APPLE SCONES

My mother is very good baker and therefore it is rare for her to ask me for a recipe.  Most of what I know, I feel I have learned from her.  A couple of years ago, my mother asked me if I could make the  apple scones that I made in secondary school in Ireland.  I was not sure how I made them so I spent a long time looking for the recipe.  When my daughter was younger, around 8 years old, she wanted a tea party for all of her American Girl Dolls and she invited every girl friend to it and they had to bring a doll and a food from the culture in which they came from.  It was a tea party after all and what is a tea party without scones.  I looked for the recipe and found it and oh my goodness, I could see why my mom was still craving the taste. I hope you get to read this mom and for you remember to take out the vanilla. 
Instead of pastry you make a scone mixture and fill it with apples, very little cinnamon and sugar.  They are not terribly sweet but they are oh so scrumptious.   The mail lady not only delivers my mail but also has chickens and brings by some eggs when I order them.  No need for painting eggs this Easter as they come in their own spectacular colors. 
I started a new job on Saturday so I am  making meals ahead for my kids so that they can have decent food on the days that I work. Breakfast seems to be one of the most difficult meals to get into my children.  Today, I made almost 50 oatmeal pancakes this morning and Apple Scones so that they were sure to eat before they rush out the door for school in the mornings.  I had some old apples in my kitchen that I knew the kids would not eat as they were a little wrinkly and thought they would make a lovely filling for the scones, a great way to use up some very good ingredients.  My fridge is stocked high so I could not fit the milk container in that only had about an inch in it and walla, the perfect amount to make the scones.  I always feel really good when food does not get thrown out.
I have found that being Irish means that no matter how long you leave the house for when you come back in, you have to put the kettle on.  There is always a pot of tea to be made and no occasion necessary.  Once again I am taken back to a time in my childhood, it is not smells this time that does it but seeing skins in a battered lined bowl brought me right back to all the wonderful hours I spent with my mother baking and walking into her home with her slaving over the stove, cooking and cleaning. I was only 9 or 10 and she would make an apple tart on a plate, it was a different world back then.  

something so simple as apple skins :)

If you are looking for a nice dish to share with your family to start making some baking memories, here it is. Light the wood stove put the kettle on and enjoy the aroma of apples and cinnamon.   I found this on Joy of Baking.com and I am going to copy the recipe here so you can have it. 
 http://www.joyofbaking.com/AppleSconeCake.html

Apple Scone Recipe: 2 cups all purpose flour 1/3 cup granulated white sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter cold and cut into pieces 1 large egg 1/2 cup milk 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Filling: 1 pound  Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) chunks 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon Glaze: Milk or Cream Granulated white sugar Apple Scone : Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of oven.  Butter (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) a 9 inch pie plate. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. In a separate small bowl whisk together the egg, milk, and vanilla extract and add to the flour mixture, stirring just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then divide the dough in half.  Roll or pat one half of the dough into a 9 inch circle and transfer to the pie plate and pat onto the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate.  In a separate bowl toss together the cut apples, sugar, cinnamon, and nuts. Spread the apples evenly over the bottom of the dough in the pie plate.  Roll the remaining dough into a 9 inch circle, on a lightly floured surface, and gently place the dough over the apples. With your fingers seal the edges of the top and bottom crusts. Brush the top of the dough with a little milk and sprinkle with white sugar. Cut a slit in the center of the dough to allow the steam to escape. Bake in the preheated oven for about 35 - 45 minutes or until the pastry is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.  Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

My new pan, two successful coffee cakes :)

