2013!

 

 

My Blessings to You...
“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself!"

Shel

Chocolate Christmas Cookies~

WOOLIES COOKIES (RECIPE MAY BE HALVED AS THIS MAKES HEAPS)

2 (500 ML) CUPS BUTTER
680 G CHOCOLATE CHIPS
4 (1000 ML) CUPS FLOUR
2 (500 ML) CUPS BROWN SUGAR
2 TSP. (10 ML) BICARBONATE OF SODA
1 TSP. (5 ML) SALT
2 (500 ML) CUPS SUGAR
500 G GRATED CADBURY CHOCOLATE
5 (1250 ML) CUPS BLENDED OATMEAL
4 EGGS
2 TSP. (10 ML) BAKING POWDER
2 TSP. (10 ML) VANILLA
3 CUPS (375 ML) CHOPPED NUTS (OPTIONAL)

MEASURE OATMEAL, AND BLEND IN A BLENDER TO A FINE POWDER. CREAM THE BUTTER AND BOTH SUGARS. ADD EGGS AND VANILLA, MIX TOGETHER WITH FLOUR, OATMEAL, SALT, BAKING POWDER, AND BICARBONATE OF SODA. ADD CHOCOLATE CHIPS, GRATED CHOCOLATE AND NUTS. ROLL INTO BALLS, AND PLACE TWO INCHES APART ON A COOKIE SHEET. BAKE FOR 10 MINUTES AT 180 C..

THE ABOVE QUANTITIES MAKE 112 COOKIES. ENJOY!

Little Shortbread cookies....recipe here.

All this tradition makes the holidays so exciting xx

Couldn't resist doing a final post for 2012!

Shel xx

Merry Christmas ♥

It's a silent night here at Solomon ♥

For me it's a different Christmas
perhaps the true meaning is being shown to me in a very real way~
No hustle and bustle~

We have our boys with us ~
There's stillness in the air~
beautiful soft rain is trickling down my study window as I jot my heart's thoughts~
a fire burning outside for the traditional 'braai'

Thank you to all of you for making my year special~
you have all touched me in some way or other~

thank you for beautiful emails, gifts and comments left here~

As the sun sets on today, my wish for you is a peaceful Christmas Day and the year ahead filled with blessings!

 

 

 

"May peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all through the year.! "

 

Love Shel ♥

My dad xx

Two years have past today but we hold onto our beautiful memories of you, dear dad!

2 Corinthians 5: 1
We know that if the heavenly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made of hands, eternal in the heavens.

Go upon your journey, dear soul, to love, light and life eternal!

Shel

Caramelised onion marmalade and bacon quiche

Something a little different in these quiches today~
A few things I had on hand and someone extremely hungry ~




 The recipe~

for the pastry
equal amounts of melted butter and AP flour. Add salt, ground pepper and a dash of paprika.
Once all incorporated I add a handful of sharp cheddar ~ (this can be to your taste)
Bake blind for 5 minutes in the greased quiche pans.

for the filling.
1 tsp of onion marmalade on the bottom of the pastry
then a few small pieces of crisp bacon, some fresh thyme.
Then I make a thick rich cheddar cheese sauce, remove from the heat and allow to cool down.
I then beat one whole egg and an egg yolk into the sauce and spoon delicately over the bacon and onion marmalade. Crumble goats cheese/feta over and a sprinkling of thyme.
Bake for 15 minutes at 180deg C approx.
Serve on a bed of rocket and a crisp salad.

 

Nicely puffed and golden brown~

 

 

 

 

 

Some young man enjoyed this whole platter for lunch!

Enjoy! ♥

Blueberry coffee cake, easy peasy pasta and my roses~

A great weekend of sun at last ~
Time with special friends♥, yummy food and our first swim of the season....
I'm first showing off more of my beautiful roses!

Double Delights in a very special little hessian bag all the way from Canada ♥

 the easy peasy pasta ......

here is my recipe for a delicious quick and easy pasta~
1 pkt of Knorr dry "Chicken Ala King" sauce
fry a few chicken boneless thighs, a touch of garlic with some sweet peppers, an onion (or a few shallots), mushrooms, brocolli tender stems and about 150g of streaky bacon (panchetta is better)
Add 250ml cream to pkt of Knorr sauce and mix well. I also add 250ml  fat free milk.
Toss this sauce with pasta of your choice.
Serve with shavings of parmessan cheese
Delicious for someone studying ♥

Then onto a lovely refreshing pound cake I found here ♥

 

 

 

 

 

Now onto more of my roses ......

 

 

  ♥ this rose called Blue Moon!

 little tussie mussie  from my garden for a dear old friend ~

Take care!
Shel

I'm sharing my roses with Saturady Showoff.
A Return to lovliness!
and Teatime Tuesday

Food for my Soul~

 

 

            “Each of us will have to give a personal account to God.” (Romans 14:12 NLT)


I am back from a lovely break in my other home~ Cape Town.
This past week has been quite harsh~

A lot of tears, a lot of grief, a birthday in heaven...
How I have battled to focus....yet life must go on.....and dear ones left behind just somehow have to cope with it all~

I love this particular phrase from a poem of compassion~ 

"I have only slipped away into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other
That we are still"

To my mother ♥ , my darling friend, my beautiful cousin and her family members~ I am so glad I was and am still a part of you all!

We are here for each other and remember that God wants us to learn to love and serve others unselfishly.

Love Shel ♥