Month: November 2009

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I’ll be back…!!

A quick update ! Such a lot has happened…when I get internet connection back next week there is sooo much to write about and share!

My main computer which administers our network at home completely crashed last week and is being sorted out- fingers crossed the data on it can be saved/retrieved. Therefore at the moment I have to drive 15 minutes into town, hook into someone’s unsecured network down here at the wharf while sat in the car and briefly surf.

The last two weeks weigh in’s have seen my weight stay exactly the same BUT I have set myself a goal of losing 10 lbs before christmas… I reckon that in the 1940’s families would have eaten leanly before Christmas to save up their rations for a blow out- so that’s what I am doing!

Lots of recipes coming and I’ll start posting them as soon as my home network is up and running again!

C xx

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Glory Buns

glorybuns1940

This is a recipe for simple currant spiced buns that turned out so absolutely tasty and yummy and easy to make that I simply called them GLORIOUS..

They are not only economical but taste sooo good!

The more I think about it the more I think it’s a terrible, terrible thing. I think about war a lot and I think about how all over our world it has effected every day families regardless of colour or creed.

I made these WWII ‘Glory Buns’ today after I had observed the Remembrance Day silence and while I listened to the full Remembrance Day service from Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, on my local radio station, CKBW. After the service I watched some of the veteran videos that appear on the http://www.southshorenow.ca website which I have on DVD… ( you can purchase these by clicking here and all proceeds go to the Legion Poppy Fund)

First of all I listened to Pierre Allaine

Pierre Allaine: Was a 14 year old when war broke out. He used to ferry people, lying flat on a barge during the night, across the river, by pushing the barge silently with a long pole to the free side of France. Pierre recited Flanders Field at the service in Bridgewater today.

Next I watched Frank Hammond who shared his thoughts… Quote: Conflicts today are not being resolved through power and the only real way is through negotiation…

And then Bert Eagle… Quote: Bert Eagle: There should NEVER be another war again, EVER, yet if I were a young man again and we went to war I would serve my country gladly…..

Above all I’ve been thinking of the BRAVE men and women who have taken part in a war and lived through it or given their lives and the BRAVE families at home battling to keep their children safe and fed and holding things together…

And the Glory Buns? It was such a glorious day that it needed to be celebrated with simple glorious food on my best glorious tray….. it reminded me just how lucky we really are.

Recipe for Glory Buns

  • 12 oz of wholewheat flour (or white)
  • 2 oz margarine
  • 2 oz sultanas/currants/raisins (optional)
  • 2 oz sugar
  • 8 fl oz warm water
  • 3 teaspoons of quick rise dried yeast
  • 1 teaspoon dried cinnamon powder
  • pinch salt

To glaze:

  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 3 tablespoons sugar

Method
Place all the dried ingredients in a bowl (apart from dried fruit) and stir
Rub in the margarine
Mix in the dried fruit
Add in the warm water
Knead well (use extra flour if mixture is too sticky)
Divide dough into 12 balls
Place on greased deep sided tray (I like to use the 8 x 8 inch foil trays and place 4 balls in each)
Cover with plastic film or plastic bag
Leave to rise somewhere warm for an hour or so
When risen place in oven at 180 C for 15 minutes or so until golden brown
When cooked remove from oven onto a wire rack to cool
When cool prepare glaze by heating the water and sugar together until dissolved
Using a pastry brush apply the glaze generously

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Cheese Whirls

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Here is a recipe used during the war as a fun snack… I made these today after I had observed the Remembrance Day silence and while I listened to the full Remembrance Day service from Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, on my local radio station, CKBW. After the service I watched some of the veteran videos which I have on DVD… Please click here for more thoughts on this

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces of plain white or wholewheat flour
  • 4 oz cooking fat/margarine
  • 4 oz strong cheddar cheese
  • 2 eggs (or dried eggs)
  • 1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 teaspoons of quick rise dried yeast
  • Marmite (you can buy this British item in Atlantic Save Easy & Superstore in Canada)
  • milk for brushing with

Method

Place all the dry ingredients (except the cheese) in a large bowl and mix together

Break up the margarine and rub in to the dry ingredients

Mix in the grated cheese

Mix in the two beaten eggs

Knead until a dough is formed

Flour your work surface and rolling pin

Break the dough in half

Roll out the dough into an oblong shape about 1/4 inch thick

Spread with Marmite

Roll up into a long swiss roll shape

Slice along with a sharp knife

Place whirls on a greased baking tray

Brush with milk

Place in over at 200 C for about 12-20 mins

Makes about 30!

 

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Today it’s ‘Time to Remember’…

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I’m not sure I believe in war..

The more I think about it the more I think it’s a terrible, terrible thing. I think about war a lot and I think about how all over our world it has effected every day families regardless of colour or creed.

