Don't Try This At Home!

Each evening, while we're having our daily catch up, I ask Hubby a question.

"What do you want for dinner tomorrow"?

Invariably he will say he wants a curry, or a chilli, or perhaps something with potato.

But occasionally, just once in a while, he'll throw me a curve ball and ask for something a bit...ahem...unusual.

Yesterday was one of those days. For his dinner, he said, he would like a tuna risotto...with onion... and garlic... and Worcester sauce.

Hmmm...

Hesitations put aside, what Hubby wants Hubby gets when it comes to his dinner. So I set about trying to make an edible meal from this random assortment of requested ingredients. And this was the result.

So here is my recipe for a very bizarre risotto. And d'you know what? It didn't taste half bad!

'Hubby's Crazy Risotto' : Serves 2

1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200g risotto/ arborio rice
1 can of tuna, well drained
1/2 can of sweetcorn, well drained
A few splashes of worcester sauce (add as much or as little as you like).
1/2 tspb paprika
black pepper to taste
cheese, to grate (any kind you like!)

1. Heat a little olive oil in a large pan.
2. Saute onion and garlic on a low heat until soft.
3. Add the rice and fry for a further minute until all the rice is coated in the oil.
4. Add a few ladel-fuls of boiling water (using a stock cube is optional...I prefer to do without the salt) and stir thoroughly.
5. Add the tuna, sweetcorn and paprika and worcester sauce and stir thoroughly, simmering gently on a low heat.
6. Continue to add more water as required until the rice is thoroughly cooked.
7. Once served, grate the cheese on top.

And you're done! Now you can enjoy (or not enjoy) your crazy concoction!

DISCLAIMER - www.marthassecretvineyard.blogspot.com cannot be held liable for any wasted ingredients or emotional distress caused as a result of serving this meal.

Lenten Challenge

It's nearly that time of year again. Lent. In a week's time there will come 40 days and 40 nights in which to reflect, pray, repent and deny to self.

I'll admit I don't enjoy Lent. I know for some people the challenge of self-control and the extra focus on prayer is inspiring and positive, but I don't find it so. I always do participate in the Lenten challenges though. I observe the no meat on Fridays rule, I confess and I give up something I love for the duration but often-times, the spirit of the season is really lacking in me. Giving up chocolate is not so hard to do, but vowing not to moan about it is a real challenge!

But this year I sense that things will have to change. I will have to up my game and really throw myself into Lent with the right attitude. Since becoming a mother and realising the enormous responsibilities that this brings, I see that in future I will be the example that my daughter follows, in so many areas of life. If I am to expect her to observe this season, and to benefit spiritually from it, I will have to show her how to do it. And this year is an excellent year to begin for I have been challenged by Hubby to attend Mass every day during Lent as well as observing all the other usual practices. And what better reminder could there be of the meaning of Lent than celebrating Mass every day?

So this year, I've decided that instead of spending another 6 weeks moaning about the fact that I'm not eating chocolate, or watching TV, or buying magazines, or whatever other challenge I've taken upon myself; I am going to spend 6 weeks giving up the things I love, attending Mass daily and not complaining about it.

It should make for an interesting, challenging 6 weeks. But I have a good feeling I'll come out the other side feeling refreshed, motivated and humbled.

Bring On The Lenten Challenge!

*Photo from http://recoveringperfectionist.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/angelsey-llanddwyn-cross-1.jpg

Yellow and Orange and Blue...I Can See A Rainbow

At last! After a very grey few weeks, the sun came out today. Already there are some daffodils to be seen and the scent of spring is not too far away.


All this sun has enticed many out of winter hibernation.


Including this fellow...my lovely orange-furred cat 'Ginger'.



He took advantage of the pleasant temperature and climbed the nearest tree in the hope of 'wooing' a lovely bird. No such luck for my four-legged friend though...as the object of his desire didn't quite reciprocate his affections!

Better luck next time Ginge!

A Contribution

At the inception of this blog, I said that I would dedicate my daily writings to all the things that I love; family, faith, home...and cake. Nothing that I have written about could be considered particularly weighty and certainly none of it is intellectual. And yet a big part of my family life involves debate and discussion of heavier issues. Each night after our daughter has fallen asleep, my husband and I talk. And it's not unusual for us to glance at the clock after what seems like a few minutes only to discover that we have been talking for hours. Politics, religion, society, economics...nothing is off topic. I have learnt so much from him and I continue to daily seek his opinion on so many issues that crop up, not only in our lives, but in the wider world.

Long before I started this online 'diary', I had been somewhat pestering my husband (very gently!) to put electronic pen to paper and contribute some of his thoughts and ideas to the world wide web. Needless to say, he has neither enough time nor enough inclination to start his own blog just yet, but I have managed to persuade him to contribute a post to mine regarding a documentary film he saw last week which piqued his interest.

The following represents this other side of my home-life. A cake recipe it is not! But it is just as much a part of my every day life as anything I have written. Over to you Hubby...


