Holiday jewel scones

Okay, I'll admit it: I've had baked goods on the brain more than usual these days. I think it started when I went on a self-imposed gluten fast for the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving (to see if gluten was the nefarious force behind my many months of back pain -- you never know), but it turned into a full-fledged craving after Kenton told me about the fancy tea he'd been to with his parents and aunt last weekend. Lemon tartlets, cucumber sandwiches, and the fluffiest, most decadent sounding scones... ohhhh... I wanted some.

After three weeks of almost absolute gluten abstinence, I may have gone a little crazy this weekend. Puff pastries and lobster risotto and cookies at Kenton's holiday office party last night. Pizza for lunch today -- though to my credit I did halve the regular whole wheat flour with some (gluten-free) rice flour. And I couldn't resist cranking out a batch of scones using some of the fresh pomegranate seeds dad gave me during my visit to Northern Virginia yesterday afternoon. I mean, I haven't made scones since the summer. It was time. And, boy, were they good. You'd never guess that they're actually pretty healthy, too.

Pomegranate and almond scones
makes 8 large scones
(Thanks to budgetgourmetmom for the general recipe idea, but especially the tip on grating butter, which allowed me to get the butter mixed in quickly, before my hands warmed it too much -- genius!)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup raw sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons butter, cold
• 1-2 handfuls pomegranate seeds
• 1 handful slivered almonds
• a bit less than half a pint (6 ounces or so) of plain, lowfat Greek yogurt
• 1 large egg
• zest from 1 orange
• splash of vanilla (1/2 teaspoon?)
• 1 egg white
• sugar for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. In a medium bowl mix together the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Grate the butter into the flour mixture using the large holes on the grater. Use your fingers to work the butter into the flour until it resembles a course meal.
4. Stir in the pomegranate seeds and almonds.
5. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, egg, orange zest, and vanilla. 
6. Add yogurt mixture to the flour mixture. Use a fork to stir it until dough clumps form. Continue to press the dough together with your hands, but don't overwork it. (I don't purport to make scones as well as the ladies at The Rosemary House, but that is one of the big lessons I learned while baking there: don't manhandle the dough!)
7. Place dough on a lightly floured surface, press into a 7 to 8 inch circle, and cut into 8 triangles. Brush tops with egg white, then sprinkle with sugar.
8. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes or so. Cool on a wire rack and then either devour (or freeze so you have some to share with others).

So far so good on the back pain after the 24 hour gluten extravaganza. Maybe its the post-scone-number-two delirium, but now that I look a little more closely, I can see what dad means about the pomegranate seeds looking very festive, like Christmas lights. As we move into holiday season, I wouldn't be surprised if I make these baked wonders again. Especially if dad takes care of the laborious seed removal process again, heheh.

Rice, Rice, Baby

It's been another rainy but eventful day here in Mechanicsburg. Having gotten through the more-intense-than-anticipated process of making lavender soap, I was tasked today with brainstorming some other items for the upcoming lavender festival. We started thinking about some kind of spice blend using lavender. Oooh, it's like Iron Chef (again, without the fabulous cookware or competition, but fun nonetheless)! I had tons of good, organic spices at my fingertips here at The Rosemary House, so after a quick trip with Susanna to the local natural food store to pick up a few different grains to dabble with (long grain brown rice, brown basmati, white basmati, and cous cous -- why not?) I got cooking. Lavender and rosemary... lavender and lemon grass... hmmm... hmmm....



I played with proportions, cooking times, adding spices at different points in the process. Even making only about 1 cup of each (1/2 cup uncooked), we wound up with quite a lot of cooked rice. You would think we would be having rice for dinner tonight, but no.

"Why not?" you might be thinking.

Well, I got a little sidetracked part way through the cooking extravaganza when I heard Nancy muttering, "What will we do with all of this spinach? Our new batch of CSA produce just came in this morning." Of course I immediately started scheming. Yep, lots of varieties of fresh basil out back in the garden... a big bin of chopped pecans above the fridge... olive oil... some garlic... just need to pick up some grated cheese and presto! Or, rather, pesto!

So we're having pasta. But I'm kicking around a few lavender rice pudding recipe ideas for dessert.

Had we but world enough and thyme

The long weekend in Mechanicsburg has been great: nice people, good food, tons of learning, beautiful weather, a bit of time working in the garden each day. After an extended afternoon in the sun at a barbecue the other day, Susanna and I decided to tackle some pruning and weeding in one of the gardens. I was getting a little slap happy, as you may guess from the photo:



There was no alcohol at the barbecue. No, really, it was the sun. I think Susanna noticed I was getting a little loopy, so after my toy truck escapades wound down she assigned me to designing a new portion of the tea garden, which emerged as something of a recycled kitchen garden with a number of different varieties of basil, with food-related equipment as planters:



Pretty fun. And it reminded me of my dad, the pesto maestro of the family, who would perhaps shed a tear of joy at the basilicious* possibilities here.

