Put Yourself In Their Shoes…

As June now commences, I’ve noticed how quickly the year seems to have gone. It only seems like last week when I was blogging about Christmas gift boxes. And every year always goes quicker than the one before, or at least it appears to.

I believe in not wasting time. Life is full of great opportunities and even if you have a boring routine of the same job every day, you can still make the most of those days. I always try to go around with a smile on my face, or at least a face that isn’t frowning. And I do this because I don’t want to waste my day thinking negatively and looking back on things that have gone wrong in my life. Of course things are going to wrong, but there’s no point dwelling in the past.

I also try to remain happy because I don’t think it’s right to make others feel down. Personally, I dislike it when friends start ranting on to me about all of their problems. Of course, as a friend, I will be there to listen to their problems but sometimes one just needs to not think about all of those problems and think positively instead. It can rub off on others and that isn’t something I find nice – making somebody else feel down because you are.

I guess the moral here is to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes or to imagine what you would be thinking in their situation. I’m not saying to be jumping about merrily when you’re actually feeling quite emotional, but just to be sensitive to others around you.

Pany.

A Truly Scrumptious Lemon Tart

Mmm, I love lemon tart. And, with the jubilee coming up (more on that next week), I’ve been practising my baking skills so I can win the competition on our street. Here it is…

Check out my amazing food photography…

All I can say is that it’s truly scrumptious. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry:

• 200g Plain flour, sifted
• 100g butter, chilled and cubed
• 1 egg, beaten
• (You could add 1 tbsp of icing sugar if desired.)

For the filling:

• 3 eggs
• 1 lemon, grated zest
• 125g caster sugar
• 150ml double cream
• 3 lemons, juice only
• 1 orange, juice only
• Icing sugar, for dusting.

Method

1. For the pastry: Put the flour, butter and a pinch of salt in a food processor and process briefly.

2. Add half the beaten egg and continue to process. (You might add a little more egg, but not too much as the mixture should be just moist enough to come together.) If making the pastry by hand, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs then, using your hands, add just enough egg to bring it together.

3. With your hands, flatten out the ball of dough until it is about 2cm thick, then wrap it in cling film or place it in a plastic bag and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or, if you are pushed for time, in the freezer for 10–15 minutes, before using.

4. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4.

5. Line a 23cm tart tin with the shortcrust pastry and cover the base with baking parchment. Fill the tin with baking beans and bake blind for 10-15 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment for the last five minutes of baking for a golden crust.

5. For the filling: Place the eggs, lemon zest and sugar in a bowl and whisk for a couple of minutes until the egg is all broken up.

6. Add the cream, orange and lemon juice. Mix well, skimming off any froth from the top of the mixture. Carefully pour the filling into the cooked pastry case.

7. Reduce the oven temperature to 160C/gas 3 and bake the tart for 30-35 minutes or until the filling has just set in the centre – it should only wobble very slightly when you take it out of the oven.

8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before removing the tart from the tin and transferring to a plate or cake stand. When it is cool, dredge a little icing sugar over the top and cut into slices to serve.

(Recipe can be found at this website.)

Enjoy!

Pany.

Do People Change?

First of all, sorry for the infrequent posts recently – I’ve been having some trouble with my internet so please forgive me…

Anyway, I’ve always wondered about this and thought I’d share my views – do people change? I think people can’t change. However, I do think that people can appear to change. This is my theory:

Everybody is born innocent (in other words, I don’t believe that people are born good or bad). Then the way they are brought up shapes the kind of person they become. But if somebody who has been affected by their upbringing and has become quite a mean person does something good, it doesn’t mean their personality has totally changed and that they are a reformed character, but – I think – that they have shown a different side to them-self.

Going back to the belief some have of people being born good or bad, I strongly disagree with that opinion. I don’t think that people can have a personality when they are born. Besides, personality isn’t held in the genes so therefore it cannot be inherited. But – and this is a big but – I still think that whoever brings up a child can have an influence on the type of person they become.

