!
I'm something of a workaholic who loves to get things done. It's just in my nature and a facet which has been nourished for years now, by me. It's a long-standing family joke that I keep myself busy to avoid thought. You know, that sort of thought which can bug you, morning 'til night time; the kind of thinking and thought that's just lodged in your head, which swirls about, keeping your subconscious busy, even when you're asleep.
It's there the moment you wake up, eats breakfast, coffee, lunch, tea and dinner with you, and often ruins your every waking moment. So, the busyness has a purpose!
Of course, busyness also comes from the realisation of the actuality of work. The chores, tasks and needs which must be taken care of, in every walk of life and situation. They seem to come with the territory you personally own or dwell in. The responsibilities which come from being a human being.
Of course, you can look the other way, thinking to let a chore become somebody else's responsibility. This works perfectly well for some and, for others, it's like a red rag to a bull. However, it's futile being cross, mostly, for generally speaking, crossness or anger, at another's neglect or carelessness, is normally felt by the holder and not the recipient, unless that same holder patiently or angrily conveys that emotion to the intended personality. Yes, you can blow your top at another, wring your hands, lament ingratitude or indolence and, sometimes, it is indeed, a very good thing to do, to clear the air and reach across the chasm of your feelings and reveal to another the depth of bad feelings you harbour because of that person's lack of perception. Sometimes it even works and both they, and you, emerge from the whole experience with a happier and more positive sense of self.
On the other hand, busyness often just stems the flow of bad feelings and remembrances of an earlier day or time from your own past, when making yourself actively busy could lead to a temporary termination of the turmoil within your own self. And, at times it works. Oh boy, do I know, and I do like to appreciate an experience before attempting to write about a thing.
The other aspect of perpetual busyness is the connection between living to work or working to live or, the work-life balance ratio question, which fills many a magazine or newspaper article. Mankind often does and, quite frequently, is made to work far too many long hours beyond what is considered reasonable and practicable. Overtime work may seem the key to a higher earning capacity, the better wage packet, the light at the end of a very long work-tunnel; even tunnel vision, viewed inadvisedly!
So, I've just been doing too many hours at my computer. Too many long daylight hours awake. Too many late nights and early morning rises, to get back to the job in hand. The end result of which has been two weeks of almost non-writing ability and a draining away of that tender human aspect, confidence.
Plus, of course, aches and headaches, and almost the beginnings of a cold - thank goodness - avoided like the plague eventually.
So two weeks lying low plus this last week, trying to sort out the muddle of inactivity and self-inflicted apathy, and here I am, catching up with myself and you too, dear reader.
It is the winter season, of course, and aren't we all still recovering from the over-eat / over-spend awful deliciousness of that mid-winter festival of Christmas! Being a working cook, the Christmas season has always prompted and produced ill-health and colds and 'flu, and I guess I'm still as prone to that as anybody, working or otherwise, because of course, we all expect too much of ourselves for this period of jollity and good seasoning, we all indulge in!!!
However, we shall all soon be feeling much more confident, for we've had the worst day of the year ie Monday, 20th January, so adjudged for its penetrating doom. The nights are drawing out and, although we still have the month of February to work thru' and, we could still have snow or, more snow, if you dear reader, live somewhere where snowfall is a regular winter hazard (and perhaps delight), thoughts of springtime are surely, somewhere just around the corner, and holiday company's are selling us golden beaches, wide-open blue skies and sunny climes, elsewhere, aren't they?
You see, we're already, all of us, feeling better already, aren't you? Hey!
And so am I, and work, well the condition of work and its availability, is always there and I guess the problem of over-working is just something - a problem - which all of us must constantly be on our guard against. And....for when constant activity and work-indulgence brings great financial reward, personal achievement and feelings of self-contentment.....I guess that's one of the highs of life we all enjoy at times.
Ah ha, I hear myself think. It's all a matter of balance which, as I'm often thinking and talking about, is probably one of the hardest human conditions to achieve, maintain and retain. Now that really is an activity we may all pursue to our utmost for, ultimately, it is for our betterment and feelings of self-worth which must, surely, be of good use to all mankind, and to each and everyone of us.