So today I’ll be thinking about all the sorrow and tragedy war had caused to so many people and how this has happened to people on every continent of our planet and equally so regardless of nationality.

Above all I’ll be thinking of the BRAVE men and women who have taken part in a war and lived through it or given their lives and the BRAVE families at home battling to keep their children safe and fed.

We have to watch their faces and their eyes for indications of their memories and when they speak we have to listen to what they say (or don’t say ) very carefully.

Please take a little part of your day to watch these 3 minute videos of war veterans in our local community, filmed by my work colleague Tim.

It’s Time to Remember….

CLICK HERE and then click on ‘Veterans Videos’

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Lord Woolton Pie

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Lord Woolton Pie – a delicious vegetable dish

Here is a very famous WWII 1940’s dish, Lord Woolton Pie..

WIKIPEDIA- Woolton pie, at first known as Lord Woolton pie,[1] was an adaptable dish of vegetables, created at the Savoy Hotel in London by its then Maitre Chef de Cuisine, Francis Latry.[2] It was one of a number of recipes commended to the British public by the Ministry of Food during the Second World War to enable a nutritional diet to be maintained despite shortages andrationing of many types of food, especially meat.

It was named after Frederick Marquis, 1st Lord Woolton (1883-1964), who became Minister of Food in 1940.

There are many adaptations of this recipe and I have made it a number of ways with pastry instead of potato or served with a thick brown gravy but today I made it ‘Savoy Hotel’ style with a special herb white sauce (although their potato piping would have been divine and mine was quickly squiggled on using a baggy with a hole in..)

I made a big double portion for myself and two single portions for the girls..

Lord Woolton Pie

  • Various in season veggies like swedes, turnips, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, leeks, onions, carrots
  • Potatoes for mashing
  • Flour, butter and milk for sauce
  • Strong grated cheddar cheese
  • Herbs such as sage or thyme for sauce

Method

  • Peel washed potatoes (save peelings to bake in oven with salt and herbs)
  • Dice potatoes and cook in salted water until soft
  • Mash with butter, a little milk and add salt
  • Peel, wash and dice in season veggies as applicable and boil until nearly cooked
  • Drain and place in pie dish
  • Make sauce-Use dessert spoon of butter and melt in pan, add two dessert spoons of flour and mix and slowly add in milk, keep stirring. Add salt and herbs and pepper
  • Pour thick sauce over the vegetables
  • Put mashed potato in piping bag (baggy with a hole in the corner)
  • Pipe over the top of veggies and sauce
  • Finish by placing some grated cheese over the top
  • Place in oven at 220 C for around 30 minutes until the potatoes have browned
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Week 13 – 35lb off with 65lb to go!

Despite a few glitches over Halloween (no matter how hard I try to convince myself there is no way they had funsize Kit Kats in the 1940s!) the scales this morning are showing another 2lb off!!!

I have now lost 35 lbs and am down to 280

This means I am on track (with a bit in hand) to lose 100lb in one year which was my goal when I started this blog 3 months ago. There will still be quite a bit of weight to lose beyond this but I am focussed on the 100lb goal- being 1/3rd of the way there already is very motivating..

My fears are that the next few months will be my danger period- typically this has alway been the time for me where everything goes wrong and the weight creeps on again. I can’t let this happen though……this is it. It’s my one shot…

Good luck to everyone who is struggling to do the same!

C xxx

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Will the real Carolyn Ekins please stand up…

toyahLife is weird at the best of times.

Some people go through life with a goal, they know who they are, they know where they want to be and they stay right on track to get there. The majority of us bimble through life never truly knowing who we are or where we want to be and can either be satisfied with that and stay on the track we are already following or we decide to take the dirt road instead of the highway. The dirt road has many detours & dead ends, takes a long time to travel because it is never clearly signed, but ultimately has the most interesting scenery. You never really know where the road will take you but it seems better than following the other routes..

I have always taken the dirt road in life.

But sometimes you have to force a change to make things happen, have clear goals and stick with that one goal for a long time otherwise you keep taking detours and never will get to the end..

Inside every fat person…

Being super sized fat is not me. Inside my body Carolyn Ekins is screaming to get out- it’s been so long since I’ve seen her that I really have forgotten who she is but I know there isn’t one day that passes by where I don’t wonder what it would be like to be the real me again. That can make me sad. Has this happened to you?

To quote some very contrived lyrics from a 1980’s single from recording artist Toyah..

I wanna be me, I wanna be me..

So I guess it’s time to make sure that for once in my life, I stick to the highway, stay focussed on the road ahead, avoid all dangers, drive steadily, keep plenty of gas in the tank and above all check the mirror frequently as one day the real Carolyn Ekins will once again appear in it…

Thanks for listening

C xx