Heard of Myers Briggs – try this out…..

My Bloginality is ESFJ!!!

The bookworm

I love reading and don’t get to read often enough. There was a short quiz on someone elses blog about books that appealed to my bookworm nature called ‘One Book….’ – here are my responses, what are yours?

Name One book that….

• changed your life – ‘Whats so amazing about grace’ by Philip Yancey
• you read more than once – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• you would want on a desert island – The answer I think I should put! – ‘The Bible’ (Perhaps the Message translation.)
• made you laugh -‘Showbusiness – the diary of a rock and roll nobody’ by Mark Radcliffe
• made you cry -‘Expecting Adam’ by Martha Beck
• you wish you’d written -‘The Vision and the Vow’ by Pete Grieg
• you wish had never been written -‘Mein Kampf’ Hitler
• you are currently reading -‘The Fourth Bear’ Jasper Fforde
• you have been meaning to read- ‘The Divine Conspiracy’ Dallas Willard
• reminds you of your childhood – Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• you’d like to write – a story about finding life in the simple things

Let me know your number one books!!!

Fabulous lower-fat Fish and Chips

My fiance’s favourite meal….well one of his favourites… is fish and chips. He probably likes it because of the greasy, starchiness of the chips and the batter – Dave seems to have taste for all the foods that are just lethal for you cholesterol levels! My mum and I attend “Fat Club” – a Rosemary Conley diet and fitness class, neither of us are particularly religious about sticking to the diet (in fact we blatantly flout the rules!) and mainly go for the exercise but the discipline does us some good. I hope that Rosemary would be more approving of this Fish and Chip recipe than the real thing from some fatty takeaway outlet but I doubt it is within the regime’s less than 5% fat guideline….

Fabulous lower-fat Fish and Chips with Tartare sauce

2 pieces of white fish such as cod or haddock
plain flour
salt and pepper
3 large potatoes
Olive oil
Mayonnaise (extra low fat Hellmans mayonnaise if you’re really virtuous)
2 small gherkins
capers

Cut the potatoes into chips and use my previous recipe for the best chipped potatoes.
Meanwhile, finely chop the gherkins and capers and mix in a bowl with a generous amount of mayonnaise. Refrigerate until needed.
Finally 10 minutes before the chips are ready, in a shallow dish put a small amount of plain flour and season with salt and pepper. Drag each piece of fish through the flour until totally coated. Gently heat a shallow layer of olive oil in a frying pan and put the fish into fry. Cook each side for about 4 minutes until the flesh is white and firm and serve with the chips and Tartare sauce. Try not to overcook white fish as it goes dry, flakey and tasteless.

We like to eat this with mushy peas – an acquired taste which most people don’t share – a tin from the supermarket will do.

Disturb us Lord….

A prayer attributed to Sir Francis Drake, written over 500 years ago that has recently been doing the rounds. (I read it on someone else’s blog and saw that a few others had put it on theirs…) It spoke volumes to me about the ‘comfort’ I allow myself to wallow in and the potential Christ has given to me in life that I have yet to unlock. I shall print it out and stick it on my noticeboard to challenge me.

Disturb us, Lord,
when we are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

Examen of consciousness

After writing the post on savouring each and every moment the other day, I found a sheet I printed out on Ignatius’s Examen of Consciousness. Monday evening, using the sections and questions of the examen, I recalled the good, the bad and the ugly things that had happened throughout the day. This quietening down for 20 minutes at the end of the day, unburdening my mind of activities and pressures and focussing on God’s presence made such a difference. Evening prayer suits me better as mornings are usually so horrific for me; I usually mutter a hurried prayer before crawling out from under the bedcovers and limping to the bathroom in the manner of Quasimodo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. So I did the examen yesterday too and really started to benefit from it. Here’s an example:

Every 3rd Tuesday of each month, Sally a girl from my small group (Soul Food) and I volunteer in the kitchen of St Georges Crypt, a homeless outreach centre. I’ve only been doing it a couple of months and was extremely nervous, even scared about doing it but am really, really enjoying it. Last night, I was serving tea and coffee at the hatch, chatting to some of the clients who can drink inordinate amounts of liquid with 3-4 large teaspoons of sugar each (ugh!) and rebuffing requests for my phone number! When I came home and sat quietly working through the questions, I remembered being aware of God’s pleasure when I was serving. Not because I was doing anything noble or praiseworthy by volunteering but because he was teaching me and I was learning and enjoying a simple task. Let me explain. On the streets of Leeds, some of those who have reached rockbottom in life can appear to me as threatening, dangerous, unpleasant not least because of the substances they use to numb their pain. They are dangerous but they are also children of God just as I am. In the Crypt, God is breaking down a part of me that would keep the people I’m scared of at a distance and teaching me to see them through his eyes.

Glazed redcurrant and rosemary lamb

This is a hearty lovely dish that is bursting with flavour – its one of Dave’s favourites and is simple enough for him to cope with if he ever ventured into the kitchen

Glazed redcurrant and rosemary lamb

Serves 2

2 lamb chops/steaks trimmed of fat
A sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves removed and chopped
Thinly sliced clove of garlic
A glass of red wine or genrous splash of port
Two tablespoons of redcurrant jelly
a dash of balsamic vinegar
a dab of olive oil

In a non-stick pan, gently fry the garlic in the dab of olive oil until slighlty translucent. Add the meat and chopped rosemary leaves, then begin to brown the lamd either side. As the meat’s texture changes from flesh to lightly browned, add the wine or port and simmer to reduce – the alcohol smell should decrease quite a bit and the consistency of the liquid will become slightly thicker. At this point add the redcurrant jelly and balsamic vinegar. As the jelly melts, keep turning the meat over each side to cook further and stirring the sauce at the same time. As soon as you’re happy that the meat is cooked (lamb can be served pink in the middle) and the gravy is glossy and thick, serve immediately pouring the sauce over the lamb. Creamy mashed potatoes and green veg like broccoli or curly kale are particularly good with this!

