Angels

You might see an angel anytime
and anywhere. Of course you have
to open your eyes to a kind of
second level, but it’s not really
hard. The whole business of
what’s reality and what isn’t has
never been solved and probably
never will be. So I don’t care to
be too definite about anything.
I have a lot of edges called Perhaps
and almost nothing you can call
Certainty. For myself, but not
for other people. That’s a place
you just can’t get into, not
entirely anyway, other people’s
heads.

I’ll just leave you with this.
I don’t care how many angels can
dance on the head of a pin. It’s
enough to know that for some people
they exist, and that they dance.

By Mary Oliver.
Artist Unknown

How to make IKEA's meatballs at home

Makes 16 – 20

INGREDIENTS  

For the meatballs 

· 500g beef mince

· 250g pork mince

· 1 onion finely chopped

· 1 clove of garlic (crushed or minced)

· 100g breadcrumbs

· 1 egg

· 5 tablespoons of whole milk

· salt and pepper to taste

For the cream sauce 

· dash of oil

· 40g butter

· 40g plain flour

· 150ml vegetable stock

· 150ml beef stock

· 150ml thick double cream

· 2 teaspoons soy sauce

· 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

METHOD

For the meatballs

1. Combine beef and pork mince and mix thoroughly to break up any lumps. Add finely chopped onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg and mix. Add milk and season well with salt and pepper.

2. Shape mixture into small, round balls. Place on a clean plate, cover and store in the fridge for 2 hours (to help them hold their shape whilst cooking).

3. In a frying pan, heat oil on medium heat. When hot, gently add your meatballs and brown on all sides.

4. When browned, add to an ovenproof dish and cover. Place in a hot oven (180°C or 160°C fan) and cook for a further 30 minutes.

Swedish cream sauce

5. In frying pan, melt 40g of butter. Whisk in 40g of plain and continue cooking, stirring continuously, for 2 minutes, allowing the flour to cook through. Add 150ml of vegetable stock and 150ml of beef stock and continue to stir. Add 150ml thick double cream, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Bring to a simmer and allow the sauce to thicken. Continue to stir.

6. When ready to eat, serve with your favourite potatoes – either creamy mash or mini new boiled potatoes. Enjoy!

+16

Glyndŵr's Way

On 19th April 2002 Glyndŵr's Way National Trail Path opened.

Named in honour of the Welsh nobleman who in 1401 led a revolt against English domination, the trail extends for 135 miles through Powys between Knighton and Welshpool.

Using these upland tracks, Glyndŵr was able to travel elusively, enabling him to fight a guerrilla campaign against the English.

The trail passes a number of battle sites including the Battle of Hyddgen which was a turning point in Glyndŵr's rebellion. The church at Pilleth is near the site of the 1402 battle of Bryn Glas during which Edmund Mortimer, who later married Glyndŵr's daughter, was captured. The mid-point of the trail is the town of Machynlleth, where Glyndŵr held Wales’ first Parliament in 1404 and which was for a period the capital of Wales. The trail ends in Welshpool, where Glyndŵr's Way links with Offa’s Dyke.

Love

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."
~ Martin Luther King Jr.

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage."
~ Lao Tzu

Hate destroys; love heals... choose wisely. Have a happy Sunday!

Rhubarb Cakes- Family Favourite Recipes

INGREDIENTS

For the base:

25g butter or vegan spread

50g light brown sugar

400g approx rhubarb, or whatever you have in stock. Can be peaches, apples, mandarin, pears, cherries.

For the topping :

50g butter or vegan alternative

150g sugar

3 eggs or alternative

190g SR flour

1 small pot of plain yoghurt

Few drops vanilla essence

Oven temperature 180C

A pie dish, or loose-bottom cake tin. I used a 12 hole silicone muffin pan. Use a circle of greaseproof paper if you are not using silicone.

METHOD

Melt the butter and sugar base ingredients together in the microwave. Take care not to burn it. Place in the bottom of the dish or muffin pans.

Remove the skin of the rhubarb and chop the sticks into small pieces.

Place rhubarb on top of the base mixture

Cream together the topping mixture butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs.

Fold in the flour and yoghurt.

Spoon the mixture over the rhubarb.

Cook for 35- 40 minutes or until the cakes slightly shrink from the sides, and a knife comes out clean. It will be less time for muffin cakes.

Leave to cool. Turn out onto a plate, upside down, and dust with icing sugar.

Keeps for three days in an airtight tin. Or can be frozen. Lovely with icecream, custard or just as they are with a cup of coffee at tea break time.

Enjoy!

A magical capture from Elena Shumilova Photography

Spiced yoghurt chicken Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

The acidity of yoghurt, especially more mature yoghurt, makes it a terrific marinade for tenderising meat, helping to carry flavours deep into the flesh.

This dish is simple to make, but it has a pleasing complexity of flavour. I use skinless chicken thighs here, as they have such great texture and taste, but you can use any parts of a jointed bird.

Serves 4

• 8 chicken thighs, bone in, skin removed
• 1 tbsp rapeseed or sunflower oil
• 1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
• Flaked almonds, lightly toasted, to finish
• Coriander leaves, to finish (optional)
• Basmati rice, to serve

For the marinade

• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 300g natural wholemilk yoghurt (less than fresh is fine)
• Juice of 1 lemon

First make the marinade. Either pound the shallot, ginger, garlic and spices together with a good pinch of salt using a pestle and mortar, or whiz them to a rough paste in a food processor. 

Scrape the paste into a bowl (big enough to hold the chicken) and whisk in the yoghurt, lemon juice and some black pepper. Add the chicken thighs and turn them over to coat with the marinade. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight if you can.

Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before you bake it. Preheat the oven to 200c/180c fan/gas 6.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan over a medium heat and saute the onion until soft and just starting to turn golden, for about 8 minutes. Arrange the chicken in an ovenproof dish in a one layer and spoon the yoghurt marinade over the top. Scatter over the onion.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear (not pink) when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a small, sharp knife. 

Scatter with toasted almonds, and coriander leaves if you have some to hand. Serve with basmati rice.

+14

Spiced yoghurt chicken

More of these reciptes can be found at -   https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-8231649/HUGH-FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL-reveals-make-delicious-dishes-morsel.html