This morning it was raining as I woke and so I decided to get on with the baking and make a day of it. I had already had a breakfast of toast and coffee with my son and so having settled Pa at the table with a pot of tea and a new cereal of which he is very fond I began by making the days bread. Today I used a white seeded flour and made three tin loaves for our use and a cob for my neighbours and then it was straight on with the biscuits. The Cherry shortcakes seem popular at the moment so I made several trays which I hope will last until Tuesday, The biscuit tins were cleaned out yesterday by hoards of visitors.
The biscuits cooled on their racks and next I made two lemon drizzle cakes one of which is a birthday cake and the other a gift to another friend who is crazy about this sort of cake.
I was by now boiling hot and decided to go for a ride in the fresh air for half and hour and to collect a balloon whilst I was out. Well over an hour later I returned having bumped into several acquaintances all of whom were inclined to stop for a chat.
On my return it was obvious that the final cake, a banana one again for a friends birthday would have to wait until tomorrow as I had a quiche to bake, this with a large salad from the garden made our evening meal. I whizzed around the kitchen tidying up the debris left over from the days baking, the kitchen looked like a bomb site, and an hour passed without notice as I sorted out the mess.
Outside Pa was filling the bird feeders with nuts and suet, bread crumbs and meal worms while the birds flitted about him, they are not at all afraid of him now. Another neighbour came to see if we could spare some sorrel and as I have two beds in full production I was pleased to oblige. Sorrel is a herb which grows wild in some areas, here I cultivate a wild variety in y garden. It can be used as a salad and has a refreshing lemony taste or it can be cooked like spinach, either way it is very popular. Our red and white mustard leaves are also just ready to pick as is the mizuna and the rocket ,altogether a spicy salad mix.
Last nights rain was welcome but insufficient for the garden's needs so I am hopeful that tonight will bring more showers. Planting out young seedlings is much less fraught with problems if the ground is damp and the sun not too hot for a week of so after they go out in to the garden.
The cat Twiggy caught a mouse today and attempted to sneak in to the house with her prize, fortunately Pa spotted her and evicted both the cat and her contraband. Over the years we have spent hours chasing stray mice brought in by the cat and then forgotten. Once I found one sitting in a box of cornflakes, I am jolly glad I noticed before I ate some, really it does not bear thinking about.
Today has been a happy day filled with the smell of warm bread and sweet cookies and I get a good deal of satisfaction from filling both the table and the cake and biscuit tins with goodies. I may even have a couple of cookies myself with a glass of milk before I go to sleep. Night night.
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