Savouring every moment…

How often do you sit at a table or in front of the t.v. to eat and barely notice what you put in your mouth? Is it a daily experience to eat in hurry so you can make it on to the next meeting or appointment? How regularly do we sit around with good friends putting the world to rights over coffee, laughing late into the evening? Do we stop each morning on the way to work to look at the cloud formation in the sky and marvel at the sun rising? Do we find it hard just to capture a moments peace to take in the view and exhale?

I love the French film ‘Amelie’ because many of the characters are introduced by the things they like and dislike in life and the plot is based on people learning to enjoying simple pleasures and learning to live life. I’m envious of some of our European counterparts as they seem to have got the good life down to a tee. (I’m sure they haven’t really but they do give a good impression!)

Holiday is a time where we can take space to unwind and truly relish what surrounds us. This past weekend, Dave and I went up to Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales to walk and to meet with friends. On our walk, we crossed green fields observed by nosy sheep that amused us. We climbed through woodland on the Nun’s Causey, a set of 300 steps from Marrick Priory up the hill that had been laid there for centuries. Along the top of the moor, on Fremington Edge, we watched rabbits race amongst the purple heather and sat (in a rather biblical scene) at the foot of a lonesome pine to drink water and refresh ourselves. Sensing the history of the area, seeing the expanse of the dale and being closer to nature drew my attention back towards the creator God. Returning home, with the satisfaction of exercise and the gentle ache of using muscles that have lain dormant for too long, we drank tea in the village, bought local cheese & gourmet chocolate and read the paper. Meeting with friends, having holy communion in a simple church and talking through thought-provoking issues the next day – all these things are part of the rich tapestry of life. We thoroughly enjoyed every single one!

Yet holiday has to come to an end and in a life swung recklessly between work and church and relationships, I find my capacity to enjoy everyday moments diminished. I just can’t seem to find the time or energy. In stressful times, the relationship I have with God ebbs like the tide. Friendships with others become strained. A people pleaser, I am wracked with guilt when I don’t spend time with people I feel ought to and I become frustrated and angry when I perceive them to be making demands from me I can’t meet. I often shy away from contact at all if it becomes too much. Sometimes I feel as if I’m holding my breath underwater, waiting to rise to the surface for a gulp of air. I’m tired of being in a rush and running on empty. I dislike ‘busyness’ but can’t seem to break a habit of a lifetime. It makes me ungracious, irritable, unpleasant. YET I know that God has more in store for each of us; He longs for us to savour each moment of the life we have been given. It is through knowing Him that we can do just that and learn to reverse the habits of a lifetime.

John 10 v. 10: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full

Psalm 34 v. 8: Taste and see that the LORD is good;

Jamie Haith, one of the guys preaching at Holy Trinity Brompton, London has captured what on earth I’m rambling on about in his sermon of last week – check it out, its called the Eloquence of God.

My challenge for the next few months is to seize moments of awe and wonder not just on holiday but also in the mundane; to see God through his lens – not my perspective. To allow Him to speak to me, to trust Him with the tiniest details.

As an endnote to myself, last year I was at dinner with some friends, one of whom is an asylum seeker who experienced and continues to experience terrible things. Spending the evening with this person was enriching. Despite the loss and suffering they knew, they could say:”Every morning I wake up and I thank God that I am breathing”.
Their words remain with me now. I, who have much in the way of good fortune and possessions – is this my heart’s daily prayer – ‘Thank you Lord I’m alive’?

Chicken Tarragon and the best chipped potatoes

I spoke to Beth, the youth worker at the church, last night and she was really enthusiastic about this blog although she doesn’t like salmon – so this little recipe of my Dad’s is especially for her….

Chicken Tarragon

for 2

2 Chicken breasts
French dijon mustard (the light brown smooth kind)
Fresh tarragon leaves (you can use dried too but fresh herbs are always more aromatic)
Olive oil

If using fresh tarragon, chop the leaves to bruise them and release the flavour.
Mix the tarragon together 2-3 teaspoons of the mustard and a tablespoon of olive oil until you make a paste.
Using a brush, a spoon or just your hands, coat the chicken with the mustard tarragon paste, place in a covered bowl in the fridge and leave to marinade. My Dad often does this at lunchtime in time for dinner or even the night before.

When ready to cook, heat the grill and place the chicken on the grill pan. I find with grilling it does well to stay by the grill and keep an eye on the meat to make sure it doesn’t burn. I would cook the meat for maybe 5-7 minutes each side and continue to grill each side until you’re sure it is cooked. Chicken is lethal if not properly cooked so make sure the flesh is white and firm – if it looks at all pink or jelly-like, you need to keep cooking it!

The chicken is best served with fresh green salad leaves and chips:

The best chipped potatoes

for 2

3-4 large good quality pommes de terre (Maris Piper, King Edwards)
olive oil
salt

Peel and cut the potatoes into chip lengths and place in a pan of salted water.
Put the oven on at gas mark 6-7 and in a roasting tin add a glug of olive oil. Place the tin in the warming oven to heat up.
Bring the pan to the boil and as it reaches boiling point, turn off the heat and drain the potatoes.
Fetch the tin from the oven and tip the drained potatoes into the tin – watch out for spitting oil as it is hot oil. Turn the potatoes over and round in the tin with a wooden spoon to make sure they are coated with oil.
Put the potaoes in the oven to roast for 40 minutes or so. Open the oven and give the tin a shake every so often to make sure they cook on all sides.

These are the best chips ever ! And because only a small amount of oil is used, they’re better for you than the deep fried variety.