Go with the flow…let go…

January 11, 2011 ann888

by Ann
Life can feel like a dream– elusive and abstract, like a Picasso, where at times, much doesn’t seem to make sense. So much that we might find ourselves in the position of trying to figure out and understand the meaning behind every incident, thought and emotion.

But doing this can bring us more confusion, more seeking, more desires and more holding onto the idea of wanting to control the circumstances in our lives. When we desire any and everything that we feel we lack, the desire to try and control events, people and circumstances becomes a Mount Everest, nestled in the center of our minds and our souls, in which, we don’t truly see what is… but instead, what we wish to have and accomplish, which is to be “on top and in control.”

Our desire to be in control can be our undoing.

We selfishly hold on to what we want and, paradoxically, hold on to what we don’t. So many say that they don’t want to suffer, but unconsciously hold on to suffering like a child who carries his security blanket wherever he goes.

But what is going with the flow and letting go? What does it really mean? What are we letting go of, and what happens when we finally do relax and go with the flow?

To start, letting go means that we need to recognize, or become aware that we are holding on to something.

But what? A relationship, a job, your story, protecting the self from suffering? People hold on to any and everything. The result is that we lose our authenticity and our child-like qualities of enjoying every moment, of flowing with life. Flowing with life can point us in the direction of what we really want while further expanding and revealing who we are to ourselves, and reminding us of why we are here.

Recently, I asked myself, “what am I holding on to?” I laughed out loud as I thought of the wishes and wants that I have that haven’t yet been recognized. Then thinking back over my life, I recall the twists and turns that led me to more fulfillment. A better fulfillment than I could have seen at the time. But as the changes were happening, I was fearful that it was ‘wrong’ and would lead me to destruction or worse… when it was the path of my life and if I let go and let it happen, ‘went with the flow’… it all led me to a better place of being.

As humans, we LOVE to know things and to have all the answers, but when we think we have the answers, or think ‘we know’, there’s no room for anything new to enter that can change our perceptions, which will ultimately transform who we are.

This is the first and most vital step: asking yourself if you really know what it is that you’re holding on to, and why. And to be honest with yourself, if you don’t know, and to be honest with yourself, even if you think that you do. This is the beginning of the journey – where the answers begin to arrive.

Lao-Tzu practiced Wu-Wei, which literally means “non-action,” and from this state gave us the immortal Tao Te Ching, which is one of the greatest writings on letting go by doing nothing, ‘without force’. Here are a couple of examples he wrote regarding the freedom of allowing: “The sage experiences without abstraction, and accomplishes without action. He accepts the ebb and flow of things, nurtures them, but does not own them, and lives, but does not dwell,” and “Water overcomes the stone; without substance it requires no opening; this is the benefit of taking no action.”

What Lao-Tzu is essentially saying is that when we perceive life correctly, without placing our story on it, our lives naturally flow like water which has no desire, no needs to fulfill, has its own course, cannot be controlled, and will overcome any difficulty presented to it.

Nature is our greatest teacher, in letting go, and allowing life to naturally unfold. When the winds blow like a tyrant from an unknown land, a supple tree will not break, but will bend and allow, while a tree that is brittle will resist the ‘isness’ of the wind and be uprooted and destroyed. When we relax, our lives become like supple trees, and no matter how hard the storms may come, we will flow with them, allowing them to take their course without breaking with brittleness and frigidity.

Watch a river. Throw a rock into it. The river accepts it then returns to its natural course. Throw a branch into it and it will carry its weight without complaint. Throw a boulder into it and it will naturally find a way around it, and over time will carve its way through it. This is the nature of our lives without abstraction – following life’s ebb and flow. No longer forcing, but always embracing and allowing our individual rivers to travel their own unique and beautiful coarse.

Relationships

Once a cheater, always a cheater…

January 7, 2011 ann888

Is this always the case? Many times, yes, but in some not. While individual studies suggest that two-thirds of cheaters become repeaters (serial cheaters), it’s important to note that the likelihood of a partner repeating infidelity depends on certian factors. These factors include maturity, influence, personality, acceptance of fault, regret, neglect, and the final outcome.