'Shostakovich Against Stalin - The War Symphonies' : A Review

Larry Weinstein, by his own admission and definition 'a middle-class Canadian' seems an unlikely candidate to undertake the making of this film - a journey through one of Russia's most famous composer's idealogical battles with one of world's most dictatorial madmen.

There is much to recommend this documentary film, made in 1997 before the trend of 'docudrama' and its attempts to recreate history rather than tell the story straight, but there is a sense of detachment from the subject material that sit a little uneasily. The film combines elements of a history lesson with orchestral performance and it can be unclear at times wether we are meant to be listening to the music or getting the message about Stalin's purges. Yes, the music was the means employed by Shostakovich to convey his dislike of Stalin's regime and so both are closely related but the conductor Valery Gergiev's monologues about the symphonies add nothing to the story of the purges or the Nazi seige of Leningrad in which Shostakovich was trapped. The detachment continues in the interviews with the friends and family of Shostakovich himself. These lack the warmth of a film maker really trying to tell what is, after all, the story of their opression.

There are however several moments which do genuinely bring home the terror of what ordinary Russians experienced during the 1930's and 40's. The siege of Leningrad lasted 872 days and killed over 1 million people, Nazi Germany had the city surrounded and cut off almost all supplies of food, water, and energy. Many were starving and many died as a result. That an orchestra was able to motivate itself through this horror to put on a performance of Symphony No. 7 is truly amazing, even though many members of the orchestra had died and the remaining members would clearly have been both terrorised and in mourning.

The way in which Shostakovich was targetted by the Stalin's security apparatus, presumably for the purposes of being 'purged', was also highly enlightening. In many ways similar to Josef K's treatment in Kafka's 'The Trial', Shostakovich was summoned, interviewed, released, summoned again and so forth - we understand without being told on what grounds he was being subjected to this 'judicial' process. In a bizarre twist of fate, we are told that Shostakovich only escaped imprisonment (or worse) because the man investigating him was himself being investigated and is arrested the day before he intends to make Shostakovich disappear. Shostakovich had even said goodbye to his family. It amply demonstrates the way in which the secret police seem to have behaved in many of the 'communist' experiments in history.

The archive footage of Stalin himself is equally chilling, like something out of a dystopian film, except that we know this was no fiction. Things are relieved somewhat by the inclusion of extracts from Mikhail Chiaureli's "Fall Of Berlin" for which Shostakovich provided the score. In this film, under Stalin's ultimate direction, the story of World War II is retold in the manner in which Stalin would have wanted it. If the truth wasn't so truly awful it would be funny, the way in which Stalin has himself portrayed in iconic fashion as the saviour of Russia and the Russian people. The actor playing Stalin is so wooden, I wondered if he was simply too scared to act?

It seems by providing film scores, at which he was considered rather good, Shostakovich had made himself useful to the Soviet authorities and he ultimately did not suffer any physical harm. Most of the persecution appears to have been pyschological, denounced as "against the people" on two occasions by the Soviet Central Committee and forced to write more 'pleasing' film scores.

This leads to the other problematic area of the film, namely that to show how terrible the purges were for Shostakovich and to focus only on that ignores how much worse things would have been for ordinary Russians. Shostakovich was not an ordinary Russian. His family were educated, professional, privileged in some ways. Identified as a prodigy at eight years of age, Shostakovich's path was not one of triumph over adversity. In many ways, Shostakovich's public presence and his popularity would have made it more difficult for Stalin to persecute him; at least compared with a Joe Nobody who could be executed for simply saying a few words against the party. Shostakovich was certainly brave to create 'unpleasing' music, but that bravery and his misfortune should be viewed in context.

This is an interesting film, not perfect by any means and it perhaps doesn't live up to its full potential, but if you like music and 20th century history it is definitely worth a look.

Sunshine on a Rainy Day

Some days are just not conducive to feeling optimistic and cheerful. Today is one of those days here. We've come back home after a wonderful week with family. And although I love being home, the weather is cold, the sky is grey and it's back to reality. Hardly the most welcome return.

But no matter! As I have a happy reminder of all that we enjoyed.

I made this tea-towel with some (...ok...alot) of help from my Mum, whilst staying at my parents farm.

I bought the material on a whim as it is just so pretty and colourful. I couldn't resist!

It's definitely brightened up this dull day.

'Finding Happiness' - A Book Review

Are you happy?

You, reading these words right now. Are you happy? Do you even know? Are you sure?

If you are happy (and I hope you are!) I wonder if you're able to explain why it is that you are happy?

I'm happy today. And I can quite easily explain why. I'm with my family. We're on a sort of mini holiday, staying with relatives. There is nice company, nice food, lots of rest and no work to be done. What's not to be happy about?

But supposing we take all these factors away. Suppose instead that I am at home, exhausted from yet another broken night's sleep with the baby, a mountain of laundry to be done and dishes in the sink. I'm on my own until my husband gets home and it's pouring with rain so I can't get out for a walk.

