From Soup to Baking

Such are the vagaries of family life - yesterday I was making soup, as the only form of sustenance possible for a sick family - one child vomiting and headache, other two sniffles and chesty, husband all of the above - today, a clear cool sunny day, everyone is miraculously better, even all playing amicably together. I have time to work on the computer, help them with some sewing (felt creations for a family birthday imminent) and do some baking. Some days seem to stretch to accomplish all sorts of things, others shrink into nothing achieved and grouchiness.

Thankful that today was a good one, I managed to bake bread for the next couple of days (see my article Recipe for Rye Bread for the recipe), bake a cake for a visitor coming to tea (a wonderful recipe from Nigella Lawson's "Feast" for a Rosemary Cake. I do have books by other people but she is still my favorite, for practical delicious no-fuss recipes and I like her writing too!) and make a batch of crunchies for a children's play date tomorrow. Today I can polish up my Super-Mum halo, because sure as eggs is eggs, tomorrow will be another story.

There is a linguistic debate as to the crunchies in our family. We both speak good English, but it is on matters like these, that growing up in different countries makes itself felt. These biscuits (cookies in the U.S.), made of oats, syrup, butter etc are called Flapjacks in England, here in South Africa they are Crunchies. When we still lived in London I indoctrinated the children into calling them Flapjacks too, but now we're here in S.A. I'm beginning to lose the battle and surrender to the inevitable decline of standards! A recipe will follow in my next blog.