Finding joy in the everyday

D uring the week I go searching for "the" recipe I plan to make on Saturday. I have to admit I am enjoying this little project I have set myself and even my dear husband wants to get involved and make a recipe occassionally himself.   This weeks recipe was " CHICKEN MAKHANI " from my 200 Curries cookbook, a book I have had for quite some time but never tried any of the recipes. Ingredients : 150g (5oz) unsalted cashews 2 tablespoons medium curry powder 4 garlic cloves, crushed 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger root 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar 100g (3 1/2 oz) tomato puree 150g (5 oz) natural yoghurt 750 g (1 1/2 lb) skinless chicken thighs cut into bit sized pieces 50 g (2 oz) butter 1 onion, finely chopped 1 cinnamon stick 4 green cardamon pods 1 teaspoon chilli powder 400g (13 oz) canned chopped tomatoes 150ml (1/4 pint) chicken stock 100 ml single cream 4 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander, to garnish Method : In a non sti

Old water tank Artist: Nikita Nomerz Russian Street Artist In a strange way I like these art works, different to other art that I have shared with you . . . a great way to turn old and falling down into something clever and eye-catching. Quirky is how I would describe them. What do you think of this sort of art? Nikita Nomerz is a street artist that turns derelict structures in "living" creatures by adding eyes and facial features. Nikita Nomerz's work ranges from water towers painted to look like they're laughing to dilapidated buildings with broken window frames for eyes. Nomerz, from the western Russian city of Nizhniy Novgorod, travels around various cities in his homeland to carry out his art.  He doesn't spend hours on each piece, some take less than an hour to complete. Did you enjoy these?

A few books my mother has given to me I have a collection of old books that my mother has given me. These are books she read as a girl and ones I also read as a girl. They may be old and mean very little to others, but to me they are treasures that I hope one day to pass on to my children and their children. That is the joy of books . . . they can be shared and given to others to enjoy. You can share a book with a friend to cheer them up, you can pass books onto people who may not be able to afford to buy books, you can share books with members of your bible study to help them grow . . . but most importantly, they can be past through the generations. When I say books, I am referring to the paper book, those that smell and have texture, those that can be held and flicked through . . . not the electronic ebook that has very little character at all.  Whilst I see the attraction of the ebook and I have a collection of them myself . . . I still cling to the paper version of books,

I  thought I would write a series  called " Keeper of the home for busy ladies ", in particular for those, like me, who work outside the house either full-time or part-time.  However, we are all busy ladies and we all need as much encouragement as possible to get through the week in one piece.  Part: Part  one ,  two ,  three ,  four ,  five  , six , seven Part 8: Dealing with a lousy day We all have lousy days.  It doesn't matter whether it is a mum/wife at home or one that goes of to work, some days just don't go to plan . . . they turn out horrible. By the end of the day we are grumpy, snappy, tired, worn-out and basically fed up. So what do you do?  I usually cook something very simple for dinner that requires no brain power, followed by crawling onto the couch and up my feet up and watch something silly and try and recover.  Below are 10 tips for recovering from a lousy day. These aren't my bright ideas (I wish they were), but I

Do we need to ban certain food because people do not know how to consume in moderation? When I was a child we had fizzy drinks and lollies on special occasions -- Christmas and birthdays were two of those occasions.  Now everyone consumers fizzy drinks all the time, quite often in large quantities. An entire aisle at my local supermarket is dedicated to fizzy drinks and chips (another aisle is dedicated to lollies and a third aisle to alcohol) -- it shows how much we buy. I work with a man (yes, a health fanatic) who drinks bottles of diet coke every day (2-4 litres per day .500/1 gallon) and sees nothing wrong with it.   New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg bans big soda ban. He believes that banning the bubbles will combat obesity, diabetes, and other health problems plaguing the people of the Big Apple. ( link ) It appears, considering the obesity epidemic we are currently witnessing, that people cannot eat or drink in moderation.  On top of all the fizzy drinks (t

W hilst our winters are cold and frosty , the days are generally sunny with lovely blue skies. With a few sunny weekends, I have been able to get out into the garden (one of my favourite places) and plant our winter veggies.  I haven't done much winter veg growing in the past, so this is a bit of an experiment for me, so far everything is going well (if only the cat stops lying on top of the veggies).  My dad is my advisor, so when not sure, I get on the phone and ask.  And thanks to dad, I discovered that snow peas grow very well in winter so I planted lots of them and so far they are doing very well.  This was taken just before I covered the bed with sugar cane mulch to keep it warm. I use spinach all through winter, both in soups, pastas and stews but also as a salad veg - I have planted lots of this and can't wait to use it regularly.   I grew spinach last year and it did very well - this time I have tripled the amount!! One can never have too much spinach. I

This weeks recipe is COCHIFRITO from my cookbook " Jewish Traditions Cookbook ". The background to the recipe is interesting: the name of the dish means "fried pork". The punishment for eating Jewish food in Spain during the dark days of the inquisition was severe, so this dish was probably called pork as a protection act.  It can be cooked with lamb or pork.  Ingredients : 800g (1 3/4 lb) tender lamb, cubed or strips 2 tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, chopped 5 garlic, finely chopped (or grated) 1 teaspoon paprika* juice of 2 lemons 1 tablespoon chopped parsley salt and pepper to taste * I used 3 tablespoons of paprika which I thought improved it no end.     I also added 1 red capsicum (sliced) at the same time as the onions. Method : Season lamb with salt and paper. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the meat in handfuls followed by the onion, pushing the meat around the pan to brown all over. All more meat to the pan as each b

Grace Artist: Stephen Gjertson Born 1949, Minneapolis, Minnesota Style: Classical Realism I have never done this before, but this artist deserves two appearances as I love his work so much. This week are his beautiful paintings of mothers, women and children - so delicate, touching and realistic. Part 2 will be his still life paintings . . . flowers that are exquisite to look at. Gjertson decided to make art his profession while drawing Pilgrims at Thanksgiving in the third grade. And that is just what he did.  He began painting flowers and fruit and has since gained a considerable reputation for his elegant still life's. He also paints landscapes and the ones I am sharing with you today - portraits. His wife (Patricia) and his four children have all modelled for him in paintings. He paints biblical themes. His style of art is known as "Classical Realist". It is classical because it exhibits a preference for order, beauty, harmony and completeness, i

I have watched many nature documentaries, but Earthflight would have to be one of the best (my son certainly thinks so). It is excellent to say the least - so good it deserves an Oscar.  What makes this series (6 - 1 hour episodes) so spectacular is the filming . . . it has been so cleverly shot that the viewer sees the world through the eyes of the birds . . . for once we get the birds eye view of the planet.  However to make it even more special it doesn't just focus on the birds, the series also shares with us the animals that the birds interact with or pass over on their migration journey - the wonderful dancing string rays (have a look at the clip at the bottom of this story - magical), the lions and polar bears, the wildebeest, the great white sharks. The last episode reveals how it was filmed, it is so clever. Each episode covers a different part of the world: North America, Africa, Europe, South America, Asia and Australia. The main focus is on the amazing migrat