Opposites Attract; or Raspberry buns V Date biscuits

It seems like ages since we had a bit of a laid back Saturday morning. One where you get up at six, go check your emails. Then think to yourself, 'why am I up at this ungodly hour, I don't have to be up now, it's freezing cold and there's a nice warm body in bed that I can go and warm my icy feet on' Go back to bed, and actually sleep until 9am. 

I love those pottering mornings and the less you have, the more enjoyable they become. The whole treat is that nothing is rushed. You're not looking at the clock all the time. You don't have a quick shower, but a long soak in the bath. Preferably with a good book and a nice cup of tea or mug of coffee. Then unhurriedly change the bed.

Then bake together. Everything done leisurely just for yourselves. Not cooking for a banquet, or the Queen coming to tea, but because you feel like doing it. We both love baking. Actually we are quite similar in our interests,taste, goals,ethics even politics, everything. That is until it comes to baking.

We bake very differently. I was always taught that baking is a science. It has to be exact. You have to weigh everything out. It's a precise art with chemical changes going on, alchemy. So when I really fancied making Raspberry buns this morning. Something I haven't done for years, I looked out my old school recipe.

I followed it to the letter. Weighed everything correctly. Rubbed the flour into the margarine. Added the eggs and milk.

Rolled the mixture into little balls. Made a well in the middle of each and filled it with jam. Baked them until golden brown at precisely 220 degrees c. They looked and tasted exactly like the ones I made as a little girl. Yummy.

Whilst I was making them, 'A' made these date biscuits.

He just mixed some flour in a bowl. He didn't weigh it, just sieved some into the bowl.Added bicarbonate of soda, sugar, a little bit of margarine, a pinch of salt and a splash of rosewater. Then rolled out what looked like a thick pastry dough.

Stoned some dates and laid them across one end.

Made a neat little sausage.

Brushed the outside with milk. Then cut it up into little circles.

And put them in the oven at the same time as I baked the raspberry buns.

They were just as delicious as mine. I don't know how he manages to do it. It's weird because he's supposed to the be the scientific one, he has degrees in maths and physics. I'm supposed to be creative one. He just has an idea of something he wants to make, mixes a few ingredients together, and hey presto tasty cakes or biscuits magically appear...It works every time...