ACCORDING TO ME

I didn't make any this year myself. I didn't last year either. Why? Because they never last. I try but old habits die hard. I LIKE chocolate. I know I won't really give it up to lose weight. I mean I make a really good try at it and then that time of month hits and Look out world, someone better get me some chocolate! It could get dangerous! So for the sake of my community, I eat chocolate. Nice of me to think of others so selflessly isn't it?

Anyway, no resolutions this year. I did however make a decision. I've decided that come hell or high water, we ARE going to eat healthier. Not that we really eat badly now but we need to be eating more fish and veggies than we currently do. I don't even know why we haven't been eating them since the whole family likes both. i think it's just been a bit of laziness on my part when it comes to buying groceries. I've been getting what's easy and good for us and not considering a few extra minutes to cook more veggies or broil some fish would be even better.

Sooooooo, meals around here will be a'changin'. While I was looking around at allrecipes.com for recipes to make new stuff to fit into this new change I noticed there's a new segment there titled "New You". it's full of fantastic, low calorie recipes to help those of you who made a resolution to eat healthier, lose weight, etc. Check it out and see what you think. I've decided to start with this recipe tomorrow.

Garlic Salmon


Ingredients

* 1 1/2 pounds salmon fillet
* salt and pepper to taste
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 sprig fresh dill, chopped
* 5 slices lemon
* 5 sprigs fresh dill weed
* 2 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Spray two large pieces of aluminum foil with cooking spray.
2. Place salmon fillet on top of one piece of foil. Sprinkle salmon with salt, pepper, garlic and chopped dill. Arrange lemon slices on top of fillet and place a sprig of dill on top of each lemon slice. Sprinkle fillet with chopped scallions.
3. Cover salmon with second piece of foil and pinch together foil to tightly seal. Place on a baking sheet or in a large baking dish.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until salmon flakes easily.

I had always thought that much like everything else women had penetrated pretty much every male dominated sport in the Olympics. Granted, I'm not a huge Olympics watcher so the fact that I didn't know this particular tidbit of info isn't all that surprising, but the tidbit is.

Did you know that Ski-Jumping is not open to women in the Olympics? There's a petition available that is taking signatures of those who would like to see this become an addition to the Olympics and it seems to be gaining ground. From what I can see there really is no particular reason that women aren't allowed at this point. It's more that there hasn't seemed to have been that much interest in having it added until recent years. With the press it's getting I can't imagine the Olympic Committee won't get to discussing this with other participating countries regarding adding the sport.

Personally I think if we have even a couple countries that want to participate then it should be added. You know there'll be plenty more countries joining pretty quickly in the hopes of adding a Gold Medal to their bragging rights. Plus, it's just a good idea. If the guys can have their own figure skating competitions, the girls should definitely be able to ski jump. I'm just sayin....

Maybe I should take Ash on one of those ski holidays and see if she's any good at it. I know if she was there wouldn't be 10 countries that could keep that girl out.

Nessa

Carol Singing Cake, or as it is also called, Pepper Cake, apparently has it's origins going back to English Carolers. The Carolers would sing lovely songs and the persons at the homes would be so grateful that they would bring out slices of cake and mulled cider to say thank you as well as keep them warm. There could be other origins of course and other uses as well but this seems to be the most predominant one I can find.

Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs plain four
8oz butter
8oz dark, soft brown sugar
1 oz ground cloves
1 ½ lbs black treacle or Ribbon Cane Syrup
4 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
Milk as required.

Pre-heat the oven to 325'f

1. Cut the butter into the flour using your fingertips or a pastry cutter until the butter/flour mixture resembles bread crumbs
2. Stir in the sugar and the cloves.
3. Add the treacle or ribbon cane syrup and the well beaten eggs.
4. Add the baking soda which has been mixed in a small amount of milk to dissolve it.
5. Put the cake mixture into a well greased cake pan and bake for 60-90 minutes.

Serve cold.

I've mentioned before on my other blog about how i'd like to redo my bathroom. not because there's anything wrong with mine. It's a very nice bathroom, but I'd still like it to be a bit different.

Ya know, something like this:


Or even this?

It's not like i'm being picky or anything.

The main reason I'd like to redo my bathroom is because the shower doesn't have any water pressure which has made it a relatively useless part of the bathroom. I've replaced the shower head and such but it still didn't fix the issue. So I've finally given up. Soooo, I've considered maybe having that shower removed and reversing where the toilet and the shower are so that I can have a bigger shower. Shower enclosures aren't that difficult to have installed and they don't seem to cost a great deal either. The hardest part would be rearranging pipes but since the 2 areas are literally only separated by about a foot of wall space, that wouldn't be hard to do. I don't think anyway.

I'm fairly certain my boyfriend would give me that "okaaaaaaaaaay" look if I suggested it to him. So would my sons. Oh well, I can dream right?

Nessa

I don't know about you but I think a good rice pudding is wonderful comfort food. My Mom and Grandma used to make it sometimes when I was very young.

Here's the Danish Version served at Christmas. As an extra special treat, a whole almond is dropped into the pudding and whoever gets it in their bowl gets a prize. What a way to start the Holidays right?

From what I have gathered through research Turron Jijona is a candy served at Christmas in Spain, however it seems it actually has an Arabic origination. It could be so widespread because it's actually a very simple recipe. I couldn't find anything that pointed to a "why" this is a tradition in some Spanish homes at Christmas so if anyone knows please feel free to share the info. I can tell you it's not a quick and easy recipe that you can enjoy immediately though, It has to set for 3 days.

As usual, I've waited til the last minute to get Christmas Cards. I'm not sure why I do this. Every year I plan to get them early, get them addressed and ready to drop in the mail before Thanksgiving. I know that after Thanksgiving I'm going to be way too busy to get to all the quick notes and addressing so I PLAN to start early. Somehow It just never happens. As a matter of fact, I still have a box of Christmas cards that I bought roughly 5 years ago that I have never even opened. Luckily I paid a whole dollar for them.

Anyway, this year I've decided to be smarter. I am going to have all my cards custom printed with a message for everyone and I bought labels to print out the addresses. It might seem a little impersonal but truly, when people get these from me it's entirely possible they'll just pass out from shock. If I actually hand wrote them, i might accidentally kill my friends. No point in going too far right?

Sooooo I checked a few printing companies including the big chains to see what these magical cards would cost me and decided most definitely to order them online. For a couple reasons really too. First, the online company will cost me far less even with shipping and I have more choices. Secondly, I work from home. If I take the time to drive to the closest of the big chains, it's going to be at least a 30 minute drive one way. Counting time spent in store, driving and gas, I'll have to give up approximately 3 hours of work which alone will cost me roughly $60 and that doesn't even including the cost of the cards. I won't lose any quality and I'll gain a good chunk of money. It's really only a logical decision to go ahead and order them online in the comfort of my pajama's as i sip hot chocolate and stay warm. Decision made!

Nessa