"Luxury" Scones

Sometimes a certain food is just necessary. Not because you've got the craving for it (which I did), but because it fits the mood so perfectly (which it also did). I recently reserved a library book that finally came it, The Gentle Art of Domesticity. Lovely colors, cozy ideas. Also, my mom came down for a visit where we mostly sat knitting and crocheting on the couch in front of British films like Jane Austen's Persuasion and the Harry Potter movies.

That started a little niggling idea that I should have something baking that would come out buttery and perfect for tea. It just so happened that I also came across this scone recipe in the book. Coincidence or carefully orchestrated felicity? Either way, I hopped off the couch and threw these together.

I didn't add raisins in the recipe and though she says they make 9, mine made 5 hand-rolled scones. Beautiful, tender, flaky and so buttery. This is what I want when I reach for a biscuit, so this may be my new biscuit go-to. I'll add the fruity-crunchy bits for "scones". I find the best accompaniment to be barely softened unsalted butter and jam. I whipped out a jar of my mom's red plum jelly that was delicious. Perfect with my cup of tea, good company, and quiet entertainment.

Luxury Scones














From the Gentle Art of Domesticity
Makes 9

1 c self-rising flour (1 c AP flour + 1 1/2 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp salt)
pinch of salt (leave out if making rising flour)
2 tsp powdered sugar
1/3 c unsalted butter, coldish
1 large egg
2-3 T milk



-Preheat oven to 425F.

-Sift the dry ingredients together, then add the raisins if you're using them.

-In another bowl, whisk together the egg and 2 T of milk. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Using a fork, quickly work the dry ingredients into the wet until it comes together. It will be damp and sticky. (Way more than I thought, actually. I needed emotional reinforcement from my mom.)

-Now, you can take the time and energy to roll them out and cut them on a lightly floured surface. Or you can make the most of a quick recipe and smush them into balls. Put on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until risen and golden on top.

- Cool for 5 minutes and smear with something lovely. They reheat surprisingly well, though the texture is a bit more chewy.

Smoky Pea Soup

Now I know that peas are some of the most notoriously hated vegetables ever to hit the plate, most notably due to a generation forced to eat the canned variety. However, I was not force-fed mushy green peas so I haven't developed any sort of loathing for them. In fact, I'd never formed an opinion of them at all since I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've ever tried them. But what is so inviting about little too sweet to be a vegetable, not sweet enough to be dessert, baby-shit green peas? Nothing, which is why I never tried them.

This isn't to say that my life would have been terribly unfortunate had I never tried them, but now that I know what they can do it would be terrible for you not to have the wisdom that I do now. I had my first taste of pea soup at a friend's wedding recently. This was no ordinary pea soup (or so I assume because it was AWESOME and no one complained) and I dedicated myself to replicating it. As luck would have it, the first pea soup recipe I tried hit the exact spot with just a few minor alterations.

This is a vegetarian pea soup (actually, it might be vegan too) that has a lot of give. I tried roasted garlic out of the gate with good results. This last time, I didn't bother to roast it and I could definitely tell. I'd like to try roasted garlic and caramelized onions too someday, but really any way you slice it things turn out well. Don't be afraid to substitute with this. I used beef instead of vegetable bouillon the first time and have been using sun-dried tomato pesto instead of sun-dried tomatoes. I've tried vinegar and lemon juice to similar effects as well. It's all up to you, but I think the smoked paprika is a must. The whole point is to have that smoky, hearty kick with subtly sweet peas and it's good without it, but just not the same soup.

Smoky Pea Soup

1 T olive oil

1 small onion, chopped or sliced thin

2 cloves garlic, minced or roasted and smashed
1 tsp dried basil
1 T sun-dried tomato pesto
1 chipotle pepper packed in adobo sauce (most of the sauce rinsed off it you don't want it too hot)
1 bay leaf
1 T vegetable bouillon (or any you have on hand)
1 T lemon juice or vinegar
1 tsp smoked paprika
dash of cumin
4 cups water
2 cups frozen english peas
1 tsp black pepper (or to taste)

Saute onion in the oil over med. heat until softened (or caramelized... oooh!). Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.

Dump in all the other ingredients except black pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook there for about 20 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and chipotle from soup and let cool just a tad. Whiz through a blender then add pepper to taste. Eat and be merry.

Applebutter Pie

Second pie, as promised.

