Tuesday 17 September 2019

Rolling pins have not

usually rolled into my life -  until now.
I don't do a lot of "baking". The Senior Cat and I are not fond of cake. I rarely make biscuits apart from those I make for Christmas and Easter or scones.
I  belong to a group where "significant" birthdays are celebrated with cake for everyone...well, everyone except me. The cakes they get do look nice I suppose. They are mostly decorated sponge cakes with lots and lots of cream.  The cakes are, I believe, very sweet. I don't know. I have never tried them. (And no, I haven't told them when my birthday is because I don't like birthdays much. Having to eat cake I don't like would make matters worse.) I have not eaten cake since we finished the Christmas cake made by our friend P...
But we do have a rolling pin in this house. In fact we now have more than one. 
The first rolling pin is made of Huon pine. It was made for my mother but got very little use. It is a lovely rolling pin of  incredible smoothness. It is just the right size and weight for my paws. I have used it to make biscuits and, once or twice, for pastry. 
And then there are the other rolling pins, the rolling pins which arrived recently.
I did some work for someone in a far off place - Lithuania to be exact.  She  runs a small school for profoundly disabled children and we spent some months emailing backwards and forwards. Her English is reasonable but far from perfect. Helping her to provide basic communication for some of her students was a challenge as that had to be provided in Lithuanian and English and I had not met or assessed the children. But, we have worked on it and now she is getting some help from someone much more local.
The other day though there was a parcel in the post  - from Lithuania. Inside there were four rolling pins. Four? 
Oh yes, these were something special. They were not your usual smooth rolling pin. They were "embossing" rolling pins. You roll the dough out in the usual way with your usual rolling pin and then, ever so carefully, you roll the embossing pin over the top. As if by magic a pattern appears in the dough. You can then cut the shapes out and bake them. 
Wow! Suddenly I want to bake biscuits. 
It so happens my correspondent's husband makes them to bring in a little extra money. They come in all sorts of patterns. They knew me well enough to send me one that has sheep, another that has alpacas. They are perfect for the knitter in me.
And that is how I came to go hunting for a rolling pin that had moose for my friend. 
Yesterday I ordered two more for other  people. They will make perfect presents for people I know who have "significant" events coming up in their lives - and who like to bake.
I may even eat a biscuit or two as a result. 

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