Happy balancing everybody!
Daisy
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
How's your New Year going? - Tuesday, 7th January 2014
For Christmas, my sister gave me a pot of Gourmet Quince Paste, made by Emily Foods of Spain - www.emilyfoods.com and now it's all gone.
This is a great pity, for it's a delicious addition to many foods and subliminal on hot buttered toast, gluten-free or gluten-rich. I've tried both so do know what I'm talking about!
I've even made quince paste myself, and spiced quinces flavoured with coriander. This same sister also, once had a beautiful old quince tree in one of her gardens and one year, because she had such a large crop of fruit, she kindly gave me a bagful of this most precious fruit, which I excitedly took home and turned into Membrillo and fruit leather!
Now, from experience, I must say I was very disappointed with the Spanish quinces I used once. Perhaps they were just old stock, or simply dry but, the cut-thru' fruit presented a totally dry and cotton-wool "fluffy-papery look" which did not cook well at all. I have not used Spanish quinces again so perhaps this was just a one-off bad experience. I hope my remarks don't give offence to any one - they are not meant to - but I must speak out as I find!
The quince is close to an apple and in-between a pear and an apple. It's quite a solid fruit, with a yellow-y coloured skin with, sometimes, a soft-down, and in appearance may look lumpy. A softening quince, left overnight in a closed room, will sweetly scent that room, rather like a Hyacinth plant does; it's a joy to have in the kitchen.
An ancient fruit, most probably known to mankind before the apple and could very likely be the "golden apple" of history, for its decidedly golden-yellow colour.
The quince is a great boon to the preserve maker, for the fruit has a very high pectin content, which produces an easy set to the preserve and is thus useful for use with other fruits which contain less pectin; used with unknown apples or pears (as opposed to a good "cooker" fruit), as from old or "wilding" apples, for an excellent preserve for eating with savoury dishes or roast meats and on hot buttered crumpets or toast. With dry water or cheese biscuits, and cheese, quince paste or a spiced quince, presents a delicious finish to a meal, also making a very good lunch-time dish, for the hungry appetite.
A quince paste may also be cooked "down further" to produce a mix that when dried on flat trays or dishes, cut into small squares and rolled in caster sugar (aka powdered sugar, American-style), gives a most delightful sweetmeat to devour with good coffee as a finale to an excellent dinner. We would still call this a "paste" but our American cousins style this sweetmeat a "fruit leather" which does sound rather more romantic, don't you think?
Membrillo is the Argentinian name for a quince preserve from the Portuguese "marmelo, 'quince'". I was terribly excited when first cooking this wonderful fruit and even more so when visiting cousins, who'd lived in the Argentine with their parents, spoke enthusiastically of this, to them, very well-known
food item.
Our modern word "marmalade" comes from the Portuguese word "marmelo" meaning "quince" which is, of course, a well-reduced preserve. In Medieval England, grand-high-table feasts always included towering displays of shaped quince paste, to complement the richness of the display. BTW - also displayed at such feasts, shapes of damson, eaten with the same gusto and enthusiasm as the quince.
The quince is made into confectionery, liqueurs, jams and preserves and is highly rated in many parts of the world, is a native fruit of South-West Asia and apparently was known as the "pear of Cydonia" according to my Concise Larousse Gastronomique P. 103l - ISBN 0-600-60009-2.
I love the quince for so many reasons - its historic connection, the scent and feel of its knobbly exterior and for all the wonderful preserves that may be prepared with this ancient and wonderful fruit.
I have written from the heart, because I hold this fruit in such high esteem, but I have checked out a few pointers with the following books in my kitchen library, namely -
the Concise Larousse Gastronomique ISBN 0-66-60009-2; Elizabeth David's Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen - English Cooking, Ancient and Modern - ISBN 0 14 046.163 9 ;
Mike Darton's A Potted History of Fruit - ISBN 978-1-907332-52-4 and to two Wikipedia Pages on Quinces;for Wikipedia's pages, I have made a donation, of a very small sum, to assist them with their work, for which I am very grateful.