A while ago, I was schlepping around Baking Bites and found this recipe. My mom is an avid canner and I usually have enough jam or jelly on hand to bathe in. You know, if I wanted to be sticky and potentially have little seeds where the sun don't shine. Ahem. One of those jams is her famous (as far as I'm concerned) applebutter that as often as not gets eaten just with a spoon. You cannot resist it. Also, you can't resist a pie recipe that takes four ingredients and less than an hour. This is the laziest lazy person pie, I promise.
What does it taste like? Well, that will probably depend a lot on the apple butter you use. The thicker and richer the butter, the better the flavor and texture. I think my applebutter was a little too thin and I used way too much, so I ended up with a huge ramekinful of filling. Overall though, probably because of the spices, it does taste a good deal like pumpkin pie. I think next time I might experiment with a layer of apples underneath. Just for a little more heft.

What are you waiting for? A formal invitation? Go there and dig in.

Pumpkin Spice Pie!

Alright, that job I was so excited to have is now gone. Quit, in fact. It just wasn't for me and didn't allow me to do the little things in life. Like cook. Or eat. Or sleep. However, as many of you have been kind enough to point out, I promised you pie! And to make up for my extreme tardiness, I will bring you two pies starting with the original. 

Last year for the holidays, my mom made the triple-layer pumpkin spice pie recipe that came with the seasonal pumpkin pie Jell-O pudding mixes. I instantly fell in love. It was light, but rich, creamy, and just a perfect slice of heaven. She sent me home with two boxes of the pudding mix too. For some reason, I suddenly started craving this "seasonal" pie as the temperatures here are easily reaching the 90s. Go figure.

You can find the original recipe online, but I've modified it here to my taste and energy level. I like adding a little pumpkin pie filling and nixing the last layer of pure cool whip. Granted, cool whip is the only whipped-cream product I'll eat with any regularity, but a whole layer of it is just too much for me. My take on it only uses two bowls as well, so it's an easy clean-up, no-bake pie of awesome. The only problem is getting your hands on the pudding flavor. Though I bet using similar flavored puddings with added pumpkin pie spice might make an interesting pie.

I ah... don't have any pictures. I ate about half of it the day it was made, then let the rest of it mold when I went back to work because of that non-eating issue. So sorry.

Zylo's Lazy Pumpkin Spice Pie

2 boxes pumpkin pie spice flavored Jell-O pudding
2 cups cold milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tub whipped topping (like Cool Whip)
1/2 can of pumpkin or sweet potato pie filling, or canned yams
1 graham cracker crust

Mix the first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add cool whip and blend.

In a separate bowl, dump in the pie filling. If using yams, drain the liquid and smush with a fork first. Add half of the pudding mix to it and stir.

Layer the mix with the pie filling on the bottom of the pie crust. Top with the rest of the mix.

Cover and refrigerate for several hours. Overnight works best.

Gorge on fluffy pumpkin joy.

Giveaway Winner and Chai

The job has taken a bit more of my time than I expected, but that's okay. I get paid for it. So in the spirit of paychecks, we have a winner! Suburban Prep, be expecting an e-mail from me today. How's 50% chance for good odds, huh?

Anyways, I was up in the early morning and played around. I finally bought a box of concentrated Oregon Chai and it's pretty tasty. Just a little sweet for my taste, but I got to drink it out of one of my new favorite cups.

Also, can we take a second to fully appreciate a take-out van with a menu holder on the side of the CAR!

That is all.

I'll be back soon with a pie.

Shrimp and Goat Cheese Quesadilla with Guacamole

I have been fiending over guacamole for the last two weeks, so when I found a paper recipe that combined guacamole and goat cheese, I was set. I had about half a pound of frozen shrimp to use up, plus tomatoes and goat cheese left from the tart recipe. However, the recipe said all the below ingredients made one large quesadilla. The point was to have one huge quesadilla with a tortilla on top and bottom. If you're uncoordinated, or me, you might want to do two smaller halves because mine broke apart like crazy. I'm fine with messy food, but next time for sure.

Since I decided to forgo store-bought guacamole and make my own, I knew I'd spend more time making myself sick on avocados than I would worrying about the actual meal. For two people, this makes a light meal that perfect in summer with just chips and (amazing) guac for a side. Plus, spreading the 8 oz goat cheese between two quesadillas reduces the fat and cost without sacrificing taste. These might also be good with a light sprinkle of shredded lettuce or spinach, or even a sweet dose of jicama. Experiment and don't worry about it.

