♥ - WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD 03/28/2013 - ♥

For most of us, 

the greatest struggle we have with inspiration

 is its apparent lack of persistence.

 We have a vision that motivates us:

 to have a beautiful body,

 to maintain a strong relationship with God,

to develop a skill or to be successful in some way.

 The vision keeps us motivated,

 sometimes for quite a while. 

Then suddenly, 

we find ourselves wondering how we managed

 to go a month without working out, 

meditating or otherwise taking any action toward our goal.

The problem is that we've become distracted. 

The day to day realities of the path

 leading to our vision have obstructed 

our view of that vision.

 When we think about working out, 

we no longer think about the beautiful body

 we are going to have,

 we instead think of the cumbersome drive

 to the gym and the limited amount of time we have

 to do what we want. 

Because of these distractions,

 our vision can only sustain motivation

 for a finite amount of time.

The solution is self-discipline.

 Self-discipline is a scary word for some of us.

 This is because it is often misunderstood. 

Self-discipline is not about forcing ourselves to do 

what we don't want to do. 

That type of discipline can only sustain us

for a finite amount of time.

 And even worse,

 it often leads us to resent 

our own goals and visions.

The self-discipline I’m referring to 

comes from having faith in ourselves.

 It’s remembering that we set a goal

 that once inspired us. 

It’s trusting that our inspiration 

was well-founded and that it will motivate us again 

once self-discipline gets things moving again.

When motivation fails, 

don't kick yourself in the butt.

 Have faith in yourself instead.

~unknown

 "Don't ask for a lighter load, 

but pray  to God for a stronger back"

 Mandarin Panacotta

To make Mandarin Gelee

150ml mandarin juice

½ tbsp gelatin powder

3 tbsp cold water

3 tbsp caster sugar

To make Mandarin Saffron Panna Cotta

1½ cup heavy(thickened) cream

1¼ cup full cream milk

½ cup caster sugar

1 vanilla pod, halved and scraped for seeds

1 pinch of saffron (about 10 strans)

1 whole mandarin zests

1 tbsp gelatin powder

3 tbsp cold water

To make Mandarin Gelee

1. Put mandarin juice and sugar into a saucepan over medium heat 

and bring it to boil or until all the sugar dissolved.

2. Sprinkle the gelatin powder into the cold water in a bowl and let it soften over 5 minutes.

3. Add the soften gelatin into the mandarin mixture and stir until all dissolved completely.

4. Pour the mixture over 4 cocktail glasses or ramekins and let it set in the fridge.

To make Mandarin Saffron Panna Cotta

1. Add heavy cream, milk, sugar, vanilla seeds, saffon, mandarin zests into a saucepan and warm it up over medium-low heat. DO NOT BOIL.

2. Let the mixture infused for 5 - 10 minute, or until all the sugar are dissolved.

3. Pour the mixture into a large bowl over a strainer.

4. Add gelatin powder into the cold water and let itsoften over 5 minutes.

5. Add the soften gelatin powder into the mixture and stir until all dissolved then let it cool

6. If the mandarin gelee is set inside the glasses, pour the mixture slowly into the glass almost full to the brim.

7. Let it set in the fridge over 2 hours or longer.

Easy and Creative Kitchen Solutions

Peel the onion to much thinner strips,

 using a Peeler.