Maturity

Age is a big factor in cheating. In fact, it could be said that infidelity and immaturity go hand in hand. A study consisting of 145 students (average age 23) found that nearly 70 percent had thought about cheating on a current partner, while 41 percent had completed the deed. Fast forward to age 27, and 54 percent reported being tempted, with 39 percent going through with the act. The magic age when men and women begin to settle towards a 25 percent infidelity rate is after 30. When young couples are pushed, they often try to avoid commitment by cheating, but this is often outgrown with maturity.

Influence

Studies show that there is some correlation between the types of friends a couple has and their likelihood of cheating. According to these studies, 77 percent of cheaters have close friends who are also engaging in some form of unfaithfulness to their spouse/partner. If you want a partner to stay faithful, it’s best to offer them the influence of other happy couples. You may not be able to choose your partner’s friends, but you can choose the couples you spend the most time with.

Avoidance-Detachment

The avoidance-detachment personality describes a partner who is constantly pulling away, looking for ways to distance themselves from the relationship. This can occur when people are young and unprepared to settle down, but it can also be a sign of someone who is constantly afraid of intimacy and commitment. When one avoidance-detachment personality exists in a relationship, infidelity is usually not far away. Cheating can be one of their favorite ways to create a wedge between their relationships. If you find yourself in one of these situations, your chances aren’t good, unless your partner admits their problem and seeks help.

Acceptance of Fault

People often estimate the likelihood of an affair by the amount of charisma/attractiveness one partner either has or doesn’t have. Interestingly, 88 percent of all affairs occur with someone who is not any more attractive, charismatic, or sexy than the cheater’s current partner. Furthermore, most psychologists confirm that the reasons people cheat usually have more to do with how the cheater feels about themselves, than how they feel about their partner. In other words, it’s more them than you, so don’t let them tell you otherwise.

Remorse/Regret

As many as 70 percent of affairs end with the cheater feeling sick with regret. In these cases, the cheater may be transformed (relationship rekindled) if the victim is able to bring themselves to forgive. Cheaters who are less likely to repeat show sincere remorse for their actions. Instead of excuses like “It’s your fault,” “It was an accident” or “It meant nothing,” they take full responsibility and express the need to prevent it from happening again. They’ll open up about their feelings, attend counseling, and do whatever it takes to regain your trust. In cases like these, it’s possible for a partnership to actually emerge stronger than it was before.

Neglect

According to surveys, nearly 50 percent of cheaters cheat because they feel neglected by their current partner. This can either mean a lack of emotional or physical (sexual) support. In relationships where both partners feel loved and satisfied, the chances of infidelity decrease. Keep in mind that out of the remaining 50 percent, a good portion of these cheaters actually report being “happy,” so this is more of a preventative measure than a guarantee. (I think the neglect excuse is just that an excuse.) Get a divorce or end the relationship if you ‘feel’ neglected before you begin dating.

Final Outcome

Some researchers believe that another indicator of a serial cheater is the severity of the penalty with which it was received. Cheaters are less likely to fall off the wagon (so to speak) when they’ve had to work through hardships, including guilt, embarrassment, having their life put under a microscope, and attending counseling. Cheaters who get away without punishment will likely continue to cheat simply because they can. Cheating has become an unhealthy dynamic in their relationships. One that has gone on too long to be easily stopped. This is one reason why it’s important to act at the first sign of trouble and make it clear that such actions are unacceptable.

In summary, to avoid repeat cheaters, look at how each of these factors plays a role in your relationship, and then weigh your love with what that little voice inside your head is telling you. You might eventually ‘forgive’ your partner for your own good, but don’t ‘forget’ and don’t be so quick to give them a second chance until they’ve earned it.

Even after presenting this…IN MY OPINION, there is no excuse for cheating except that it is pretty much a character flaw. Granted some may outgrow it with maturity, but most don’t. So, if you are with a cheater, it might be better to just get away.

