Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Strawberry Scones

Frozen strawberries are too watery and release too much liquid, so go with fresh strawberries for this recipe. 
 
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter into 1/4-inch cubes
1 cup heavy cream plus 1 tablespoon for brushing the scones
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons sparkly sugar (like for xmas cookies)
 
Preheat oven to 400*F. Line a large baking sheet with a silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender or your hands, quickly cut the cold butter into the flour mixture. Mix until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few larger butter lumps. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup heavy cream and vanilla extract. Pour the liquid ingredients over the flour mixture and stir with a spatula until dough begins to form. Don’t over mix. Gently fold in the strawberries.Transfer dough to a floured countertop and gently push the dough together with your hands, just until it forms a ball. Form the dough into a 1-inch circle by patting the dough and gently pressing the dough. Don’t overwork the dough. You want to work quickly so the butter doesn’t get too warm. Use a sharp knife to cut the scones into 8 triangles.Place scones on prepared baking sheet and put in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. This will prevent the scones from spreading when baking. Remove the scones from the freezer. Use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the scones with the additional heavy cream. Sprinkle the scones with sparkly sugar. For this batch I did not. Bake for 18 to 23 minutes, or until scones are golden brown on the bottom and around the edges. Let the scones cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.  You can make a simple glaze for the scones if you like.
 

Friday, April 30, 2021

Russian Lilac

The Beauty of Moscow Lilac is a Russian cultivar. The double flowers are white, pearled with a lavender-pink blush. It definitely is a heavy bloomer yet exceptionally fine. It has extremely fragrant blooms and dark, glossy, green foliage. Mature growth for this lilac shrub is around 10-12' tall and wide. This one grows along my sidewalk next to the garage.

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Unexpected snow day

We woke up yesterday to 5 inches of snow! We built a snow man. This morning it was 60* and the snow was melting rapidly.

Friday, April 16, 2021

Grass

My baby grass has begun to grow!

Monday, April 12, 2021

Dogwood

It displeases me to inform you our neighborhood and my back yard have a number of flowering dogwood trees. While beautiful, I think they smell like wet dog.

Monday, April 5, 2021

Orange Jelly

Darcrymyces palmatus is a nonpoisonous fungi. A number of jelly fungi can be eaten raw; poisonous jelly are rare. However, many have an unpalatable texture or taste, which is described as similar to that of soil.

Thursday, April 1, 2021

Bulbophyllum Orchid

Super exciting. I've owned this guy for serveral years, and this is the first time it has ever bloomed.