Now I can't wait for next autumn's much hoped for generous harvest of quince fruit and a generous gardener to give me a few of his precious crop!!!...!
Happy eating and a fruitful year to all
Daisy
This is a great pity, for it's a delicious addition to many foods and subliminal on hot buttered toast, gluten-free or gluten-rich. I've tried both so do know what I'm talking about!
I've even made quince paste myself, and spiced quinces flavoured with coriander. This same sister also, once had a beautiful old quince tree in one of her gardens and one year, because she had such a large crop of fruit, she kindly gave me a bagful of this most precious fruit, which I excitedly took home and turned into Membrillo and fruit leather!
Now, from experience, I must say I was very disappointed with the Spanish quinces I used once. Perhaps they were just old stock, or simply dry but, the cut-thru' fruit presented a totally dry and cotton-wool "fluffy-papery look" which did not cook well at all. I have not used Spanish quinces again so perhaps this was just a one-off bad experience. I hope my remarks don't give offence to any one - they are not meant to - but I must speak out as I find!
The quince is close to an apple and in-between a pear and an apple. It's quite a solid fruit, with a yellow-y coloured skin with, sometimes, a soft-down, and in appearance may look lumpy. A softening quince, left overnight in a closed room, will sweetly scent that room, rather like a Hyacinth plant does; it's a joy to have in the kitchen.
An ancient fruit, most probably known to mankind before the apple and could very likely be the "golden apple" of history, for its decidedly golden-yellow colour.
The quince is a great boon to the preserve maker, for the fruit has a very high pectin content, which produces an easy set to the preserve and is thus useful for use with other fruits which contain less pectin; used with unknown apples or pears (as opposed to a good "cooker" fruit), as from old or "wilding" apples, for an excellent preserve for eating with savoury dishes or roast meats and on hot buttered crumpets or toast. With dry water or cheese biscuits, and cheese, quince paste or a spiced quince, presents a delicious finish to a meal, also making a very good lunch-time dish, for the hungry appetite.
A quince paste may also be cooked "down further" to produce a mix that when dried on flat trays or dishes, cut into small squares and rolled in caster sugar (aka powdered sugar, American-style), gives a most delightful sweetmeat to devour with good coffee as a finale to an excellent dinner. We would still call this a "paste" but our American cousins style this sweetmeat a "fruit leather" which does sound rather more romantic, don't you think?
Membrillo is the Argentinian name for a quince preserve from the Portuguese "marmelo, 'quince'". I was terribly excited when first cooking this wonderful fruit and even more so when visiting cousins, who'd lived in the Argentine with their parents, spoke enthusiastically of this, to them, very well-known
food item.
Our modern word "marmalade" comes from the Portuguese word "marmelo" meaning "quince" which is, of course, a well-reduced preserve. In Medieval England, grand-high-table feasts always included towering displays of shaped quince paste, to complement the richness of the display. BTW - also displayed at such feasts, shapes of damson, eaten with the same gusto and enthusiasm as the quince.
The quince is made into confectionery, liqueurs, jams and preserves and is highly rated in many parts of the world, is a native fruit of South-West Asia and apparently was known as the "pear of Cydonia" according to my Concise Larousse Gastronomique P. 103l - ISBN 0-600-60009-2.
I love the quince for so many reasons - its historic connection, the scent and feel of its knobbly exterior and for all the wonderful preserves that may be prepared with this ancient and wonderful fruit.
I have written from the heart, because I hold this fruit in such high esteem, but I have checked out a few pointers with the following books in my kitchen library, namely -
the Concise Larousse Gastronomique ISBN 0-66-60009-2; Elizabeth David's Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen - English Cooking, Ancient and Modern - ISBN 0 14 046.163 9 ;
Mike Darton's A Potted History of Fruit - ISBN 978-1-907332-52-4 and to two Wikipedia Pages on Quinces;for Wikipedia's pages, I have made a donation, of a very small sum, to assist them with their work, for which I am very grateful.
