Bienvenue 2009!

Another New Year has come and gone..... to me, 2009 will mean a new beginning and hopefully learning some new and exciting skills in the City of Lights. 

Just before I headed back to the big smoke, I was lucky enough to corner my Mum in the kitchen who was on hand to show me how to make some of her delicious biscuits. They were easier to make than I had expected but still required the right amount of elbow grease mixed with a little baking finesse. We started off with a batch of orange, chocolate and almond and a few days later, progressed onto walnut and maple (many thanks to Mum for painstakingly cracking, peeling and air-drying the large bag of walnuts needed for the recipe!). Initially, I thought the first batch were the nicer of the two but now having had several tastings (the rations I brought down are dwindling rapidly!), I am now being converted to walnut and maple, which is one of Mum's favourite. I think it has something to do with the fact that the maple flavour really matures a few days after baking and it matches perfectly with the walnuts. All in all, very yummy and in the words of my Mum's old teacher, Darina Allen.....just simply delicious!