Scones, Part Two!

Another round of scones, this time the third recipe but with a cup of cake flour instead of all all-purpose. And with a bit less additives, and this time half chopped pecans and half chocolate chips. They were great.

Chocolate chip pecan scone

Slight detour - scones

In the past I've used this blog to record non-gardening info, like my detour into attempts to craft the ideal baguette. Though I didn't achieve perfection, I felt like I vastly improved the quality of my bread and recorded the key steps that made a big difference.

This post with document my attempts at scones. Before I even begin I have to admit that I have never actually eaten an actual scone. So I have an utter lack of reasonable preconceptions about what a scone actually is going into this.Not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Scone One - Maple Pecan with a Maple Sugar drizzle

My first attempt was based on this recipe. The result was pretty good, but a bit dense. Again, not knowing what a legit scone tastes like and what kind of texture it has, I was a bit in the dark. But I would make the recipe again - if I wasn't on a quixotic quest for the ideal scone. The drizzle was nice, though made it a bit messier.

Scone Two - Raspberry

The second scone was very light and airy, which just didn't seem right. I think the use of some cake flour contributed to the lightness. I enjoyed the texture, but the gourmands I offered them to (the kids) were disappointed, particularly after enjoying the first scones so much. They were also a lot more crumbly. And the raspberries didn't hold up very well, I could barely taste them at all, and only rarely happened upon any raspberry bits with enough texture to be distinguished from the surrounding scone. Perhaps more raspberries would have helped? Maybe that's not the right fruit for scones.

Scone Three - Chocolate Chip

The third and perhaps final scone was definitely the best of the lot. I put the call out on facebook to find a good recipe after the second attempt went south on me. One friend answered with this recipe which was just about perfect. It's done in a food processor, which leads to a much finer texture to the scone - both others seemed a bit more clumpy. The only deviations I took from the recipe was to fold a bit more (I used too many chocolate chips and it took a bit to incorporate them), I used a bit more cream (as written the dough was too dry and did not come together), and I had to bake longer - they weren't completely done in the center even after 20 minutes (!) though likely that is a function of my oven more than the recipe. Next time I will crush up the chocolate chips a bit, add fewer of them, and add some crushed pecans. But overall very pleased with the third attempt. 

Maybe I'll even try a real scone and see how far off I am.

New Year, New Resolution

My eternal battle cry - "I'll do better next year!" Well, here it is next year. And so far I've kept my promise. The seeds are sprouting on wet paper towels as we speak. Then we had a snow storm. So the peas have to wait a little while before I can plant them. I am a bit behind in planting the sproutlings and firing up the underground garden. My nice long fibreglass planters are still sitting on the deck with last years dead weeds in them. But I'm still ahead of the game.

Things to do this year:

1. Landscape fabric - weeds make the whole garden experience a chore instead of pleasant. I need to cough up a little cash to keep them more in check.
2. Fertilize - I feel like if I keep the weeds down and the fertilizing up, I'll get a much bigger harvest.
3. Diversify - I get bored with monoculture. That seems to be how things go at the community garden, it starts with a few different veggies, then ends with an unending stream of tomatoes. This year will try to get cukes, beans, kale, and potatoes going at the garden. Plus the old reliable zucchini of course.
4. Potatoes - Plant them early, experiment with a potato tower.
5. Garlic - I love having garlic in the garden, but I blew it off last fall. Will do better this fall.
6. Raised beds - They're so good! I need at least do a prototype at the garden.
7. Pruning - Tomatoes do so much better if properly pruned. I need to do this!
8. Kale square - I loved having so much fresh kale. I need to revitalize my crummy 3' x 3' kale patch.