Family time on Chincoteague- not much blogging going on!

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We aren’t posing for this photo- we are watching…

 

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THIS- Aidan on his bike adventure!

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Right after the puddle he accidently turned into the open gate and CRASHED!

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Tomorrow our next influx of family arrives, some left today- Jordan leaves tomorrow-

it is a lot like an open house.  And the beach is beautiful, the gardens are lovely, and the rain stopped!

International Scone Fortnight- #3– Dried Cherry and Chocolate Scones

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I got this recipe from my niece, Martha– and they are delicious.

Especially when paired with a Cardamom Blackberry Pavlova ( recipe later, after scone fortnight).

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Here is her recipe-

Cherry-Chocolate Scones
2 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 c flour
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking sodaFi
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter, cold
3/4 c dried cherries
3/4 c chocolate chips
1 egg
1 c buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
milk and coarse sugar for the tops

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Add cherries and chocolate, stir with fork. Combine liquid

ingredients and whisk. Pour into dry ingredients and stir lightly with a fork till evenly moistened.

Knead two or three times on work surface. Separate into 2 balls, pat each lightly into an 8-inch circle,

cut into 8 wedges. Place on greased cookie sheet. Brush with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake at 375 20-25 minutes. Makes 16.

I didn’t have any whole wheat pastry flour – so I used regular pastry flour.

These are really good-  and the recipe makes a LOT of scones!

I’m really enjoying the many different recipes and pictures of

scones from all over,  if you want to see the other recipes , Celia

has them up on her blog, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

 

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Traditional Cream Scones–*Fortnight of scones*-#2 recipe

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I admit- that scutterbotch scone recipe was a little over the top.

As I said in someone’s comment section, we Americans tend to put a lot of extra bits

and pieces and flavors into the scone rather than on top of it after it is baked.

So I’m doing a cream scone, today.  Actually, I may do two cream scones- since I have four

recipes to choose from- Smile -I’m trying to put two of a type together and only make up two

batches.  Because what would I possibly do with 4 batches of scones in one day?

I combined the recipes, adding an egg to this one and cutting down on the cream in this

one – choosing to bake at 425 degrees F  rather than 450 degrees and I came up with a very

good scone.

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I’m calling these North American scones- since the recipes came from America’s Test

kitchens and a friend from Newfoundland, Canada.

Ingredients:

2 cups AP or plain flour (250 gr)

1 Tablespoon baking powder (scant)

3 Tablespoons sugar

pinch of salt

5 Tablespoons cold butter (50 gr)

1 large egg

1 cup heavy cream (250 gr)

Gourmet sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (not sure what this is for Celcius- it is a very hot oven!)

Sift dry ingredients into medium size bowl, cut in  butter with two knives until very small-

the size of oatmeal.  Make a well in the center of the flour mix, whisk the egg and cream

together and pour into well and mix together using a light touch.

Shape into a large circle about an inch and a half high and cut into shapes with knife or

cookie cutters.

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Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper,

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brush with egg wash,

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and sprinkle with sugar- then bake for 15 minutes.

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Serve warm with butter or clotted cream and jam.

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International Fortnight of Scones!!!

I’m ready for this!

The lovely Johanna of Zeb Bakes has announced

that what was once a week in now a fortnight- and I like that.

More time to make, bake , and share scones!

For those of you not up on UK time terms:

Fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days, or two weeks. The word derives from the Old English fēowertyne niht, meaning "14 nights".[1][2] Fortnight and fortnightly are commonly used words in Britain and many Commonwealth countries such as Australia, India, New Zealand, and Pakistan, where many wages and salaries and most social security benefits are paid on a fortnightly basis.[3] The word is rarely used in North America, except regionally in Canada and in insular traditional communities (e.g. Amish) in the United States. American and Canadian payroll systems may use the term biweekly in reference to pay periods every two weeks. Neither term should be confused with semimonthly (in one year there are 26 fortnightly or biweekly versus 24 semimonthly pay periods).

wikipedia

Anyway- I’ve been waiting very patiently for Scone Fortnight- and it starts today!  YAY!

You know what that means,

Scones for everybody!

And so- Here is my first scone entry-

Scutter Botch Scones!

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Lovely texture with butterscotch chips randomly mixed into the dough.

But what makes them scutterbotched is the butterscotch syrup I made and poured over the top

whilst they were still warm. 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup heavy cream (188 ml)

1 largish egg

2 tsp. vanilla (10 ml)

2 cups AP/plain flour (255 grams)

1/4 cup brown sugar (64 grams)

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 good pinch of salt

5 Tablespoons cold butter (71 grams)

2 large handfuls of butterscotch chips

Whisk together the liquid ingredients and set aside.

Sift together the dry ingredients (except the chips) and then cut the butter into this mix with a pastry

blender of fork (or fingers) until it resemble a coarse meal.  Add the chips and stir.

Make a well in the center of your flour mix and pour the liquid ingredients into the well and lightly

mix together until the dough comes together- don’t overmix- you want a delicate hand to keep the

scones tender.

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Gather up the dough and place in the middle of a sheet of parchment paper ( or just in the center of

an ungreased pan if you haven’t any parchment paper, but get some parchment paper because it is

ever so handy and keeps the bottoms of cookies and biscuits and scones from burning) and shape it into

a large circle.  Cut into 12 pieces and move them carefully – just really nudging them apart so they have

a little room to expand while baking. 

Sorry I missed taking a photo of that last step, but my hands were sticky and I didn’t have a cameraman

nearby.

Bake in an oven preheated to 425 degrees F (220 C) for about 18 minutes- keep an eye on them – you are looking

for a golden brown.

While baking stir up a small batch of butterscotch-

1/4 cup of butter, brown sugar , and heavy cream in a heavy saucepan- melt butter, stir in brown sugar until

completely dissolved, add cream and simmer until slightly thickened- keep warm on the ring- you want this

to remain liquid.

Poke some small holes into the scones while still hot and pour the butterscotch over the entire circle of scones.

 

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Allow to cool and set and then get ready for a treat.

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Get ready to be Scutterbotched!

In My Kitchen…August 2012

In my kitchen…

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is this marvelous jar of roasted nuts in honey.

(It is down by half right now-  so very good!)

In my kitchen…

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is a loaf of sourdough rye with caraway seeds.

In my kitchen…

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are cabbage rolls from fresh cabbage and wonderful minced meats.

In my kitchen…

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are tea cozies and my new Hall tea pot- filled with hot Darjeeling tea!

In my kitchen…

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is maple syrup- Canadian- from my husband’s sister-

(have I mentioned that my husband is Canadian?)

In my kitchen…

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are two bottle of homemade vanilla-  I like Grey Goose vodka

for this purpose!

In my kitchen…

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are blue Mason jars ready to be filled.

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With spicy grapes.

Wash and fill jar with rinsed seedless red grapes.

Heat up 2 cups white vinegar- add spices- I used

cinnamon sticks, allspice, star anise , pink pepper,

dried orange peels,and a small vanilla bean.

Stir over heat until sugar dissolves and allow to

simmer for about 10 minutes.  Cool- then pour over

grapes in jar and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

In my kitchen…

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are Pampered Chef spices with sugar additives- great for on top

of cookies, rolls or toast.

That’s what is in my kitchen right now- What’s in your kitchen?

This is a series of blog posts from all around the world, sponsored by

Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.  Go there to see other posts- it’s great

fun!