For Sunday, January 2nd, 2011

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

JANUARY 2nd, 2011

If you can't see the bright side of life, polish the dull side

It's SUNDAY!

And it is RUN IT UP THE FLAGPOLE AND SEE IF ANYONE SALUTES IT Day

The expression, Run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it, is a terms used to describe the process of sharing an idea with people and watching their reaction. It stems from the world of advertising and marketing. What the expression means is on this day you are allowed to be creative, to try out new ideas and things a little different from the usual. Try a new style of dressing or a new hair style. Or, maybe buy a new house flag and run it up the flagpole to see if any one salutes ...or even notices.

Some Day We'll Laugh About This week also begins today

KEEP SMILING!

THINKING

Basil the Great and Gregory are remembered on this Ninth Day of Christmas. In Greece it is the custom to bake a bread or cake called Vassilopita (Basil in Greek is Vassilis). The cake has a coin baked into it and the person who gets the coin in his or her piece of cake is destined for good luck in the coming year. Today we can take the opportunity to incorporate a custom and a recipe into our observance of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

This is a vanilla and orange pound like cake

1 cup butter, salted

2 cups sugar

6 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla

zest of 1 orange

1 cup milk

6 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups cake flour

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup slivered almonds, unroasted

2 - 3 tbsp shortening and flour, for greasing pan

1 coin, washed well

1/2 cup icing sugar

Grease pan: cut out a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and a few strips for the side. Grease the pan with the shortening and then line with papers. Wash and rinse the coin and set it aside.

Using 2 large mixing bowls and a sieve, sift the cake flour twice and then measure 3 cups from it. In a large bowl, combine: 3 cups cake flour, 3 cups all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt: sift together twice and then set aside.

Position an oven rack on the second to lower level and preheat the oven to 350'F.

In another large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar on high speed, for 3 minutes; sugar will not dissolve. Add in all of the eggs and mix well on high speed, until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Add in the vanilla, orange zest and milk, and then mix well on high speed, for 1 - 2 minutes. Mix in the flour mixture, in half-cup increments; the batter should be very stiff when finished.

Transfer the batter into the prepared pan; run knife through batter. Rinse the coin under cold water to wet it and then dip the coin into some extra flour. Insert the flour-coated coin into the batter, spin the pan around a few times and then smooth out the top to conceal the coin. Using slivered almonds, write out the number of the New Year, in large numbers, over the top of the batter. Sprinkle some crushed slivers near the edge of the pan, making a border. Bake the cake for 50 - 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean; large cracks will develop around the cake.

Cool the baked cake in its pan for 10 - 15 minutes. Remove strips, place a dry, clean kitchen towel over the cake and then a cooling rack: invert the cake and remove paper. Then invert the cake back to an upright position and cool completely. If you don't have a large cooling rack, you can use a large pizza pan with punched out holes in it,. Wrap the cooled cake in plastic wrap until serving. Before serving, sift a bit of icing sugar around the edge of the cake.

In the Greek household, however, this cake is more about tradition mingled with religious symbolism than a dessert.

This cake is usually made on the last day of the year and served right after the stroke of midnight or during New Year's Day. The head of the household lightly passes a knife, three times, in a cross formation, without scoring or cutting the cake, while saying a prayer of thanks for all that has been received in the past year and all that will come in the New Year.

The Vasilopeta is then cut into servings. The first three pieces are offered to: St. Basil, Christ and The Virgin Mary. The order may vary, depending on the background and origin of the family, but they always come first. The following servings are cut for The House and then the immediate family members living in it, beginning with the oldest member and ending with the youngest. Then come the spouses of the children. Some also cut a few crumbs for pets

As for the coin, it's said that the person who finds it will be the lucky one for the rest of the year. This is superstition; though,the Vasilopeta isn't about the cake and coin. It's about stopping, appreciating, as well as being thankful, for what we have: our health and prosperity. Anything else is secondary. Happy New Year!

NEW IN THE KITCHEN

After all the feasting of the holidays Jan 2nd gives us another reason to go to your favorite restaurant and tuck into an all day eat as much as you can buffet. Whether your taste buds tingle with the thought of Thai or if even if good old barbecue ribs is your thing; go find a buffet and get stuck in. Why not treat the family to a pile of pancakes for breakfast with a never-ending supply of hash browns and eggs before a dinner fit for a king. If food be the language of love then this day is truly lovely!

At my house there is enough food in the fridge for a buffet of grand proportions. The nice thing about holidays is the fact that you don't have to cook again for awhile, you just need to heat up the leftovers and enjoy them!

It is also National Creme Puff Day today and guess what, I have a few of them leftover in the fridge too!

PRAYERS

Dear Lord, thank You for the new year that is ahead of us. Guide us in trusting you in every step we take.

Amen

Please pray for God's protection of

our troops and HIS wisdom for their

commanders.

Lord, hold our troops in

your loving hands.

Protect them as they protect us.

Bless them and their families for the

selfless acts they perform for us

in our time of need. I ask this in the

name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

AND bless our Police Officers, Firefighters

and Paramedics and EMT's

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

AROUND HOME

I've surfed the web and visited many sites in the past but I have to tell you about one of my favorites and that is the Fly Lady. She is one of the most inspirational and motivational people I know of. She is down to earth and gives a lot of tips on cleaning and organizing your house. Anyone that knows me also knows that I'm not a very organized person. I think I used to be but somewhere along the line I got overwhelmed and now the only room that is organized in my house is my kitchen. Thanks to DDIL#5 and #6 for organizing my cupboards.

The Fly Lady says we should begin with shining our sink. If you need some inspiration check out her website. You can find it by googling The Fly Lady.

I also took the time to enter for the HGTV Dream Home yesterday. I love watching HGTV and I usually enter for the Dream Home every year too. Of course I've never won, just like I've never won big on the lottery either. Well you can't win if you don't buy a ticket...

Memory verse for 01/01/2011

Psalm 65:11

You crown the year with Your good blessings, and You leave abundance in Your wake.

The NET Bible

and another....

It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put His hand on you for something special

1 Thessalonians 1:4 The Message

I love reading different translations of the Bible and The Message is one of my favorites.

COUNTING THE DAYS

If you're going to be able to look back on something and laugh about it, you might as well laugh about it now.

Marie Osmond

77 DAYS UNTIL SPRING!

106 DAYS UNTIL CAMPING SEASON BEGINS

Keep looking ON THE BRIGHT SIDE of things.

A little smile, a word of cheer,
A bit of love from someone near…

Love,

ma