What do you think?

Inspirational/Spiritual

What do these statements mean to you?

January 6, 2011 ann888

“Sometimes when you win, you lose.”

“Sometimes when you lose, you win.”

Women In Real Life

Holidays are over! No more over Indulgences…

January 5, 2011 ann888

In food…

Or shopping… Or shopping….

Or Shopping! … REALLY… no more!!! Or extra liquors….

Or rich desserts. I am cutting back!… Really!

REALLY!

I AM!!! ….. I am! REALLY!

….Oh well! Perhaps….tomorrow…

Then tomorrow came and…

Oh well! There’s always the day after …. Oh! Who am I trying to kid?

Politics

I am Exploding about Government Greed…

January 4, 2011 ann888

by Ann
Government Greed is going to destroy our great country. As the government grows infiltrating into every area of our lives bloating out its need for more and more from the private sector, it is only making us all more subservient while harming job growth and abundance in the private sector.

We don’t need government interference in our lives. We need to SHRINK the government, NOT grow it!

This current administration is the worst that has ever existed. Obama has no idea how to run a business much less a government. Or as a ‘community organizer’ is he doing exactly as his handlers and backers instruct him to do? All the recently passed legislation was sitting there waiting for a liberal puppet to push it all through.

He and his backers and handlers are trying to turn us into a socialist country where they ‘control’ everything and next will come communism where they ‘take’ everything.

“I PLEDGE RESISTANCE, TO THE CZAR, OF THE DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE COMMUNISM FOR WHICH HE STANDS, ONE SOCIALIST, WITHOUT GOD, DIVISIBLE, WITH HEALTH CARE AND WELFARE FOR ALL.” Ellen Dannan

Is the above quote what we will all be pledging soon? It will be, if we don’t stop this runaway socialist train dead in its tracks!

The government takes tax dollars from the private sector and pays themselves excellent salaries and benefits as they expand government agencies ad nauseum. So, of course, they want higher taxes to support their lifestyles and jobs. And, of course, they want more and more bills passed that take more of the private sector’s income. Greed, control, power over the people has become their motto and agenda. Achieving this, they are set for life and satiated in their power hungry and greedy souls. This has nothing to do with good, or doing good for others. In fact, it is the exact opposite of good… It’s EVIL! It is GOVERNMENT GREED!

The government acts like they own our incomes, our lives, our very existances, as if at birth, we become owned by the government. Our children’s inheritances are taxed to the hilt for government use, and ‘they’ think and behave like we have no choice in the matter.

As they take from us, they put us down. This current administration is actually INSULTING America and its people as they spend, spend and spend our money!

Government medical coverage, vacation benefits, and retirement plans are better than most in the private sector, except at the highest company levels. How did this occur? Government unions are one reason. These unions are run by government employees who are paid with taxpayer dollars to screw the American people who are the actual employers of all the government employees. How MESSED UP is this???!!!

The American worker pays these people salaries, benefits and retirement.

THE GOVERMENT WORKS FOR THE PEOPLE! WE ELECT THEM! HAVE THEY FORGOTTEN THIS AS THEY TAKE MORE AND MORE OF OUR FREEDOMS AWAY??!?!?!? Stating that it is for our own good, when it is for their good, not ours! DUH! Anyone who can’t see this is clueless and must be brain dead walking around in some FOG!

To observe the government workers, the ones that we put in with our votes, being incompetent, wasteful, arrogant, and self-centered disgusts me.

The government tries to blame private business for any mistake that is directly, or indirectly actually the fault of the government… 9/11, the financial meltdown, the BP oil spill, our dependence on our enemies for oil, the space program, insecure borders, our high debt, weaker military, a split country, high unemployment. Then ‘they’ ‘tell’ us that the government can ‘fix’ it all.

If I were President, I would fire every radical extremist in the government, reduce the number of departments, reduce the number of employees. Get rid of all government employee unions and roll back government spending.

