Chances are you will run into an occasion in life which requires you to give a toast. Perhaps the event is a wedding, or a birthday party, or an event recognizing some achievement. With more formal events, a more formal toast is appropriate, and unless you’re a naturally-gifted and golden-tongued speaker, you’ll need to do some practicing beforehand in order to get it right.

But before practicing it, you’ll have to make up the toast. It might be funny, or it might be more serious. When I had to create a toast recently, I turned to the movie, “The Count of Monte Cristo”, in which Jim Caviziel’s character delivers a gem of a toast to a an adolescent boy entering adulthood. The toast was so impressive in form and substance that I not only memor How To Create a Toast Recipe

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Rowan Jelly (Mountain Ash - Pyrus aucuparia)

by Simon Mitchell

Sharp and sour but sweet and succulent all at the same time, this traditional accompanyment to cold meat is bursting with flavour, and folklore !

‘Rowan tree and red thread - have the witches all in dread’

On May eve Rowan crosses used to be worn in UK and were sometimes fastened to cattle (or their barns) for protection against witches and other ‘evil doers’. Legend has it that the crosses had to be made without a metal knife to work properly. Rowan branches were also bought indoors on a Good Friday as this tree had a reputation for strong protection against psychic forces.

This ‘mish-mash’ of folklore and Christianity indicates older uses of the tree having been ‘assimilated’ into a re Rowan Jelly (Mountain Ash - Pyrus aucuparia) Recipe

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Smooth Refreshing Smoothies

by Donna Monday

More people today are discovering the healthy benefits of drinking a delicious, refreshing smoothie for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Instead of soda pop at your next meal or diet cola, consider whipping up a smoothie made with fresh fruit, yogurt, skim milk or juice.

Smoothies will give you a real energy boost and are healthier for you than cola or soda.

Online you will find recipes for popular smoothies like: banana smoothie, blueberry smoothie, chocolate smoothie, jello smoothie, mango smoothie, peanut butter smoothie, strawberry smoothie, tofu smoothie, and tropical smoothie.

Here is a sample of the kinds of smoothie recipes you will see:

Banana Creamsicle Smoothie – with bananas and orange juice

Blueberry Pineapple Smooth Smooth Refreshing Smoothies Recipe

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