Monday 11 July 2011

Loves young dream . . .



I've a little story to tell you this morning which might sound a little bit like a fairy tale, but I can assure you is quite, quite true!

Once upon a time, in the beautiful province of Grasse, in France . . . there lived a beautiful young girl who fell in love with a young farmer, named Pierre. Her father, however, had vowed to marry her to a rich suitor, not a poor farmer.

"I will never let Pierre marry you, unless he can bring me 20,000 crowns!" he declared with contempt for the young man who loved his daughter so.



Now, Pierre was not a very successful farmer by any stretch, but he did have a talent for growing beautiful roses.

"If only I could turn those roses into money," sighed the lovesick Pierre . . .

Over the next little while his neighbours were astonished as they watched Pierre begin uprooting his vines and trees, and planting in their place roses and violets. They grew beautifully and before long Pierre crushed the flowers, and from them made the scent which made him rich, and for which the province has become famous. It is now known at the perfume centre of France and the perfume capitol of the world!



I think it's very safe to say that the perfume within your price today was perhaps made possible by the vision and dreams of a lovesick youth at the end of the 18th century.

And now you know the whole story! Never let an obstacle stand in your way of progress. There is always a way to be found over it, if we but try, and never give up.



Oh my but it did rain cats and dogs yesterday! It just tipped down for most of the early part of the day, but then cleared later on, although it did look like it could rain again at any moment. Last evening Todd and I were watching the television when I could hear a funny sound out back and Mitzie was barking, which is something she never does. I went out to investigate and there was a helicopter hovering in the sky above us, and that was what she was barking at! I am not sure what she thought it was, but she didn't like it invading her territory one little bit! It was rather noisy, I do have to say!

Here's a tasty recipe today that goes very well with most grilled meats, chicken or fish. It's easy to do, simple and goes together very quickly once you have all the vegetables prepared. I just love these kinds of dishes, coz . . . well, I am rather lazy at times, you know!






*Summer Vegetable Bake*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Colourful and delicious and very easily thrown together! This goes very well with grilled meats, chicken or fish.

1 pound of medium sized red potatoes, cut into 1/8 inch lices
1 large onion, peeled,cut in half and sliced into 1/4 inch thick moons
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp dried tarragon leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 sweet red bell pepper, trimmed, deseeded and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 medium courgette, cut into 1/4 inch slices (zucchini)

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Spray a large shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place the potatoes, carrots and onion in the dish. Toss together with half the oil, garlic, thyme, tarragon, salt and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes. In the meantime toss the pepper and courgettes with the remainder of the oil, herbs and seasonings. At the end of the 10 minutes, stir this mixture into the partially baked vegetables in the baking dish. Smooth out and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, until everthing is tender and beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and serve.



Cooking in The English Kitchen today, some delicious Grilled Chops with a Hoisin Marinade and Glaze!



5 comments:

  1. Sorry you had such a wet day yesterday.It was lovely here I was sitting out in the afternoon...in fact I fell asleep for about an hour on the deck !!! well on the seat on teh deck LOL
    Had lucnh with Beth and Max the pub in the village does their vegs just like in your recipe today....delicious, they add beetroot and sweet potato as well and all topped with roast beef and yorkshire pud. for me...I have a half roast as there is always so much !!
    Max goes into hospital this morning at 7am. Please say a quick prayer for him and Beth that all will be well.
    much love sybil x

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  2. Oh, I loved this story of perfume, Marie! I just love scent... At the weekend I got a new bottle of my fave Body Shop scent--Jasmine & Neroli...*swoon*... Pity about the rain. We've been having showers here almost every day for weeks now. But the sun has been peeking in occasionally, so can't complain completely...LOL! I love your easy veggie bake today. Been wanting easy summer meals--much as I love food & cooking, wanting to spend more time on other things these days. Oh, I am actually launching a new blog today, with new creative focus--I'm very excited about it. In a few weeks I'll be closing Pink Purl. Thanks for visiting me there, dear friend. :o) LOVE YOU LOTS ((BIG HUGS))

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  3. what a wonderful story,, we're having the same rain,, I guess its good for the crops.The vegies sound lovely,, and now I'm going to check out the chops,, have a wonderful monday,, love,,, laurie

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  4. what a sweet story... I just love that kind of story. It makes me smile.

    I also enjoyed ready about your Sunday smiles. I am glad that you got to make the trip to Ipswich with your friend... and... that your knees behaved themselves and let you have a good time.

    I smile each time I see a picture of Todd wearing his BYU sweatshirt that you bought when we were together in the BYU bookstore. How I treasure those sweet memories of our week together. I wish we could do it again.

    I am not exactly sad... I am just kind of "out of it". I haven't had the energy to even turn on my computer as of late. I am not really worried about the outcome of the surgery... I just dread going through it. I feel like I am too tired of pain to put up with any more. I have not meant to neglect you sweet friend... I am just not worth much these days. I will be glad when it is over. I think dreading the surgery is worse than the recovery will be... at least I hope so.

    You are always in my thoughts. I am sending love your way. Hugs, Lura

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  5. Oh! Your post is splendid. I just feel myself into it. It is really great to read such a refreshing and beautiful post.I liked all of it.You are awesome.
    Please keep posting.

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Your comments mean the world to me, and while I may not be able to address each one individually, each one is important to me and each one counts. Thanks so much!