Thought for the day

My Dad used to have the Reader's Digest delivered, when I was just at the age when I would avidly read everything,  about aged nine (but I still do!) Starting with the cereal packet in the morning to my Mum's bedtime book. The Reader's digest  had lots of one line philosophy and jokes. I would often read them out loud and we would comment on them.

One that made my Dad laugh was a cartoon of a miserable looking man in his pyjamas. The caption was "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man, healthy, wealthy and wise", to which the man replied "Dull, isn't it?"

One of my Mum's favourite thoughts for the day was "Begone dull care". She would stretch her arms up and demand a hug while saying it. My Dad had loads and loads.

My thought for this rainy  day is "When it is difficult to give, give more".

While you are pondering that, I'm going to give you my favourite recipe for my Favourite Dessert, Apple Crumble. For us this was an everyday pudding, we often had it at school.
Everyone has their own variation, this is my latest:

 

Enough for 6 or 4 after a light lunch.

3 Golden Delicious apples
50g chopped nuts (optional)
200 g flour
100 g brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
pinch of nutmeg (optional)
120 g butter
pinch of salt

Butter an ovenproof dish or line with greaseproof (oven) paper
Set the oven to 180°
Peel, core and slice the apples and spread them evenly in the dish.
In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, spices, if using, pinch of salt, the chopped nuts and nutmeg.
Add the butter, cut into pieces and work together until it resembles breadcrumbs.
My friend Linda showed me how her Grandma did this, gently rubbing on the palm of her hand.
Spread the mixture evenly over the apples.
Bake for about 30 minutes, the apples should be nice and soft, and the crumble Golden.
Serve with vanilla ice cream, custard or cream.

This dessert is guaranteed to cheer everyone up, it goes well after Shepherd's Pie or just a simple soup or salad.

Still on the subject of giving, "You don't have to feel love, to give it".