Once again this winter, we are about to get another blanket of snow on the group that will be at least six to 12 inches in depth.  It is a little tiresome already as it is still only January.  February is always the harshest month for weather in my books.  Anyway, with the cold weather coming it always makes me want to make some comfort food.  I love coffee cake!  I have spent a lot of money on very fancy bundt pans only to have my cake stick to the pan and I usually end up having to make homemade custard and turn it into a trifle.  Yesterday while at Marshalls, I noticed one of the Calphalon bundt pans and decided to try one last time to see if I could make one that we would actually enjoy where we could cut decent slices out of it and to my surprise, I found it.  My kids love things with cinnamon so I decided to look up a recipe for a sour cream, cinnamon laced coffee cake.  I found a wonderful recipe from Ina Garten and made a beautiful one drizzled icing over the top and thought to myself, breakfast for the week, yipee!  Well, little did I know that there would be a little nibbler in the middle of the night helping herself to some scrumptious cake only to find half of it gone when I came down this morning.  I am happy that they are enjoying it so I decided to make another one today as it is almost completely gone.  It will be nice to have it in the morning with coffee, if it is still there, that is :). You can zip it up in a very short amount of time and there are many happy people in the house after they have enjoyed every morsel.    http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/sour-cream-coffee-cake-recipe/index.html

Put two layers of cinnamon crunch inside the cake this time

  
In the upcoming months I will need some help from friends so in my world that means a lot more cooking and baking.  I am so lucky that people enjoy what I make as I can barter my way for services if people are open to that, if not, I just pay cash.  I do have to admit there is something much more satisfying in bartering.  I was also able to trade doggie care for baked goods and my wonderful neighbor went above and beyond her care of my other dog and I will be baking for her until the day I die :).

I of course fantasize as to what it would be like if I had tons of people over here helping me with fixing up my home.  All those involved with the labor would be busy focusing on that and their wives/husbands, partners would be helping me in the kitchen preparing a feast.  There of course would be picnic tables the length of the garden covered with  Irish linen tablecloths, beautiful pottery jugs filled with ice water, Kerry-gold buttered Irish soda bread, homemade country soups,  and much more delicious feasts to feed the generous folks who helped me with the work needed to be done that I would not be physically be able to do.  

While I was home in Ireland in December, one morning as we were about to rush out the door, my mother mentions as if in passing that she really needed to have some bread for her in the house so in a matter of minutes she put together some spelt wholemeal scones together, I wish now that I had taken a picture of them as each one was perfect and the smell of them in the kitchen was intoxicating.  How fortunate to have grown up in a home where baking was just a part of our every day existence. It really showed me that you could provide for your family if you have the basic ingredients in the home. I made a few loaves of bread yesterday to give to friends as thank you gifts but the whole process takes hours rather than minutes so that is why I am choosing scones today for my family.

 

I enjoyed many treats while I was home some exquisite like the wedding cake my mother had made for my brother, the moisture on it could be felt in my fingers as I got to enjoy every morsel.  Filled with raisins, sultanas, cherries, mixed peel and tons of eggs and I am sure a whole lot of the Irish holy water (whiskey).  It was the nicest cake I have tasted to date that she has made.  

Well, if you are in my neighborhood and you cannot go to work in the morning because of the snow, throw on your snow shoes and stop by for a cup of coffee and a slice of coffee cake,  if my kids have not eaten it first.  The kettle will be on! 

SACRED GRAINS: Strawberry Fields Forever

SACRED GRAINS: Strawberry Fields Forever: Off to soccer tryouts this morning, my son loves soccer!  I am not sure that I am emphasizing that enough, my son LOVES soccer so all of us...

Strawberry Fields Forever

Off to soccer tryouts this morning, my son loves soccer!  I am not sure that I am emphasizing that enough, my son LOVES soccer so all of us, including my daughters boyfriend are going to support him for tryouts! Before he could walk, he would hold up his two arms in the air and say ball and we would walk him around the garden while he kicked the soccer ball.  Now he is thinking that maybe Gaelic Football is something to tryout for as well.  His strong connection to his Irish roots has him researching different things that he can participate in. 


A lot of people talk about music bringing them back to a place and time in their lives invoking memories.  For me, I think food has a bigger impact, strawberries always reminds me of my Grandmother.  I could be walking by a stand at the farmers market and instantly take me back to a place in my childhood.  

