5 Ingredients for a Contented Life

If you're anything like me, you would have clicked through to this post looking for some easy answers. I'm pretty sure that every day I read some article promising happiness in a few short steps. I think I have tried most types of therapies, spiritual practices and philosophies and yet still haven't mastered the art of sustained  happiness (and by sustained, I mean longer than say, my menstrual cycle).

That being said, along the way, I have picked up a few nuggets of wisdom that I will graciously share with you. 

Here are my 5 ingredients for a contented life;

1. Peanut butter cake & forgiveness

"Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness." Marianne Williamson.

Learning how to forgive has to be my number one step for contentment. From the day you are born till the day you leave this earth, you will have cause to forgive someone. But even more than that, forgiving yourself is crucial. A wise friend once encouraged me to be kind to myself and to treat myself the way I treat others. That was a life changing moment for me and something I could go on about forever. Say nice things to, & about yourself, no matter what you've said or done or what anyone thinks of you. 

Forgiving yourself may be a new concept for you, as making peanut butter cake was for me. Providing you don't have a nut allergy, this cake is delicious and moist and a new favourite. Click here for the recipe link. 

2. Chocolate buttercream & gratitude

"Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognise how good things really are." Marianne Williamson

It's almost a cliche to speak about gratitude so I'll share 3 (of the many) things I'm grateful for;

1. Life. In January I lost my nephew (aged 12 months) & my great grandmother (aged 93 years). I am grateful for my life and my health. 

2. My children. I'm blessed to have two healthy beautiful boys that fill my heart. I am also an Aunty to many more beautiful souls that I get to see and love on regularly.

3. My access to knowledge. I love to learn and I'm so fortunate to be able to feed my insatiable appetite with the many types of learning that are within my grasp. 

With that in mind, I'm always on the look out for new chocolate recipes & I found another Joy the Baker special with her chocolate buttercream recipe (link here). It's literally everything. 

3. Chocolate Fudge & the dirty word 'should'

Should is my least favourite word. In fact, I find it offensive. Should is the cause of resentments, anxieties, disappointments, arguments, the list goes on. "I should have achieved x by the time I turned 30", "She should be like y." "He should do z." All rubbish. Do yourself a favour, banish the word and make chocolate fudge. Trust me. 

4. Golden Meringues & focus

"We can always choose to perceive things differently. You can focus on what's wrong in your life, or you can focus on what's right." Marianne Williamson

Have some fun & change your focus. I'm not talking about avoidance because we have to feel what we feel. But staying in your funk is not the way. Do something that breaks the cycle of negative self talk, this weekend I made cookies with my nieces & nephews. It was hectic & exhausting & it made me smile. Watch comedies or hang out with friends or paint meringues with golden glitter. It's not the answer to your problems but it will give you some welcome respite whilst you wait for time to heal. 

5. Ferrero Rochers & giving back 

A note I received at work this week :)

"We are not held back by the love we didn't receive in the past, but by the love we're not extending in the present." Marianne Williamson

Last but by no means least, do something for someone else. It doesn't have to be something big; a smile, a compliment, a cake topped with Ferrero Rochers. You get so much more by giving than receiving and you never know what people are going through. I've practically bought the affection of my niece with this cake, it was a small price to pay!

So there it is, sugar and contentment in 5 steps. Don't say I don't give you anything :)

Peace & Love

Xxx

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Lemon Meringue Pie

This weekend turned out to be pretty awesome, quite by chance! I had some good news on Friday which at first just seemed ok, but the more I thought about it, the happier I became. This set the tone for a weekend that was filled with friends, family, partying, baking and chilling - lots of chilling. 

On Saturday my friend stayed over and made me some traditional Spanish tortilla, which is one of my favourites. I had planned on taking pictures but ate everything before I remembered (sorry!) Anyways I decided to bake and fancied something lemony as I had a few left over in the fridge. Enter Stage right, Mary Berry, genius of all things British and bakey with this amazing Lemon Meringue Pie. 

This picture of the pie in the oven is the only one I took of it whole, once it came out it got eaten... It's that good!

Before I share the recipe with you, let me say that this pie is DELICIOUS, like "there's no need for you to taste this good" kind of delicious. Someone really ought to give it it's own TV show or something....

Lemon Meringue Pie (adapted from Mary Berry's 100 Sweet Treats And Puds)

serves 6

for the base:

175g/6oz digestive biscuits

75g/3oz butter (I used unsalted but she doesn't specify)

for the filling:

1 tin (397g/14oz) full-fat condensed milk

3 large egg yolks

finely chopped/grated lemon zest and juice of 3 lemons

for the meringue:

3 large egg whites

175g/6oz caster sugar

(you can increase this by 1 egg white and 60g of caster sugar for extra meringue-ness)

Equipment needed:

Rolling pin

a deep 20cm (8") flutted flan dish. I used a bigger dish and got a flatter pie but it still worked.

Preheat the oven to 190oC/fan 170oC/gas 5

Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs in a plastic sandwich bag using a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a medium sized pan. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the biscuit crumbs. Press into the bottom and sides of the flan dish and leave to set. I left mine in the fridge whilst I made the filling.

Pour the condensed milk into a bowl, then beat in the egg yolks, lemon zest and lemon juice. Pour the mixture into the biscuit lined dish.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gradually add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, whisking well between each addition until very stiff and all of the sugar had been added.

I spooned on about half of the mixture on to the pie and covered the surface before piping some cones on top using the rest for dramatic effect and because I felt like it! :)

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 mins or until the meringue is light brown. I had my oven too low and got tired of waiting which is why my meringue is so light in colour. Leave to cool for about 30 mins or until you can't wait any longer and then tuck in! This pie tastes super amazing warm.... I'm in love!

Here's to a great week!

Peace & Love

xx

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