Am I still happy? Would anyone reasonably expect me to still be happy?

And what if my circumstances were even less favourable? What if I had no family? What if I lived alone? What if, instead of caring for a baby at night, I was tired because of ill health? And what if I was incapable of doing the mountain of laundry or the pile of dirty dishes not because I am busy with something else, but because I am so unwell, so tired, that I'm unable to find the strength to do the most basic tasks, like taking a shower or getting dressed?

How many people would be able to face such circumstances and still keep a smile on their face and a positive outlook on life?

Well, in his book 'Finding Happiness', Abbot Christopher Jamison might well argue that happiness could indeed be found in a life such as the one I describe.

Using Benedictine monastic tradition as his guideline, Abbot Jamison outlines not a 'system' of happiness, but more a way of living, that he argues, can and will lead to real happiness. The guidelines are based upon pursuit of several key virtues, aswell as ackowledgment and denial of several 'demons' that act as obstacles to inner peace and happiness.

So far, so Catholic. And yet, this book is so much more than just an overblown advertisement for organised religion. You don't need to be a Catholic to follow Abbot Jamison's fantastic advice. In fact, you don't need to be religious at all.

For all people, religious or otherwise, a life lived in pursuit only of personal pleasure is incapable of bringing deep and lasting happiness. Pleasure can only be defined in vague terms. At most, it can be basically summed up in the rather wishy washy expression "feeling good". Happiness in this context is distinct from pleasure. It can be best defined as "purity of heart". It has nothing to do with personal circumstances, who you are, what you own, your job, your family, your achievements or lack of them. Happiness can never be bought, or sold, nor it is something that is given to you by someone else. It exists solely in the internal workings of a person; in their mind, their heart and their soul.

Achievement of purity of heart requires that we embrace humility, magnanimity and self-control through chastity and our relationship with food. It also requires that we reject the demons that enslave us, of which says the author, pride and vanity are the most destructive. They are the sins of the soul, destined to rot our relationship with ourselves, those around us and for those of a religious persuasion, they are sure to rot entirely our relationship with God.

In it's most basic form, this book beautifully and eloquently unveils that most paradoxical element of Christianity. For us to be exalted, we must humble ourselves. But whoever would exalt himself will find himself humbled. This does not mean that each of us must leave our homes and families and exercise a mass exodus to the nearest monastery or convent (although St. Benedict did make the radical assertion that private ownership was "an evil practise". Gulp).

But what it does mean is that each of us needs to embrace a level of personal responsibility for the communal happiness of those whose lives we affect. Happiness does not exist in a bubble. By rejecting greed, anger, vanity and pride, we will place ourselves in a position to more effectively help others. This will bring us, and others, true and lasting happiness and peace.

It is this basic message that acts as a guide for the way of life that the author advocates.

The book serves as a powerful rebuttal to the old adage that people should be able to do as they please, provided they hurt no one. It is also a wholesale rejection of the excesses of the consumer culture we live in.

In short, it's radical, it is accusing and it has the power to change lives. I think it has changed mine.

T.L.M - To Learn More?

As anyone reading my little blog might have guessed, I am Catholic. I come from a strongly Catholic family. We did, and do, celebrate Mass every Sunday along with every holy day of obligation.

But in recent years, with the arrival of a new parish priest, we as a family have been introduced to the celebration of our faith in Latin!

Known in short as TLM; Traditional Latin Mass, the Tridentine Mass, The Extraordinary Form of the Mass...whatever it is called, it sounds slightly old-fashioned with maybe just a hint of grandeur. And in truth, it is.

This is Mass 'old-school'...the priest has his back to the congregation at all times except the homily and the entire service is conducted in, yep, you guessed it folks, Latin.

And in truth, this poses a few problems for me in some respects. I find it hard to engage with the service fully as I mentally scrabble with the translation whilst straining my ears to try to hear what Father is saying.

And yet, through the most unlikely of people, I have seen the Mass through fresh eyes. Last night, as I attended our monthly Sung Latin Mass, I was, as usual, grappling to keep up with the rapid pace and the foreign language when I caught a glimpse of my daughter's face as she sat happily in my husband's lap. Smiling brightly, and cooing, she looked blissfully happy and entertained. The lights, the incense, the organ and the singing. It is a beautiful experience. And by her face, I was instantly reminded that Mass need not be an intellectual experience. I was forgetting it's true purpose, getting lost in my worldly thoughts and frustrations. No real comprehension is absolutely required. Even a 5 month old baby is capable of participating in and enjoying the experience.

Mass, even the Latin Mass, is truly for all. The Catholic Church is the Universal Church and every Mass is the opportunity to be close to Christ, to remind ourselves of the sacrifice He made and to ask Him to help us. Most crucially, it is THE time to ask Him to forgive us.

Everything else...the music, the lights, the candles, the rhythmic sound of the Latin prayers...they're all just the icing on the cake.

Last night, sat in that smoky church, it dawned on me that for me, T.L.M might just mean 'To Learn More'.