Berry Medley Scones

Gracious Hospitality had this lovely recipe for blueberry scones posted from the other day and I just had to try it. La Tea Dah always has such wonderful posts, I really enjoy following her blog.

I don't make it a habit of having dried blueberries on hand though so I had to do a bit of editing on the recipe to make it fit what I had in house. I could have used my dried cranberries but that wasn't the flavor I was going for. Then I remembered the triple berry mixture I had in the freezer. Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Perfect! I added them still frozen at the last possible minute to the mixture because I didn't want the berry mush that you get when you thaw frozen berries, rather I wanted the whole berries dispersed through the scones.

I've made these twice since then the first time with mixed berried and again yesterday with frozen sweet cherries to serve for tea with my girlfriend. They came out wonderfully both times, the ground oats give a wonderful nutty flavor and more hearty texture.

Berry Medley Scones (a slightly altered recipe borrowed from Gracious Hospitality)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup rolled oats, whizzed in blender
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar NOT packed plus extra for sprinkling
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/4 frozen berries NOT thawed
1/3 cup olive oil
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

Combine flour, oat flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar in a large bowl. In a cup, blend the egg, milk and oil. Toss the frozen berries into the flour and add the liquid ingredients stirring until the dry ingredients are moist and blended. Work mixture together with hands until a soft dough is formed. Form into a small ball.

Place dough on a floured board. Shape the dough into one large round, about 1/2-inch thick. Place on a baking sheet that's been lightly sprayed with no-stick spray. Using a sharp knife, cut into eight wedges, sprinkle with brown sugar and bake at 350 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm with soft butter.

My Slice of the Pie

Pie hot from the oven and soup ready to ladle into bowls.

The other day I spent pretty much all day in the kitchen. I was making Butternut Squash Chowder and my Raspberry Cherry Pie. Since I believe in having dessert first, that's the recipe I'm giving.

My pie crust is a variation on Alton Brown's recipe but I had to be honest with myself...Lard? I was not going to go to the store to buy a pound of lard for all of 4 tablespoons of the stuff no matter how magical it may make my crust. sooo, I substituted.

Using a food processor made the whole process as easy as, well... pie. The recipe makes only one crust though. For Thanksgiving I doubled the recipe for a two crust pie and decided that since the process was so quick it is just as easy to do it twice and not worry about divvying up the dough equally (it's hard to judge when it's all crumbly)

Easy as Pie Crust (makes 1 crust)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter cut into small pieces and frozen
1 cup flour plus more for rolling the dough
1 teaspoon salt if using un-salted butter or 1/2 teaspoon if using salted
Ice water

Pi Filling
2 cans lite cherry pie filling
1 can raspberry pie filling

Now Alton said to put the ice water in a spray bottle and spritz the flour mixture until it forms a dough. Um...yeah, not so much. I live in a desert and I'd be spritzing all day trying to get my ingredients to the proper consistency. So I improvised, and instead I used a drizzle bottle, I'm not sure the actual name for them but they're the kind usually used for oil. I put water in instead and put it in the freezer with the butter until it was almost frozen. Pie crusts love the cold!!

So just like Alton, the flour and salt went in my food processor and pulsed a few times to mix. from there I removed the lid to add the frozen butter, replaced the lid and pulsed until the mixture resembled medium course crumbs. Then I took the ice water and still using the pulse option slowly added water until the mixture resembled really course wet crumbs and formed a ball when squeezed. This got poured onto plastic wrap and formed into a disk and put in the fridge for about half an hour.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

After the dough had chilled I took one disk out, rolled it out and lined my pie pan with it,trimming it flush with the pan edge then put it back in the fridge for another 10 minutes. While it was chilling I opened my pie filling and mixed the two fillings together in a bowl. After the crust was chilled again I took it out and put the filling in, then rolled out the other crust for the top.
I like to use a center hole for my vent so I cut this before putting the crust on the pie. I then lay it over the pie, trim the crust so there's about a 3/8 overhang to turn and flute and then decorate. I have little bitty cutters for my shapes which I stick on using warm water dabbed on the back of the shape.

Almost ready to go in the oven, isn't it pretty?

