Family get-togethers

Our neighbour's almond tree is in full swing and a mass of humming bees. That has nothing to do with anything, but the picture's pretty.

We had a family barbecue yesterday, my cousin Jonas is visiting from Sweden and staying with my parents while he does an exchange at a local university for a semester, so it was a sort of a welcome to Australia.

Barbecues can be tricky for us vegetarians (alright we're Pesco-vegetarians, or "Fishocrits" as my eldest, totally vegetarian, son lovingly calls us) and we don't usually do them as a family but they are quintessentially Australian and so the carnivores went to town.

So to cater for our own "peculiarities" I made a Sweet Potato Galatte, a couscous salad and one of my Dad's favourites, Mazarins.













From my absolute favourite cake and biscuit book,  

Sju sorters kakor...

MAZARINS

Preheat oven 175C (350F)
Pastry                                                                       
300ml Plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3tbs sugar
100g butter
1 small egg
Combine dry ingredients, rub butter into(till resembles breadcrumbs) Add egg, wrap in plastic refrigerate 1 hour.

 Filling

75g butter
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
150g ground almonds
Melt butter and cool. Beat eggs and sugar till VERY light and VERY thick. Stir in almonds and butter.
Roll out pastry. Line oval forms (I used a Friand tray) with pastry. Fill with filling and bake in bottom half of oven 15 minutes till tops are golden. Cool and apply icing and glacé cherry halves.