orange almond scones

A scone and tea at half past three, makes the day a little bit brighter. - Still Game

I love scones.  I love buying scones, I love making scones, I love eating scones.  I love savory scones and sweet scones.  I love scones with butter and I love scones with jam.  

These scones are an adaptation of the cranberry scones I made last year.  

Orange Almond Scones

adapted from the sweet hearth

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tb fresh orange zest

8 Tb unsalted butter, frozen & grated & frozen again

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Milk to brush tops of scones

Whisk together the milk & yogurt until uniform, then place bowl in the fridge.

Whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, zest and almonds. Then, using your fingers, lightly toss in the butter till it’s evenly dispersed.  Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture & stir till it’s just combined.  Then, pull it together into a ball, knead it a couple times, & roll it out on a good & floured surface until it measures about one square foot, adding flour as needed.  

Using a bench scraper or a good spatula, fold the dough onto itself in thirds as you do before placing a letter in an envelope.  Then fold that rectangle into thirds again, creating a rough square.  Place the square back into the bowl & refrigerate for about 15 minutes.  Don’t clean up your work surface just yet.

After it’s chilled, take the dough square, & roll it out again into another one square foot, still using flour as needed.  

Using that bench scraper or good spatula, roll the dough up, jelly-roll-style & flip it seam-side-down.  Use your hands to coerce the log into becoming a rough 12 x 4 inch rectangle with a relatively flat top.

Then, with a sharp knife, cut the rectangle into four equal 3 x 4 inch small rectangles. & cut each of those on the diagonal to end up with eight triangles.

Transfer them to a lined baking sheet, brush the tops with milk and bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes until the tops are golden.

♥

granola

There are a lot of granola recipes out there.  In fact, I think that a lot is a bit of an understatement.  My main goal in developing this partictular granola was to see if I could replicate what we used to buy from the St. Jacobs Market.  When we moved to St. Catharines I think we went through granola withdrawl.  It's taken about a year and a whole lot of experimenting with different quantities and oven temperatures, but I would say I've finally figured out exactly what makes it work.  To be totally honest, I don't have any idea if it's as good as the kinds from St. Jacobs it's been so long since I had them, but it's the best one I've made yet, and that's good enough for us.

Granola
by back to basics

2 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups spelt flakes
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup raw whole almonds
1 cup raw unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 250

Mix the oats and nuts together.  Add the oil and maple syrup and mix well.

Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and stir, then bake again for an additional 10 minutes.

Once it's out of the oven, add the coconut and enjoy!

Note: This recipe makes enough to fill a 2L container of ice cream.  That's what we use to keep it in and it doesn't last very long around here, so I usually make two batches.  I've tried just doubling the recipe, but it is inconsistent and doesn't turn out very well when doing it that way, so I tend to make one batch and then do the other.  I bake it in the oven at the same time on two cookie sheets, I just don't mix them together.

 The beauty of this recipe is how easily adaptable it is based on what you have on hand.  Don't have spelt flakes, use all oats.  Don't have all the nuts needed, or don't like those kinds? Add whatever nuts you have or like.  Don't like coconut? Don't add it!  It really is that easy and it really is delicious.

 Other ideas for additions:  raw pumpkin seeds, dried fruits, (if using dried fruit it's my personal preference to add it with the coconut after baking) dark chocolate pieces or cocoa nibs... really, if you like it, try adding it. 

good morning sunshine

I'm super excited about all the time I've been able to devote to this blog in the last couple weeks.  Without the stress of moving, and my job in the falls, everything seems to be falling into place.  The calm before the storm if you will, but even still I'm really excited about this storm, and the closer we get to meeting baby Grob the more exciting I get.  I'm trying to take advantage of all this free time I have while I can because come two months from now I'm sure I won't know what hit me.  

So for now, I revel in quiet Tuesday mornings where the only noise is the sound of the fish tank in the living room, and the only light comes from patio doors in the kitchen.  

When I saw this breakfast banana split on a blog I follow I just about started to drool.  It's so super easy too!

Breakfast Banana Split

 from bake at 350

1 banana

greek yogurt

sliced strawberries

nutella

chopped nuts

I really can't think of a better way to start off the day. 

Cheers to you Tuesday.