Support and strengthen the military with the best equipment.

Repeal all the Obama socialist laws.

Secure our borders and enforce all immigration laws to the letter. Return the Pledge of Allegiance and singing of the National Anthem to schools along with the saying of prayers.

No one would dare send a bill to my desk that was NOT paid for in advance. No bill would be sent to me, or passed with earmarks, or any kind of inappropriate spending. No one would send me a bill that appeared to be unconstitutional, or that did not first and foremost take in consideration the will of the American people.

Bills would be available to all Americans for plenty of time for their review and that no bill would be voted on by Congress until it was fully read and understood by those voting on it.

Terrorists and traitors would be punished to the full extent of the law and they would be called what they are, instead of some ‘politically correct’ BS!

I would open up every area of our country and waters to the discovery and production of any and all natural resources and desolve any government agency that failed to do their job properly. There is little to no accountablity in the government. It has become a bloated, greedy mess of incompetents.

Follow the constitution as to its original intent. These are just some of the things that I would do, if I were President. Perhaps, we need a housewife in there to really balance the budget!

Our government has become arrogant, big spending, foreign to the American people, inefficient and incompetent.

Obama, his associates, backers and handlers need to be investigated. Obama should be tried as a traitor to the American people. Nothing that he promotes is good for our country, or our people.

He and his wife insult America at every turn. Then when they see that their ratings are going down, they ‘change’ their ‘rhetoric’ to try and ‘sway’ the masses. Their insincerity and con are the only transparency that we see in their administration. They are doubling talking, dictator-like puppets of those with an agenda that will ‘change’ America into something hideous and repressive under their control and of the elite that ‘think’ they know better for your life, as ‘they’ gain more wealth and power.

What have we done to ourselves and our country? The government is ‘supposed’ to SERVE the people!

Be aware that Democrats believe in larger government. Republicans believe that less government is better. This is simplistic, but how can more government ever be better?

It can’t!

We, the people, can’t support it. It will take our whole country down. Then the government will just come and take everything that we have, including, perhaps, even our lives. The government is a greedy monster out to take, control, manipulate the masses in order to sustain itself.

What, we the people, pay the Government should be more like a small maintance fee, with our being in control of them, not them in control of us…

There should be no death, or estate taxes as this is actually double taxation.

We should be able to decide who and what is done with our estates and who we leave the money to, with absolutely no interference from the government. Family takes care of their families. Government butt out! The government wants to do away with family and business wealth in the private sector and claim it as the government’s… this is a dictatorship. Confiscation of wealth is unAmerican! It is what our founders came here to get away from.

We have allowed this to get way out of control and it is time that we SHRINK the government. Fire them all, if they don’t listen to us. Fire them and start all over again!

Let them be the unemployed. And their retirement and pension needs to be reduced considerably…

SHIRINK! SHRINK! SHRINK the government before it destroys the American dream and our way of life!

Close all our borders! Limit all foreigners from entering our country especially from Muslim countries and countries that don’t like us and our way of life. The reason the Government won’t do this is because of ‘secret’ deals and agenda to bring in ‘more’ to vote to keep them in office, to destroy America from the inside out. In my opinion, that is what Obama, his backers, handlers, and associates are after.

The greedy government knows real Americans see through their self-serving agenda.

Otherwise, why and how did we let immigration get so lax? Also, if foreigners want to live in America, then they need to adapt to our country, not us to them. Speak English, dress American, and become legal! If they don’t want to speak and be like us then they can go back to where they came from….Why are they in our country anyway? Is it to ‘change’ us and make us like them? Well, we don’t want or need to change!

America is the greatest country in the world and it is this way because of our consititution and our freedoms and our free spirited people!

This is my opinion…

What do you think? Let’s discuss…

Inspirational/Spiritual

I don’t believe in New Year Resolutions…

December 31, 2010 ann888

by Ann
I just don’t! It’s probably due to the fact that I feel compelled to accomplish everything that I set in my mind. Over the years, I’ve learned the secret to achieving goals – lower expectations and achieve more. Or really what I learned is to not set any… just live and set my goals everyday.. or almost everyday… One bite at a time is better, more manageable and it works!

