cherry time!

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As a child growing up in the suburbs, our garden was never used for growing food. It was a place one would find flowers, shrubbery and a green lawn to play on. The food we ate came from…..the store! Now that I am a grown-up (sort of) I am amazed to be able to go outside our kitchen door and pick fresh cherries right from the tree that hangs over our deck. To me, it is nothing short of a miracle to be living in a city and able to eat from our own land. Especially when, all year long, that cherry tree stands there quietly, minding its own business, asking nothing of anyone and then, viola! It bears fruit. “How’d dey do d’hat?” Today before lunch, when I finally got a grip on the whole ‘miracle of nature’ thing, I grabbed myself a chair and an umbrella with a hooked handle and proceeded to harvest the fruit. It was hardly a bumper crop. However, I did manage to pick enough to make up a batch of my mother’s ‘lazy buns’, adding to her recipe fresh grated orange rind, cinnamon, and the cherries…..did I mention that they are from my back yard? These scones are wickedly delish served while still warm, with butter, good jam and a side plate of fresh chilled orange slices.

June’s Lazy Buns

2 c flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup butter- soft
1 cup milk
1 cup halved and pitted cherries
1 tbsp fresh grated orange rind

Preheat oven to 400*. In large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Cut in butter with 2 forks or a pastry blender. Mix in milk, then cherries and orange rind. Drop batter onto greased cookie sheet, or use parchment paper (about ¾ cup batter per scone). Bake for 15 minutes.