My grandmother would buy strawberries from people selling them on the side of the road who had spent their mornings picking them from their strawberry fields or maybe growing wild.  She would sprinkle sugar on them, whip up some cream and there it was, a perfect treat.  I think the strawberries had a much stronger berry taste years ago.  I keep buying different brands to see if I can find "that" taste. Driscoll's  brand is still my favorite.  I always prefer organic but they do not seem to be easily available.

I  love when both my children are home to cook a special meal that I know they will love.  I had bought strawberries earlier this week and some rhubarb and was going to make a pie ahead of time but he asked me to wait for him so we can do it together.  I know that there is a slight chance I will end up doing this on my own but the fact that my almost 12  year old is still wanting to bake in the kitchen with me is still a very comforting thought. I strongly feel that it is moments like this that make memories for our children, they may not think it is a big deal right now but when they are older it is this moment that they will cherish.  

 
 I will prepare the fruit ahead of time myself and really the rest is easy, I do plan on putting a lattice on top of the pie but I am sure he will enjoy doing that. 

 

 

PIE CRUST

 Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Pastry Flour  
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
•  3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup plus 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water

Method:
) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, and salt.

2) Cut in the shortening until it's in lumps the size of small peas.

3) Dice the butter into 1/2-inch pieces, and cut into the mixture until you have flakes of butter the size of your fingernail.

4) Add the water, two tablespoons at a time, mixing with a fork as you sprinkle the water into the dough

5) When the dough is moist enough to hold together when you squeeze it, transfer it to a piece of wax or parchment paper. It's ok if there are some dry spots in the pile. Use a spray bottle of water to lightly spritz these places; that way you'll add just enough water to bring the dough together without creating a wet spot.

6) Fold the dough over on itself three or four times to bring it together, then divide it in half and pat it into two disks 3/4-inch thick. 

7) Roll the disk on its edge, like a wheel, to smooth out the edges. This step will ensure your dough will roll out evenly, without a lot of cracks and splits at the edges later. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling. 

Now onto the ingredients that matter :)

Filling:

I cup white flour
1/2 cup flour
1 lb fresh rhubarb
container of fresh strawberries
2 apples
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar

Mix all of the ingredients together and let stand for 20 minutes.  I actually prepare this part before I prepare the pastry.  It is then ready to be placed in the pie dish once it is lined.

My son created this lattice work and called it tic-tac-toe :)

STRAWBERRY JAM

Ina Garten has a wonderful video for making strawberry jam, what I like about it the most is that you can make just small quantities.  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/fresh-strawberry-jam-recipe/index.html

Tonight, I decided to make a little so that we could be eating jam while the strawberries are in season.  I was very happy with the results.  I was thankful that a friend dropped by for canvasing, who I had not seen for years but was happy to hold the gadgets for me to be able to place my jam in their perspective jars.  He was rewarded with one of the half jars to go home with and came back after he had done his route for a slice of Strawberry Apple/ Rhubarb pie.  It was nice to catch up with him, he went home happy...

  I got 2 1/2 jars out of 1 1/2 lbs of strawberries.  I am happy with the outcome and glad that I made some Jam for my children to enjoy with some other goodies.  I will have to bake some biscuits of soda bread or scones to go with this :)...


The finished product...

   YUM! 

It was definitely time to make myself a quick dinner, something a lot less sweeter than all of these.  A quick salad to the rescue.  Roasted  and caramelized some walnuts, some mesculine greens, cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced cucumbers,feta, and of course avocado.  I love this apple cider vinegar dressing that I have and it is supposed to be very good for my throat so I whipped it up as my kids had eaten earlier.  I quickly ate my salad and then....... we all sat down for pie and ice cream, yuuuuuuum!