BUT.. here are some ideas just in case that you do like to make resolutions… or want to make some definite changes in your life, or have some specific goals that you want to attain in the up and coming year.

Example, if you want to fit into your skinny jeans, you might come up with a new exercise and diet plan. Part of that plan might include a goal to exercise five times a week. But if you don’t achieve that ‘magic’ number, then you might feel that you have failed, regardless of how many times you did exercise. Instead, lower the goal from exercising five times a week to a more realistic goal, like say, twice a week. And expect to meet that simpler goal. Not only ‘expect’ to … DO IT! You’ll feel great when you do! If you exceed it, that’s great, too! If you don’t! So what! Try again the next day!

It feels wonderful to meet your goals, and that feeling of success will keep you motivated to continue to achieve your goals. So, set yourself up for success with some simple steps: Set a smaller goal. After you achieve that, set a more adventurous one.

What do you want?

Do you want to drop those pesky extra pounds? WHY? Is it to increase your self-confidence? Is it for health reasons? Identify the the positive gains of achieving your goal (i.e. increasing your chances of being noticed by some hot guy) Once that’s figured out, look at what you want and need to do to achieve it. It might be a series of smaller goals to achieve the overarching goal. One bite at a time…

How will you achieve your goal?

Get specific, be realistic, and keep the plans simple. Write the goals down and the steps to achieve them. This will help you to look at things logically. You can see where you’ve over-reached, or may be setting the bar too low.

Is your plan realistic?

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you aren’t going to fit into those skinny jeans tomorrow, but then again you might. But, just in case you don’t, take some time, and look seriously at your plan. If it’s not realistic, adjust it. You have the right to be successful. So don’t create a goal where you’re setting yourself up to fail. Or just don’t write any resolutions and you won’t fail!

Define success

Many times we create a goal without defining what the outcome will look like. How will you know when you’ve achieved your goal? What will you look like? How will you feel? What will you be able to do? Write it down, and revisit it often. Overtime, your definition of success might change. That’s OK! Give yourself permission to do what you need to do.

Be flexible

You will face challenges that might hinder or distract you from your goals. That’s life! Plan on it happening on a regular basis. Have ideas and plans about what to do when you have setbacks or don’t…

Get Guidance

Talk to someone about your plans, friends, family, or ‘experts’ or how about me? Whatever goals you set, make sure you’ll enjoy the work involved to achieve them and always keep your end goal in mind. If you enjoy what you’re doing, chances are you’ll continue doing it. Or don’t do it at all!

We all know New Year’s resolutions are usually doomed. Holiday enthusiasm dissipates. Changing our behavior is a big mountain to climb. You’ll feel more harmony in your life if you show yourself some gentle love and acceptance. On New Year’s Eve, take an inventory of everything valuable about you. Enhance and treasure those fine qualities in the new year. You’re doing just fine!

Again I don’t believe in New Year resolutions. I live like I want to, in order, to achieve what I desire almost each and everyday. But if you do believe in them, and set some…how about refer to these guidelines.

This New Year’s Eve how about count your blessings and all the wonderful things about you and your life then create the future that you desire day by day in the new year.

Most of all HAVE FUN!!! And love yourself!

Actually! The only ‘really important resolution’ to make is to follow this blog and read it everyday and tell all your friends about it! Really! Truly! It is!!!

Drink champagne! Eat some good food! Have some chocolate!

And workout tomorrow!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Have a great 2011!!!!!!

Look to the left and click to follow!