So aside from gardening, I've been preparing for the next leg of my trip: making calls, mapping out bike routes, locating state parks, rearranging my gear. I'm heading to the next destination in a couple of days and was just going through my stuff to determine if there is anything -- ANYTHING! -- that I can mail home. Or donate. Or somehow otherwise remove from the pile of accoutrement that weighs more than I do and that I am dragging around on poor Ollie. (She's a trooper, but still, a few pounds off would be nice, especially since I have another week or two of Pennsylvania hills to traverse before I get to New York.) My digital camera stopped working a few days ago, so now I'm down to the blackberry camera. That should shave off, what, 7 or 8 ounces? Maybe one of the sweaters can go. That's another, say, 8 ounces. There! A pound! Ha ha -- victory! Now my ride will only weigh... well, I haven't actually weighed Ollie loaded, but I can't lift her.

There must be a way to consolidate. I'm still not tossing the (as yet unused) dancing shoes. Or spare tire tubes. I can't possibly scrap the small saute pan or cutting board. Hmmm. Hmmm.... How about this little bit of genius: an herbal first-aid kit! I could combine my spices with my medical kit. Eh? Eh? I'll keep the space blanket, though. Just in case my Halloween costume idea falls through and I need a cape....

*Oooh, another new word. How long until the OED has me on speed dial?

Two steps forward, two steps back

It took me a little while to recover from the inadvertent 12-mile detour between Caledonia State Park and King's Gap State Park -- scenic, yes, but also quite hot and also hilly -- on Wednesday. After a day of rest and recuperation at Don & Caroline's lovely home in Carlisle, PA, I marveled at what a few naps, good food, and charming company can do. I feel great. Ollie's looking well-rested, too.

Yesterday, I traveled with the friendly folks at The Rosemary House to help out at the annual Herb Festival in Baltimore. (Yes, Baltimore, putting me just about a day's ride from where I started nearly a month ago. Don't think that little detail escaped my notice or that of my dad who could not help but point out that my route thus far has been less... efficient... than it could have been. I noticed the same thing when traveling through Bedford and seeing the "Cumberland: 34 miles" sign last week. This journey is about learning, so I'm hoping I become a better mapper as I go along....) Anyway, back on point, the festival was pretty cool. While my master plan to secure for myself a cone of lavender ice cream (my current obsession) was foiled, I did learn quite a bit. David -- an amazingly knowledgeable herbalist -- on the drive down helped me clear up some confusion surrounding my understanding of the relationship between "natural medicine" and "homeopathy." I had always equated the two, but it seems this is a common misconception. (The fact that I did not sack out on the drive down -- we had woken up at 4:45am to drive to the festival -- is a testament to the engaging and thoughtful nature of David's conversation.)

At the festival itself, I spent most of my time devouring a quart of fresh strawberries and (wo)manning the used book section of the Rosemary House booth. I was in my element. I mean, used books on gardening and cooking?? I think I did a fairly good job on sales, but I also managed to read up on using plants to control various garden pests and got somewhat sidetracked thumbing through a book on using herbs and flowers to make natural soaps. I also had a bit of a reprieve from the heat when I went to a talk in the chapel called "Enhancing your health with culinary herbs," given by near-Dr. Andrew Pengelly, a charming and somewhat self-effacing Australian gentleman. It was here that many of my instincts surrounding the curative and preventative nature of herbs and spices were confirmed. I learned new things about some of the health benefits of some of my favorite spices, too. Of note were

• garlic (eating as little as a half of a raw clove per day has been shown to reduce cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood clotting, never mind that your garlic breath keeps most swine-flu-bearing folks at a safe distance)



• parsley (high in iron and also good for GI issues)



• ginger and turmeric (anti-inflammatories -- I still stand by my claim that tea made with lots of chopped, fresh ginger and honey cures just about everything from sore muscles to insomnia to allergies)



• cinnamon (believed to help prevent/control diabetes due to its glucose/insulin-moderating properties).

I also learned about some preliminary clinical studies on the health effects of various herbal extracts. In Asia, for example, a study of the elderly in relation to the amount of curry they consume -- lots, some, or none -- seemed to have a direct correlation to their cognitive function. Now, obviously there are many factors and biases inherent in such a study, but imagine -- just imagine! -- if we could prevent or drastically reduce the onset of Alzheimer's, dementia, or other memory loss afflictions by periodically consuming curries and other flavorful food. I believe in modern science and medicine (ahem, Justin) but I also can't help but note that for so many years and in so many other cultures there are natural, food- and herb-based remedies that work. (Don't worry, Rudy, I'm steering clear of coffee enemas....)

I'm hoping to learn much more about the growing, storage, and use of herbs over the next few days. For those who might be interested in lavender ice cream (and making me green with envy: I will be somewhere in Connecticut by then), you should check out the PA Lavender Festival, which runs from June 19-21.