A Gluten Free Delight

Every morning, I drop my daughter off at school and take a walk in a beautiful part of Cape Ann.  I am so fortunate to be living in such a gorgeous area.

 


The water this morning had a sheen to it that I had not seen before, it was such a wonderful place to be.  Unfortunately this image does not do it justice.  With summer just around the corner, it makes me think of strawberries, lemon curd and shortbread, YUM!

 

Even my golden retriever was happy to be there, nothing like an early morning swim on a hot almost summer day!











When I was a child shortbread was not something that we ate in our family, it was something that came in a tin around Christmas time.  I remember not liking it very much. It was a little too rich and for heavens sake, where was the chocolate :).

One time while shopping in Filene's Basement of all places, I found the most beautiful mold for shortbread and I knew I could not leave it behind.  I purchased it and the amount of guests that have come through my home and have had shortbread, I cannot count.  It is always the go to dessert if I have friends coming over.  I know that I can make it quickly and clean my home and pull it off without too much stress :)... that is my kind of dessert. 


There are some desserts that need some good shortbread as a base, I want to be able to make a lemon bar and triple decker bar with a gluten free base and then the bar would work really well for my friends who love these bars but are deprived because of the base.  I have friend who helped me tremendously last year, I would not have been able to attend school without her generosity and big heart.  She  has always eaten my shortbread but is intolerant to wheat but would eat it anyway.  I decided that it was time to find a recipe for her so that she could enjoy this luxury guilt free!   

Research time:  I decided that it was probably best to find my recipe on an British Isle/ Irish website as shortbread is considered to be Scottish and celiac disease is prominent there. I found a lovely recipe online and collected all the ingredients...

Shortbread (Noun)

Type of biscuit (cookie), popular in Britain,traditionally made from one part sugar, two parts butter and three parts flour

I also decided to add some lemon rind

Rice flour, Corn Flour, 
Powdered Sugar, and Butter

Ingredients

100g cornflour

160g white rice flour

8 tablespoons icing sugar

175g butter

Method:

Mix all the ingredients and bake at 150 C/ gas mark 2 for 20-25 minutes

 


I dropped off the finished product this evening and she seems really happy to be my guinea pig today.  I think I am going to try the next batch savory and see how it comes out with sea salt and rosemary, yum!



 
We have decided that it is a little dry so it needs some 
work but overall the crumb was PERFECT!  and it held together lovely.  I just think it needs a little bit of moisture to make it more creamy.  A neighbor dropped by and suggested buttermilk.  I think that will be my next added ingredient.  




I had some for dessert tonight with lemon curd and strawberries and it was lovely.  It just needs that little something to balance it out... enjoy!

School's Out... this week! Memories of food and innocence...

Pack your favorite things, we are off to Skibbereen, Co. Cork, Ireland. Growing up in Cork City, we would spend our holidays every summer in the cottage that my father was born in. It is one of my fathers' most favorite places to go and for me it is a place I go to in my head to find solitude.  I remember the neighbors coming over in the evening for a visit and my parents serving some goodies and before the night was over there was a song to be sung, or a story to be told. My father was surrounded by his relatives and friends and that was very comforting to him. My mother of course had the kettle on and she would have brought a fruit cake with her from the city,"just in case someone popped in". 
My father had this cousin that was known for his dry witt and his famous expression was "When I am dead don't bury me at all, just soak my bones in alcohol" he is since gone but a wonderful man and story teller, oh what fun they used to have together.  I can remember my fathers' hearty laugh coming from the kitchen.  

Those who know me know that I have a lamp of this in my living room.

It was in one of the most beautiful settings on God's green earth.  One cannot imagine how lucky we were but being kids/teenagers of course we did not appreciate it.  I am lucky enough to go home now and be able to walk the land and soak it up.  When I was a child my brothers, sister and I would tell each other ghost stories as we fell asleep, all cuddled into the one bedroom.  The Fasnet Rock light house could be seen from the windows.  It is an incredible daunting statute...
My memories are probably different from that of my siblings but happiest ones are of picking blackberries with my mother and she would make Blackberry Apple jam.   They would grow wild on the side of the road.  The smells and rainy weather that we have been having over here in New England has brought me right back there.  You would literally be walking around the roads in your wellies and raincoat picking the berries.  