THE KITCHEN EXPLODES

Champagne for the Chicken and also for the Cook…

December 30, 2010 ann888

by Ann
Easy, quick festive chicken dinner…
plus more…

Ingredients (for two – double or triple as needed)

One whole chicken breast – split in half and beaten. ( I have them do this at the butchers)
Can of small articoke hearts packed in water
Can of small pitted black olives
Cherry Tomatoes
Garlic salt
Parsley
Brummel and Brown yogart butter
Champagne – any kind that you like ..( My fav is Veuve Clicquot – founded in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot-Muiron, Veuve Clicquot played an important role in establishing champagne as the beverage of choice of European nobility and the wealthy bourgeoisie Situated in Reims, Veuve Clicquot has been part of the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy group of luxury brands since 1987)

Pop the cork on the Champagne then pour in flutes and take sip.

Put garlic salt and parsley on Chicken breasts.

Skillet
Spray with Pam

Put chicken in skillet… cook until browned on both sides.. add dollops of Brummel and Brown yogart butter as needed while cooking.

When chicken is done…add more butter, articoke hearts, black olives and cherry tomatoes and sprinkle with more garlic salt and parsley.
Splash with champagne…simmer…
Cover for a few.. then take off the lid and douse with more champagne.

Serve with wild rice.

And for dessert!

Haagen-Daz Vanilla Bean Ice cream, topped with my ‘cranberry relish’ and a splash of Cognac along with a Pepperidge Farm Sugar cookie. Enjoy while either sipping Cognac and, or Champagne.

Now, you’re talking!

Then out to the patio for more Cognac while sitting around a fire… Having fun yet? I sure did!

Inspirational/Spiritual

Many Christmases and New Year’s Eves…

December 29, 2010 ann888

by Ann

All are different…Some full of abundance others not so much. Some spent with friends or loved ones and others spent in solitude.

Some too busy, even hectic, and others quiet and peaceful. Some with too much to eat and others with little.

Some full of happiness, joy and expectation. Some full of melancholia and sadness. Some spent helping others and some where I ‘could’ve’ used some help…

Some spent in love. Others spent in loss.

Christmas Eve of Irony after kicking my alcoholic husband, whom I loved dearly, out of the house months previously, to save myself, I spent Christmas Eve alone drinking almost a whole bottle of wine…when rarely I drank at all.

Christmases with a large tree that Santa surrounded with everything a little girl could ever want with family around and a large breakfast of sausage, bacon, eggs, biscuits and jam. Fireplace roars duplicating the soothing warmth in the home.

A huge tree filling the space where the Grande piano used to be… so glad ‘he’ was gone.. took two days to decorate it. Prettiest tree ever. It was my Christmas… no more yelling or sarcasm, it was gone with him. Peace was in my house. Lying under it looking up at the lights, I felt like a child full of joy and expectation again.

Working out. A hot shower, my gift was washing everything on my bed to make it fresh for Christmas Eve. A small apartment, sliding into my clean sheets, warm and cozy, alone, but safe and warm, giving thanks to God for abundance and peace in my life.

Too much Christmas, his parents at noon, to eat and celebrate and mine that evening. Over stuffed, over everything. If only we could celebrate alone…

Many Christmases of beautiful church services…

The only celebration one year was a hot bath, some Christmas music and wine, munching cheese, crackers and fruit, watching Christmas movies on TV, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ and ‘Miracle on 34th Street.’

Playing Secret Santa with a group of friends. We had most everything, so were giving to others that had little to nothing.

A well-decorated tree, making Christmas cookies and playing Santa, Barbies, American Dolls, roller skates, bicycles, everything a little girl could want. Going to bed tired then getting up very early to the excitement of a child.

Serving meals to the homeless, while wondering could this happen to me?

Shaking a Christmas snow globe and winding it up repeatedly to play, ‘I wish you a Merry Christmas! I wish you a Merry Christmas’ as I sat in the dark crying.

New Year’s Eve wearing designer clothing at a Country Club, full of decorations, an orchestra, champagne, friends and dancing.

Sitting on the sofa alone watching the ball drop in New York pondering my desire to cut some off…

In bed surrounded by candlelight, sipping champagne with my husband, New Year’s Eve shows on TV.

