Cherry oh, Cherry oh baby!

Due to the fact that we’ve had buckets of rain over the last few days, I’ve decided to buy a cruise ship, naturally. One recently came on the market for 535,000 Euros, which seems a lot of money but as they would normally fetch anything up to 50,000,000, I consider it a bargain. “No sweetheart, don’t focus on what I’ve spent, focus on what I’ve saved…..49,465,000 Euros.” Obviously, I am having a lockdown-meltdown! I suspect, like many of us, I’m now fed up with the whole situation and just want to escape to somewhere, anywhere that doesn’t have traces of any freedom-stealing viruses, lying politicians or constant repeats of old ‘classic’ football matches on the TV. I really should consider wearing bras again. At this rate my tits are gonna be down by my ankles by Xmas. Silver lining, we need to keep our ankles warm during the winter months.

Restrictions are lifting here and we have more freedom and places to go to but my hubby and I are still a little wary. We have recently allowed a few visitors to come to us instead (more about that later) as we’ve lots of space in the garden and can easily spread out. Personally, I'm really not enjoying any kind of shopping at the moment so we keep it goat related. A new fence was needed so off to the DIY shop we went only to turn round and come home as the car park was full. We went again a few days later, as soon as it opened, we were in and got what we needed and left. Well, that sounds like it was very quick. I did have five minutes in the tool department…….tool porn! I love a good, reliable tool and I’m in the market for a corner clamp. I recently watched one in action and realised my life is lacking and could be improved with a corner clamp. I shall need two, naturally. I also need to organise my tools better. OK, enough with the tools. I’ve no doubt my friends are already typing out their ‘tool’ jokes.

Obviously in this heat, most of us don’t feel like baking but there are certain bakes that seem to lend themselves to summer and one of those is a quiche. Quick and easy to put together and depending on the size, doesn’t take too long in the oven. It’s also one of those dishes that you can literally throw anything into, and it will be a success. Last week, I had a packet of puff pastry in the fridge and thought I’d rustle up a quick quiche with roasted pepper, green asparagus, mushrooms and cheddar cheese. Most of us, I suspect, usually make our quiches with short crust pastry but trust me, puff pastry works just as well and if you get into the habit of always having a packet in the fridge, you’ll find there’s a number of handy, last-minute bakes you can use it for.

Anyway, headphones on (Luther Vandross – Give me the reason - classic album) and now I feel I need to talk about cherries and how, like Wimbledon, they take over my life for two weeks every year.

We are blessed with an enormous cherry tree that, most years, will produce approx. 500 kilos of cherries. Unfortunately, due to the size and shape of the tree we can access only 120 kilos. It also means we have to have help. So, every year, I shout-out on Facebook and friends come over and for a week we cherry pick to our heart’s content. Normally, it coincides with Wimbledon which means in between picking, I’m watching Wimbledon and stoning cherries at the same time. This year, however, things are different. For one, there’s no Wimbledon but also due to the current environment, many of my regular ‘pickers’ couldn’t come. This has meant we have welcomed some new faces to the cherry picking team and over the weekend we had 14 different nationalities turn up, buckets in hand, with some of them brave enough to climb the tree! It was wonderful but, I must say, quite exhausting. I think I was suffering with over-stimulation. Having not seen any friends for so long and then having to manage the social distancing, it’s just about adjusting, I suppose.

Anyway, since then I’ve been sent loads of pics of some of the results form the cherry picking and I too, as you would expect, have been busy in the kitchen.

I made a simple 3 layered black forest gateau for my father-in-law. Cherries and chocolate are a match made in heaven and I decided to cover it in royal icing with what I thought would be a simple design, something I had seen on Instagram. Only to realise it wasn’t as simple as in the video……surprise surprise! Anyway, with a bit of juggling and a discreet cover-up, I got there in the end. However, on that particular day it was roasting outside and by the time it came to cutting it, the icing had started heading south. Reminds me of a wedding cake I made last year that I decorated in my fridge. It was so hot, I couldn’t keep the roses on the cake long enough so I stood there with the fridge door open, decorating the cake whilst closing the door every two minutes. Decorating cakes and heat are not a match made in heaven, the icing sweats and I fear with the way the weather is changing these days, that some kind of decorative salad might be the way to go.

Anyway, lots of changes happening here at Casa Moo. We have a renovation project starting so not so much time for baking and more time spent shouting at contractors who refuse to put up with me changing my mind seven times a day.

See ya soon x

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