1) “Fast away the Old Year passes” and all that.
2) As usual, I’m having about a dozen people in tomorrow for Tea and Tarot, which means baking today. I knew enough to get flour in advance, but imagine my surprise when, after putting the lemon squares in the oven, I had zero sugar left in the house, and two more recipes to complete! I had to put out the Classic Neighbor Appeal for a cup of sugar - or three. New Neighbors to the rescue!
3) Unusually, my household has been full of pears thanks to the generosity of my late mother and my old neighbors. So today I attempted my first ever homemade chocolate cake with a recipe involving pears. Cooking with chocolate and pears is involved, especially for a novice like myself! But it just came out of the oven and looks OK. Just needs a dusting of confectioner’s sugar.
4) Next: Russian cream!