Sitting in bed alone, sipping champagne watching New Year’s Eve TV.

In front of a fireplace, eating a dinner prepared by him, so in love and so content. At mid-night, making love in front of the fireplace, who cares what time it is.

Black tie celebration, the best of everything tied up in love and romance.

Whooping it up, country and western, jeans, boots and a cowboy hat, line dancing, two stepping, swigging champagne right out of the bottle.

New Year’s Eve movie marathon at a theatre with a neighbor and her young daughter. Eating popcorn, watching ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’, then ‘King Kong’ and laughing and laughing as the little girl jumped up and down the stairs like a monkey.

Dancing to music slow, dizzy with love and champagne, my head on his shoulder, feeling so loved, content and at peace…kissing at midnight.

All different, but really all the same and, of course, there are many more, as they all swirl in my head in fond memory.. All ultimately good, even when seemingly bad and all make up the fabric of me and the experiences of my life.

Where ever you are in the timeframe of your life and most especially during the holidays when you most reflect and feel nostalgia, know that it’s only a reflection of a moment in your life. So be there fully in whatever the experience turns out to be. Enjoy and appreciate every ounce of it, no matter what it is, or seems to be.

Feel, experince it all, the happiness as well as the sadness, the love as well as the loss, the joy as well as the pain. Because what seems like the worst, might become the best and what seems like the best, may very well be the best of the best, or it may be topped by even better the very next year. Who knows!!??

In time, circumstances change, but is it all good because it’s all you… all that you are culminating in that moment in time. So, don’t wish it gone, or past, or wish it to be something else. Just feel it. Imprint it in your being…as it will too soon become a memory like all others…all woven together to become the wonder of your life. And if you are lucky and truly blessed, you will experience it all, the highs and the lows…the ups and the downs, the abundance and the loss…

Cheers to them all!

And God bless you. May your heart be filled with the joy of the real reason for the season and much peace and happiness in the New Year!

THE KITCHEN EXPLODES

Let’s drink! I mean bake! I mean drink!

December 28, 2010 ann888

by Ann

Okay! Let’s do both! First! Pour yourself a glass of bubbly or whatever it is that you enjoy that will assist you in getting into the ‘baking’ mood.

Next! Get a bag of cranberries and grind them up. Put them in a bowl and cover them with sugar. Put in the frig, covered, and leave overnight or longer. This makes the most wonderful relish to be used on many things. And I put this delight in and on my ‘Cranberry Everything’ muffins and bread. Umm…. so actually, do the cranberry thingy at least, the night before ‘bake day’.

Ready! Take a sip of your drink of choice and let’s get baking!

Ingredients:

Oat Flour – 3 and a half cups
Baking Soda – 1 teaspoon
Baking Powder – 1 teaspoon
Oatmeal – about a cup
A cup and a half of Brummel and Brown Yogart Butter
Honey – about a cup
Cranberry juice light – one small bottle
3 Eggs
Walnuts – lots of them
Raisins – about a cup
Bananas – one, two or three
Vanilla
A couple of dashes of salt

Put all dry ingredients into a bowl then mix. Add the eggs (beaten) and other wet ingredients, including the cranberries. ( but do reserve a bit of the cranberries for later and for other uses.) Then mix thoroughly. Add more oatmeal or cranberry juice as desired for consistancy. Last of all add the bananas, the raisins, and walnuts and mix some more.

I use PAM SPRAY to make sure there’s no sticking. I Then put some in a muffin pan and some in a bread pan and I bake them together in a 325 degree oven.

The muffins will, of course, be ready first. They will cook approximately 20 minutes. I do the toothpick test to see if they are done.

The bread will bake for about an hour in total.

Wonderful enjoyed with a dollop of cranberry relish or served
warm with butter or cream cheese, or doused with Cognac and or Chambord Liqueur Royal…or ice cream. Great for breakfast, a snack, or for dessert…
and perfect to put in gift baskets. And these are healthy… full of nutrients….
SO ENJOY!