So I think that a change in a person cannot occur. Instead, I believe that a ‘change’ in personality is simply a display of a different aspect of one’s personality. And maybe everybody has a nice and little selfish side, I guess it’s perfectly natural (but I don’t mean natural as in there from birth, that would totally contradict everything I’ve just written…)

A lot of thoughts in today’s post. Please remember that these are just my views and any contradicting/different views are always welcome and appreciated.

Pany.

An Abundance

Abundances are such beautiful things. Their texture just blows one away and I absolutely love them. I just had to take a photo of this one…

Pany.

The Fascination of Being Different

I’ve always found it interested how language and expression changes as you go through the world. It’s really fascinating to think that although we are all humans, we all speak different languages – which are just sounds that we can make voice boxes do – and that we all have a different way of doing things. But at the end of the day (as some would say), we’re all the same.

I find it more interesting when it occurs in the same country. Like in America – New Yorkers are quite well spoken people (I think) but then as you go south you get more… southern. As for here in England, we in London are the well spoken ones (well, most of London), then as you go north you will find more… northern accents (they’re hard to describe).

Another way of describing it would be to use England’s different slang words. For example, people in northern England would say ‘buns’ but people in southern England would say ‘cakes’ or ‘cupcakes’. I find it funny when I see my cousins in Yorkshire and at their local school where it sometimes has a ‘Bun Sale’ sign. But here in London you will definitely find a ‘Cake Sale’ one. And for me, a bun would be a small piece of bread. Hmm, funny – what would you say?

But I guess that whatever language you speak or however you speak it, us humans are all very similar. I laugh at myself for laughing when I see someone from another country doing something that I would do. Obviously, humans have a similar way of thinking, but when we meet foreign people we seem to think that they don’t think the way that we do. So, like I said, I laugh at myself for laughing at them because I find myself silly – they’re just people!

Pany.

You Must Read to Write

As many of you writers out there will know, writing is not an easy thing to do. And in order to write, you must read…

I have a writer friend who says that she doesn’t read much but that she write novels. See, I don’t understand how that works. For me, reading is key to one’s understanding of how books work and how writing is structured. Also, it’s useful to identify different types of genres and pick out one you are most interested in and would like to write.

However it’s always good to read different genres. My genre is quite emotional yet witty. But I have writer friends who write in totally different genres – from deep romance to fast and furious adventures. And I enjoy reading all of these genres. Besides, how am I supposed to tell the difference between different genres if I only read one? I think reading a variety of books is imperative if you want to become a good writer. When I’ve finished one book, I aim to go for a different genre to that book I’ve just finished. For example, the last book I read was quite humorous and made me laugh all the time, but now I’m reading a book about an adventure which is quite emotional.

So, for all you fellow writers out there, my advice is to read as many books and as many different genres as possible (even though I could still be classed as an amateur). Then you will become a writer who understands what a book about so-and-so needs to have and will not get confused.

Pany.

Me + Depot Cards = Anger.

Online deliveries look so free and easy. Just by a few clicks of a button, you can buy a birthday present or your groceries for the week. It seems so simple and stress-free… well it’s not. In fact, for me, it’s the most stressful ordeal I have ever been through. Ever.

It was actually a family member who ordered something off the internet. To be honest, I don’t know what it was but all I knew is that it was a small thing and, as I was home, it was my responsibility to make sure I answer the door and pick it up. Well, at about 10am, the doorbell rings. Silly me was in the shower. Okay, they’ll come back later…

They come back later and I’m out in the garden. But at the time I was unaware of the doorbell ringing. Silly, silly me.

So after a while I hear the post being delivered. I venture to the front door to find a few letters and a depot card. And depot cards really, really get on my nerves. I look at it in disgust – when could I have missed the second delivery time? I eventually realise that I was in the garden for a good hour or two so it must have been then. These silly coincidences have resulted in a depot card before. Basically, me and deliveries don’t go down a treat.

I look at the depot card and find a number. As I’m not my family member, I wait until they get home so they can sort it out. But I have spoken to the people you find yourself talking to when you ring up the number and it reminded me of this clip from my favourite comedy, Miranda:

Oh, how I will laugh at this for eternity.

Pany.