Last updated at 13:10, Friday, 23 March 2012

The weather for Tuesday: Stormy with winds from the west. Outlook: rather cranky, thank you. Watchword for the day: calm.

Right. Calm. Fat chance.With only thirty minutes to make the shops and the Post Office as well as catch the escapee chickens; this afternoon has been rather trying.

Surely it is time for a soothing cup of tea in front of some rather wind-swept patio? Not a good choice of view as both the weeds and the wet rather challenge the beauty.

Tuesday should be a soothing day of the week; clearly Monday is not the only black spot in the week. It’s probably because I did order online from Amazon rather than my own local friendly retailer. Serves me right. No wonder the Post men and women of the world look dejected; they probably all have a slipped disc or sciatica at the very least. There should be some sort of chronic back pain relief care for them. Perhaps they are already cursing me. Or perhaps the lady next door is top of their list.

It was certainly worth making the effort to the Post Office, at least I felt less guilty about my internet purchase misdemeanour.
The chickens have started to lay again and here is a great little recipe that I have just tried with great success.
Recipe- Cherry Rock buns
 

Preparation time 15 mins
Cooking time 15 mins

Ingredients
250g Self Raising Flour
2 tsp baking powder
125g unsalted butter, slightly softened
50g light brown soft sugar, plus 2 tbsp for sprinkling
100g pack Provençal Cherries, quartered
50g currants
1 large egg, beaten
2 tbsp milk
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. Line 2-3 baking sheets with baking parchment or lightly grease with a little extra butter. Place the flour, baking powder and butter in a mixing bowl and roughly chop the butter with a round-bladed knife. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, cherries, currants, beaten egg and milk, then use the knife to bring the ingredients together to form a stiff dough. If the mixture is very dry, add a little more milk.
Using a teaspoon, dollop heaps of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets to make 16 buns, spaced well apart. Sprinkle the remaining sugar evenly over the tops of the cakes and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until lightly golden brown all over. Cool on a wire rack.

Perhaps I should go out there and do something with those weeds; they will be getting out of hand before the end of the week.
What was the watchword again?
Calm. Righto.

First published at 13:23, Friday, 16 March 2012
Published by http://www.bramptonlocal.co.uk