Now I can't wait for next autumn's much hoped for generous harvest of quince fruit and a generous gardener to give me a few of his precious crop!!!...!
Happy eating and a fruitful year to all
Daisy
 |
| Quince Paste by Emily Foods of Spain - delicious! |
Friday, 3 January 2014
Well, it's happened and here we are - Thursday, 2nd January, 2014 - it's life as it happens....
The fireworks, the toasting, the New Year resolutions and the past-party recovery day, when the skies above us were black and threatening, and tea and buttered toast were required, have gone by/
Of course, the day progressed, Alice took me for a walk and by lunch time, the world was looking very much better, albeit still very windy.
Wasn't it good, spending time with friends and loved ones, neighbours and acquaintances? Watching the fireworks explode into the night sky, over the River Thames, hearing the oohs and ahs of those actually there, and we at home.
Well, now we're here, on the 2nd day of January, the day got off to a good start, with bright sunlight flooding the morning, and no rain. This time is the tail end of the period of calm between Christmas Day and New Year's Day, when some of us are still at home, enjoying that close-knit feeling of being with kith and kin, when the house is still full of food and we're still excited about our received Christmas presents.
For many, the working world is up and running again with work issues to contend with, co-workers to get-a-long with and hours to juggle.
We're being warned of the possibility of worse weekend weather, of storms, wind and rain and I'm currently pleased snow has not been forecast. Very hopefully, the weather forecasts will not prove to be absolutely correct and folks will not suffer, as before and just recently.
Also,that emergency services are ready and primed to assist and support affected areas.
I've never experienced storm or water damage, and can only imagine how truly dreadful it must be, to have your home deluged by rain, raging torrents of overflowing rivers, mud and debris.
I do wish the best of luck to everybody caught up with the anticipated and forecasted foul weather. if and when it happens, as foretold by newscaster, weather-forecasters and meteorologists today.
Let's hope it all just doesn't happen quite as suggested...
Bad luck is one thing...but it becomes very personal when it happens to you, and you have to cope with the fall-out!
Alice and I have just been out for a first walk. I was trying to find something bright and cheerful to photo-snap but was not successful. So here instead, my Christmas greenery to brighten up the morning -
Daisy
Of course, the day progressed, Alice took me for a walk and by lunch time, the world was looking very much better, albeit still very windy.
Wasn't it good, spending time with friends and loved ones, neighbours and acquaintances? Watching the fireworks explode into the night sky, over the River Thames, hearing the oohs and ahs of those actually there, and we at home.
Well, now we're here, on the 2nd day of January, the day got off to a good start, with bright sunlight flooding the morning, and no rain. This time is the tail end of the period of calm between Christmas Day and New Year's Day, when some of us are still at home, enjoying that close-knit feeling of being with kith and kin, when the house is still full of food and we're still excited about our received Christmas presents.
For many, the working world is up and running again with work issues to contend with, co-workers to get-a-long with and hours to juggle.
We're being warned of the possibility of worse weekend weather, of storms, wind and rain and I'm currently pleased snow has not been forecast. Very hopefully, the weather forecasts will not prove to be absolutely correct and folks will not suffer, as before and just recently.
Also,that emergency services are ready and primed to assist and support affected areas.
I've never experienced storm or water damage, and can only imagine how truly dreadful it must be, to have your home deluged by rain, raging torrents of overflowing rivers, mud and debris.
I do wish the best of luck to everybody caught up with the anticipated and forecasted foul weather. if and when it happens, as foretold by newscaster, weather-forecasters and meteorologists today.
Let's hope it all just doesn't happen quite as suggested...
Bad luck is one thing...but it becomes very personal when it happens to you, and you have to cope with the fall-out!
Alice and I have just been out for a first walk. I was trying to find something bright and cheerful to photo-snap but was not successful. So here instead, my Christmas greenery to brighten up the morning -
Daisy
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