Put your pie on a cookie sheet in case of drips. I also like to use a foil cuff to keep the pie from getting too brown. to do this I take four strips of foil about 5 inches wide and fold them together to create a continuous strip. This I wrap around the pie, fold on it's self to form a ring and push the top portion of the foil to dome loosely over the crust. it will look like a foil volcano shape.
Bake for 30 minutes then rotate and bake for another 25 minutes. Remove the foil and brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes or until top is golden brown.

I got a little happy with the sugar there

Join me and a Merry Scotsman for Tea?

I made another Raspberry Cherry pie the other night and decided I wanted a slice with my tea this morning.

It's easy and yummy, the perfect combination. Consider this a teaser. I'll share my recipe tomorrow.


I thought you might also enjoy my merry Scotsman china.

A Scot, a coat of arms and a bouquet of thistles amid the tartan.

The back of the saucer, each piece is also numbered, do you see the black 5 at the top?

Herbed Butter

We got to have two Thanksgiving dinners this year. The first was Thanksgiving day with Lewis' mom and step-dad and the second the day after with his dad and step-mom. Each was delicious and I came away with new recipes to try.
I was in charge of a cherry pie for the first dinner but as I was looking at the cans of pie filling at the grocer I felt the need to add a bit more to it so I also grabbed a can of raspberry pie filling and using Alton Brown's pie crust recipe (best crust like ever) I made a raspberry cherry pie that was to die for. I wanted to kick myself though, it was beautiful and just turning golden when I took off the foil...and then I left it in for about five minutes to long and the crust started to burn. So no pictures of that version. I think I'm craving it now though so another may be in the works for tea with the ladies.

For our second dinner I was in charge of rolls and I got a bit lazier. I would have made them from scratch but we'd gotten home too late the night before to pull out the bread maker to pre-program (cut me some slack, I was tired and had had quite a bit of wine to drink) and dinner was scheduled fairly early and I didn't want to get up early to make them. So I did what any self respecting lady of the house would do.
I whipped up a batch of herbed butter to go with the store bought rolls. It came out better than I expected and was enjoyed on our rolls as well as home grown potatoes from M and L's garden.
I think this would be lovely on tea sandwiches as well.

1 stick butter
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp dried basil
just a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (you can get whole nutmeg for a song at Indian markets and they're so very worth it!)
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Allow the butter to soften, I speed things up by cutting it into slices and putting in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time until it's soft but not melted.
Add all the dry ingredients and mix well. Let it sit for a couple of hours before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
I kept it at room temp so it was spreadable, but you could also put it in a butter mold or roll and refrigerate until firm.

Musings Over a Pot of Soup

I do love a step back in time to where the pace was slower and food heartier. The image of ladies with their full, floor length skirts covered with large white aprons bending over a pot bubbling on a cheery, wood burning stove to smell the delicate aroma rising therein comes to mind But as I was culling through a stewed chicken to make my Chicken Soup from Scratch I realized there isn't really anything romantically charming about the process at all. In fact, it's rather messy and more than just bit yucky.
When we think of the Victorian Era I think most of us think of the elegance and charm of a higher class lady. The one that had a cook to see to the meals and at least one servant to assist with the rigors of daily living. One certainly doesn't usually think of the lady with her sleeves rolled up to the elbow fishing through a pile of aromatics and chicken parts for choice bits of meat to set aside for the soup. And yet we know that someone must have.


My mother was born the year the Great Depression began and there was nothing romantic about that at all. She never knew anything but labor and although she was required to wear dresses she wasn't spared from working in the fields of my grandparents farm based on her gender. She could toss hay, till a field and milk a cow just as well as make enough bread to last a family of eight for a week, fix an entire dinner for the family using a wood stove and do the wash with nothing more than her hands and two large tubs.
It was from a childhood standing at her side that I learned most of my cooking skills. There were never any formal lessons given, just the constant repetition, gentle instructions and corrections
I learned to cook as she had, to use what was available in the pantry and never let anything go to waste. What could be eaten was eaten and what couldn't went back to the earth to fortify it for a new harvest.



Now all of us know that there is nothing more delicious and satisfying as a bowl of hot soup made from scratch. They may try, but the cans just can't capture the nuances of flavor that a pot simmering over the course of the day has. My daughter love soup, and we do occasionally purchase it in cans for simplicity sake, but that is nothing more than sustenance for the stomach. When I make soup from scratch is becomes food for the soul as well.
Today my lovely young Miss. arrived home from a night of sledding and sleepover to the aroma of chicken and aromatics simmering for the stock. She paused, deeply inhaled then gleefully asked "Soup?" A nod from me was all it took to bring her into the kitchen , coat still on to stand over the pot inhaling blissfully.
Through the course of the day as I've gone in to stir or chop she's been close at hand proclaiming how happy she is to be having soup. I'm so glad that I can create something that makes her so happy and is so good for her at the same time.