Overall: So so tasty. Really. I was surprised by how good these simple quesadilla were, but I guess I shouldn't be at this point. Don't miss out - this is the perfect summer meal.

(Also don't forget about the giveaway!)

Shrimp and Goat Cheese Quesadilla with Guacamole

2 T olive oil
1 lb shelled, raw shrimp
1 lg ripe tomato
6 sprigs cilantro
2 flour tortillas
8 oz goat cheese
1 sliced jalapeno pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 container guacamole

1. Put oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Cut each shrimp crosswise into three pieces (or if you're lazy, just chop into smaller pieces). Add to skillet, raise heat to high and cook for 2 minutes, stirring once.

2. Deseed and dice tomato, and chop cilantro. Remove shrimp from skillet.

3. Lower heat to medium and place one tortilla in skillet. Spread the shrimp evenly over it, crumble goat cheese on top, then spread on tomato and cilantro. Add chopped jalapeno, salt, and pepper. Top with second tortilla and cook for 3 minutes.

4. Flip quesadilla and cook for 4 more minutes. Remove, cut into wedges, and serve with guacamole.

Free Giveaway!

Giveaway Alert!

If you follow them both, you'll know that I'm doing a giveaway on my craft blog in honor of GETTING A JOB! It's not a great one, but it pays bills. It will also pay shipping on a box full of goodies for a lucky reader. I've decided to do my first foodie giveaway!

Now, I didn't know there was going to be a theme until I started collecting things for the boxes. It started out with a Paula Deen cookbook. Then I found a Paula Deen line of recipe cards and cupcake liners to go with it. Round it out with some candy, a box of tea, fun pasta, and glittery blue icing and you've got a box full o'goodies.

To enter: leave a comment below and tell me how you found my food blog and recommend me another great one. For an extra entry, link back to this giveaway page on your own blog and let me know about it.

Other Info: The deadline is June 17th, which roughly coincides with my first payday. Every entry will be given a number and the winner will be chosen using a random number generator. As a testament to how prosperous I'm feeling, I'll also ship internationally so there are no excuses. Awesome, huh?

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart

Look at me! I'm cooking! With the heat coming on strong down here in the South, I'm craving lots of vegetables and whole foods. Well, that and stuff I can just throw together.

While unpacking the kitchen, I noticed that I had bags of clipped recipes all over the place. Remember way back when I had the weekly paper recipe challenge? Me neither. It was so long ago. Regardless, I've got to start using these damn things because I had a big ass pile before and I never stopped adding to it. I've rounded up a pile to start cracking and here's the first attempt.

This tart was a simple slice and bake kind of dinner. Very little prep, few ingredients, and hardy any kitchen time. The recipe calls for three large tomatoes, but I only used two due to mine being quite formidable. If you check out the nutrition info at the bottom, you might want to take note of the fat content. 27 grams of fat per serving. Yeah. I wouldn't blame you if you used fat-free mayo and reduced fat goat cheese.

Now, when I first took this out of the oven, I was so hungry I ate about half the exposed crust while waiting for it to cool. Then I cut into it. Something was wrong. I was afraid to burn the sides of the crust, so I took it out on time even though the top wasn't bubbly. Because of that, it was way to juicy. Still, I had a piece anyways. Hey! I was hungry.

My warm tomato pudding tasted pretty good, but I put the pie back in to cook. Next time, I'll let the tomato slices sit on paper towels for a while to cut down on the juice. Or this would be a perfect recipe to use them right before they're ripe enough. Also, maybe it was because it just didn't work, but I would cut way back on the mayo. Even better, toss goat cheese crumbles with salt, pepper, and basil then throw on top without any mayo.

Overall: Tasty but too much mayo and soggy. Better luck next time.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 30 min

1 refrigerated pie crust

3 lg (2 lbs) tomatoes, sliced

1 T flour

1/2 c mayo

3 oz goat cheese, crumbled

1/4 c chopped basil

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1. Heat oven to 575 F. Fit pie crust into tart pan (or be lazy like me and buy it already in a pie pan). Pierce the bottom with a fork and bake for 5 mins.

2. Layer tomatoes in crust. Sprinkle the tomatoes and stove (you know, for luck) lightly with flour.

3. Mix mayo, cheese, basil, salt, and pepper and spread over tomatoes. Bake until bubbling, 25 mins. Serve warm or at room temp.

Makes 6 servings

Per serving:

Calories: 364

Fat: 27 g

Protein: 5 g
Carb: 25 g