Blackcurrant Jam will always bring me back to West Cork :)

One other favorite of mine was of my neighbor who was this wonderful woman over the road. Her name to us was Mrs Driscoll. On the night that Elvis Presley died we were on "holidays" and we did not have any television otherwise known as "telly" so we had to walk to the neighbors house in the pitch black of night to find out what was the latest news. I was only 14 so of course I was devastated by it.  she did not mind us coming, take into consideration that there were no phones available like there are now so we just showed up.  Immediately she took out her enormous loaf of Whole wheat Irish Soda Bread, and when I say DELICIOUS! it does not do it justice.  She also had so many blackcurrant bushes outside in her garden that she made t.h.e. B.E.S.T blackcurrant jam there was or will ever be again. 

This was definitely the role I took on those hot summer days!

I strongly feel that the Driscoll family gave me a childhood that I would never have had otherwise.  We got to see newborn chickens been born and got to hold them when they were barely out of their mothers womb. I remember walking the roads in the wee hours of the morning to go to the local farmer to collect a gallon of milk, to this day I still cannot drink raw milk.  What a wonderful healthy way to grow up though.  If I was getting the milk, someone else was going to the well to get buckets of water, we did not have running water in the house at that time.


 I am seriously thinking of taking my children strawberry picking this weekend and we can make jam.  I really want my children/teenager to appreciate where things come from the way I did. Oh to be able to live the simple life again.  

Gluten Free in the Kitchen

The last few days have been busy baking for more thank you gifts.  It is wonderful to be able to experiment in my kitchen and know that I do not have to worry about all these calories :).  I have been wanting to experiment with Gluten free for years and always found a way to back out.  I love my bread that is wheat all the way but seem to feel guilty after I have devoured slices of it rich with Irish butter, Kerrygold of course :).

If you are going to indulge you may as well do it all the way with the  best butter around.  Delicious!


I am making a loaf of gluten free bread from  http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-japanese-milk-bread-the-softest-bread-ever/
When I was mixing it, it was very wet so I had to add a whole extra cup of gluten free all purpose flour.  These breads get expensive.



The beginning stages of making this bread...making a roux with flour and water.  I am still trying to figure out what purpose this has :)

Now onto the fun stuff, adding yeast to the flour.  The one thing I am learning with regard to making this bread is that with this and most gluten free bread it is not like making regular bread, four ingredients and you are done.  I cannot tell you how many ingredients I have used to make this one.  There are so many ingredients int the flour itself and then you need, vinegar, eggs, sugar, and cream of tarter which I always thought was only used for making the Irish Soda breads the old fashioned way.  I am excited to see how this loaf will come out... It really is for my daughter to try!






The bread is rising patiently in my warm bedroom as that seems to be the warmest room in the house.  I decided to leave it for a couple of hours as it seems very heavy.  I want it to be light and airy and more like a regular wheat bread in texture.  I had tried a different loaf of bread the other day and it was not successful.  It looked fine going into the oven and I thought it would come out well but in my honest opinion it really had too much yeast and too much water.  The two together just made it flop!

This is how it looked going into the oven... but I didn't even take a picture of it coming out of the oven.  

This is my very first successful looking loaf of Gluten Free Bread!  I am so happy that it at least came out looking that way, we of course will have to do a taste test.  Boil the kettle, find the butter and wolla!

I do want to update you on the brownies though, they were a huge hit.  I did make more today and I reduced the sugar by about half a cup and let them bake longer and the result was excellent.  A lovely cake-like brownie. Really, really  yummy!                                                                                                 

I want to share one of my favorite quotes with you and hope that you like it