Chicken Soup from Scratch

4 qt chicken stock
2 cups chopped chicken
1lb carrots
6 stalks celery including leafy bits
1 large turnip
2 medium onions
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp finely grated, fresh ginger*
1 tbsp chicken bullion
1/4 cup fish sauce*
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar*
freshly ground pepper & kosher salt to taste

Chop the vegetables to a uniform size, leave three cloves of garlic whole and finely chop the 4th and place all ingredients in a large stock pot. Set to simmer until vegetables are just tender. Serve with warm rolls slathered with herb butter.

*The ginger, fish sauce and rice wine vinegar are new to this recipe because the original plan was to make pho. It's not enough to give a distinctive Asian flavor but turned out so good that I've decided to keep them.


ETA: The soup was a hit! We all had seconds and there's enough for lunch tomorrow. Thanks so much for reading and take care.

Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Cookies

My family isn't terribly keen on sweets to the point where I sometimes wonder if they're even mine.
Since there isn't much point in making cakes, pies and cookies for one I usually wait until I have friends come over for tea and go all out, or I just make something and resign myself to eating the majority of it and avoiding the mirror for a while.
I have finally discovered a cookie that we all enjoy though. a spicy delicious morsel that is beyond easy to make thanks to a box mix. I came up with the addition of the candied ginger and the daughter thought of the addition of chocolate chips.
I hope you give them a try and enjoy them as much as we do. Once you make gingerbread cookies with the candied ginger you will never go back to plain store bought again. It makes all the difference in the world as far as the flavor factor.


Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Cookies

1 box gingerbread cookie/cake mix (I use Betty Crocker) and the ingredients called for in the cookie recipe on the back of the box.
1/2 of a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 oz candied ginger finely chopped (you can get candied ginger at an amazing price at any Asian market)
1/4 cup sugar

Pour the gingerbread mix into a bowl, add the chocolate chips and ginger and mix. Then add the ingredients called for on the back of the box for cookies. Using a small (2 tablespoon) ice cream scoop form dough into balls and roll in sugar before placing on the cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass and bake as directed.

Makes about 2 dozen


Off subject: I just want to point out the beautiful tea set in my picture. I inherited several cups/saucers and plates from a dear friend when she passed away. They usually sit unused on a shelf but I thought this would be a lovely way to show one of the patterns off. Hopefully as I do more baking for the holidays you'll see more of them.

Stove Top Chicken Enchiladas

I had a craving for chicken enchiladas this week, but since I was working 12 hour shifts and coming home exhausted I didn't want to do my usual oven baked version.
I needed to come up with something quick and easy. Cafe Rio's burritos were my inspiration and this was the result. Since I was told to make these over my oven version from now on, I think they were a hit. So much so that the were pretty much gone before I could get pictures.
As usual, I made a big batch so we could have leftovers but it's basic so super easy to pare down.

1 economy pack of chicken breasts
2 medium onions chopped small
3 large cans green enchilada sauce
2 cans chopped chilies
2 cans black beans,rinsed
3 cups instant rice
3 cups water
Mexican seasoning
Large flour tortillas
grated cheese (mexican blend)

Heat a large, deep pan with a little oil. Sprinkle mexican seasoning on both sides of the chicken brown both sides and cook until almost cooked through. Take the chicken out and add onions, saute until almost tender then add three cans of enchilada sauce and two cans chopped chilies. Set to simmer.
Meanwhile, finely chop the chicken and return to pan with sauce and let cook at a simmer while the rice is being prepared.
(If you want plain sauce for serving enchilada style, set some aside before adding the chicken. We just used the sauce with chicken for simplicity sake.)

For Rice
Follow basic instructions for instant rice with the following exceptions.
Bring water to boil add 2 tablespoons mexican seasoning, 2 cans black beans and the instant rice, stir to combine, cover with lid and remove from heat.

To make enchiladas, take a large flour tortilla and add rice and beans, with a slotted spoon (so you don't get too much liquid) add chicken mixture. Roll enchilada and top with sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.