Cherries

My parents-in-law have a very healthy, fruitful cherry tree. I had no idea how very fruitful a healthy cherry tree can be till one Saturday about a month ago my husband packed us off to my in-laws and spent the morning picking cherries. As my dad said later when I told him about it, "if the cherry tree is good, you can get bored of cherries!" I honestly don't know how many kilos Hubby picked in one morning - and the tree still had plenty left!

Needless to say, I spent the following week in the kitchen, choosing the best, fattest, juiciest cherries for cherry preserves and halving and stoning the rest for cherry jam.

I learnt last year that if you pick cherries, pick 'em with the stem attached. They will last longer and won't spoil.

Nine large jars of preserved cherries. Eat them cold during the summer or warm them up for a cozy winter snack!

I had to ask Hubby to pick some more the following week so that I could bake a cherry pie for him as an anniversary gift. He didn't know, of course, he just knew he had to pick some more because I'd used all of the cherries for preserves and jam.

Last winter we finished up all of the jams and preserves I'd done the previous couple of years, so this summer I have to get enough jam and preserves ready for another couple of years! Cherry jam and preserves, check.

Rainy Day Biscuits

I've been asked by a co-blogger for a recipe for specific biscuits, the Rainy Day Biscuits. This is a recipe we found once in a library book of rainy-day activities. Therefore, we baked them when it rained, which wasn't often, so these were quite a treat.
As it is a rainy day today here, I thought it fitting to post it! The reason why I was asked to write it is this picture on the right: Xoc innocently looking at the camera as if his intentions towards the chocolate biscuits weren't obvious. I suppose the cookies do look promising, hehe!
My friend asked about the chocolate biscuits specifically, but I'll tell you something, they are the same as the others you see in the picture - they just have cocoa added.
So, without further ado, let me share with you one of the simplest recipes I've ever used, and yet, one of the yummiest!

Rainy Day Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 300 g of normal flour
• 200 g of margarine
• 100 g of sugar
• Decorations of your choice (dried fruit and nuts, candied fruit, chocolate chips, food colouring, etc.)

For chocolate biscuits:

• 250 g of normal flour
• 50 g of cocoa
• 100 g of margarine
• 50 g of sugar

Method:

• Mix the flour, margarine and sugar up to make a soft dough (if you've chosen to bake the chocolate biscuits, mix in the cocoa as well).
• Start heating the oven to 190ºC (375F)
• Form little balls with the dough, and place them on a greased oven tray.
• If you'd like coconut biscuits, take as many balls as you need and mix them back together, adding as many level tsp. of shredded coconut as balls you chose.
• Press the balls gently with your fingers to a flat (about half a cm), round shape. To differentiate between the normal dough balls and the coconut dough balls, press the latter with a fork (if you're working with cocoa biscuits, you're done! Jump to the last instruction).



Candied orange, toasted almond
chips, walnut, and pine nuts, plus a
coconut one on the top right.



Chocolate chips and chocolate
sprinkles.

• Decorate! Imagination is the highest kite one can fly, and the sky is the limit. On the right there are some pictures from my mum's blog from which you can get some ideas.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes and take out tray from oven. After 2-3 minutes of cooling (needed! Otherwise they stick) remove biscuits from tray and place on a flat cooling surface.

If you're a fan of baking and really enjoy it, then you'll have to decide which part you've enjoyed the most... the baking or the eating! Difficult decision, don't you think?