Flour + Pits + Flute = unhappy Kris

My plan last night was to bake the Cherry Apricot Cobbler I wrote about on Monday.

In my mind, I was going to shop the farmer's market for fresh fruit, with Elli skipping by my side.  Then go home and bake a lovely fruit cobbler which my family would enjoy. Sometimes things don't go as I imagined.  (Sort of like this photo.  That is not me!)

First, I had a client meeting on Tuesday that ran long so I wouldn't be picking Elli up from school, which means I won't be going to the Farmer's Market which is right next to her school. I did manage to swing by Bed, Bath and Beyond to pick up the cherry pitter.  Which works like a charm - if used correctly.

So I went to Safeway to get the missing ingredients - apricots, cherries, flour and buttermilk. I got in a short line to check out - which turned out to be the slowest line, and, the guy behind me started playing a FLUTE!!!  Yes, a flute. Like the kind you play in band.  Great. It's finally my turn. The last thing the cashier rings up is the cherries. "You don't want these." she said.  "Yes I do. That's the reason I'm here." I said.  "Well, they're $8.99. Are you sure you want them?" Jeez. No, I don't want to pay $8.99. But what am I going to do? I'll take them anyway.  Thanks. AND DUDE, STOP PLAYING THE FLUTE!!!!!!

So I got home and put Elli to work pitting cherries.  She loved doing it!  I started on the rest of the recipe. DOH!  I need self-rising flour.  I bought all-purpose flour. So I Googled what to do. My dear friend Wiki, said add baking powder. Ok.  How much? I ended up adding 1t for each cup of flour.  

I finally got it put together and in the oven.  It bakes for 20 minutes. I checked it at 15 - it was looking good.  I pulled it out a few minutes before the timer went off because the top was getting really brown.

Here's the good news and the bad news.  It had good flavor. And the biscuit dough did rise. But it was a little under-baked. The dough was still a little doughy on top of the fruit. So that was kind of icky.  And, most of the cherries still had their pits.  Don's comment, "Next time don't give the cherry pitting job to a seven year old." Thanks, dear. And sweet little Elli wanted a Tootsie roll that she got from the parade for dessert.  No cobbler. "No thanks, mom."  WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE???  This is NOT how it was supposed to end!

Then to top it off, neither Don or I could sleep last night because of all the sugar in the cobbler. Big sigh.......

What is the lesson here?  hmmm. Don't bake on a Tuesday night after a long day. Instead, go home, relax and enjoy a glass of wine.

Check.

Apron photo from www.jessiesteele.com