Chocolate Chip Scones

Family Review: ***** Absolutely yummy!*****

Chocolate Chip Scones
Yield: 32 scones


Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 Tbls. baking powder
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into slices
1 cup mini-chocolate chips
2 large eggs
2 tsps. vanilla
1/2 to 2/3 cup whole milk


Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbls. water or enough for a thin glaze
1 tsp. vanilla


Directions:
1. Whisk together all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in the butter; it's okay to leave some larger pieces of butter. Stir in the chocolate chips.


2. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla and milk together. Add liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Add additional milk if the mix won't hold together.


3. On a well-floured surface, roll the dough into an 8" x 8" square. Cut the dough into 2" squares, for a total of 16 squares. Cut each square diagonally to form 32 small triangles.


4. Transfer to a parchment lined (or well greased) cooking sheet. They can be close together.


5. While the oven is preheating to 425 degrees F, place the pan of scones in the freezer, uncovered.


6. Bake the scones for 19 minutes and allow scones to cool on the pan.


7. Prepare the glaze. I transferred the glaze to a sandwich baggie, snipped a corner, and drizzled the glaze over the scones while on the parchment (less mess). You could also spread the glaze over each with a spatula.


** Sorry no pictures. Take my word for it, though, these are incredibly easy to make and taste great! I think I may try substituting blueberries for chocolate chips. I like the texture of this scone. They are not dense like some recipes, and neither are they too much like quick bread.

Gryo Meat

Gyro's are another favorite meal. I got hooked on them in Kearney, NE where my husband and I lived during the first couple years of our marriage. I've always wanted to attempt making them at home, but hadn't found a recipe(s) until a few months ago. Then, it was searching for ground lamb! I looked near and far for fresh lamb; finally one store carried it in the frozen meat section ... success.


Traditionally made with a lamb and beef combination, gyro's also have a special sauce called Tzatziki. They are usually on pita bread and include wonderful fresh veggies. My favorite Greek restaurant, Santa Lucia's, makes their gyro's wrap style. I recently sampled their gyro's again at the Fargo Street Fair ... first a helping of shredded lettuce, then a sauteed mix of onion, zucchini, peppers, and lamb. It's all topped with a dollop or two of Tzatziki and wrapped up in foil. Messy, but yummy. They might be prepared differently in the restaurant; I cannot remember.


As gyro's require a couple ingredients with 'steps' and time to prepare, today, I'm only baking the traditional gyro meat. I plan to freeze it in thin slices for a future gyro meal.

Gyro Meat
Yield: Approx. 10 servings


Ingredients:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 lb. ground lamb
1 lb. ground beef
1 Tbs. minced garlic
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground marjoram
1 1/2 tsp. ground rosemary
1 tsp. ground dried thyme
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. sea salt


Directions:
1. In a food processor, process the onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, black pepper and salt until finely ground. Mix the meats and onion/spice mixture together in a bowl. Mix well with your hands until well combined. Pack the mixture into a 3x7 inch loaf pan. Wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight to let the flavors blend.


2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.


3. Remove the wrap and bake the gyro meat until the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F (approximately 1 hour). Drain all liquid that has accumulated in the pan. Remove the loaf from the pan and place it on a rack set above a baking dish, to catch drips. Continue baking until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (approximately 15-30 minutes more). Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before slicing. The finished loaf will be firm and slightly dry. Slice thinly.





*I forgot to take any pictures during the 'making' of the loaf. So, you'll have to settle for the 'baked' and finished product photo!


** I wrapped both loaves in plastic wrap, sealed them in a freezer ziploc bag, and froze them for later (when I have all the necessary ingredients). I also read that it's easier to thinly slice the loaf when it is slightly frozen.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

The Rhubarb I transplanted from our Fargo home established itself quite well in the big garden (located on Grandma & Grandpa Green Acres property). I'd had the strawberries and rhubarb ready to go on Saturday, but just couldn't squeeze in canning.



Today, with Angelina up at Grandma Green Acres' and the boys in town for baseball/haircuts, I DID the canning. I hadn't taken out my canning supplies, but they're in one place, so it wasn't time-consuming. If supplies and ingredients are prepped, canning goes very smoothly. Plan canning for a time when you most likely won't be interrupted; I have afriend who cans at night ... after kids are in bed.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Yield: 6-8 (8oz.) half pints

Ingredients:
2 cups crushed strawberries
2 cups finely chopped rhubarb
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp. butter
5 1/2 cups white sugar

I followed the recipe in the Fruit Pectin box, although I did look in a couple other places. This recipe followed the quantities I had available better than others. There aren't as many pics to go with the steps ... it's just too hard because canning moves pretty quick and I just didn't have time. Here goes ...



1. All my supplies and ingredients were prepped first. I always clean an extra two or three jars; many times I'll need one for foam and often I end up with more jam than the recipe predicts. Start the water boiling in your canner so it's ready when the jars have been covered.*

The second pic shows the rhubarb, crushed strawberries, lemon juice, pectin, and butter mixed together. This mixture is brought to a full rolling boil - that means the boil cannot be stirred down - over high heat, stirring constantly.



2. All the sugar is added to the fruit. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Once again, the mixture is brought to a full rolling boil. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim any foam, if necessary. **If there is foam, I skim it into a jar to be used. It still tastes good on bread!









3. Ladle the jam into jars. I always end up with more jam than the recipe predicts.











4. The jars have all been filled, leaving about 1/4"- 1/2" headspace (the distance between the layer of jam and the top of the jar). My next step is to wipe the jar rims with a clean damp cloth to remove any sticky jam. If you skip this step, there is a chance your jar won't seal.

5. Next, place the lids and screw-bands. Tighten the screwband until just tight.











6. Move the covered jars to the canner. Once a full boil is reached, set your timer for 10 minutes and cover the canner.












7. When the timer signals the end of processing, remove the jars to a towel covered wood board or cutting board. The lids should seal within 24 hours ... mine usually seal within the first minute. When the top is pressed, it won't flex up and down when sealed. Let the jars cool for 12-24 hours, undisturbed.



8. Once cooled, label the jars or write on the lids with permanent maker (lids aren't reusable). The jam is good for one year, but I have used mine after a year ... as long as it's sealed and if upon opening it is not discolored and smells good.


*Many times, I'll start my canner to boil well before I start mixing the jam ingredients. It saves time in the long run, and it's better to put 'hot' jars into the canner. You do not want the jam to cool down between being ladled into jars and being placed in the canner for processing.

E-Z Moist Cake

Last weekend, a friend of the family came over to visit with her kids. They brought just the right number of pieces of her mother's 'famous' cake. I didn't know about this cake ... guess I haven't been in the country long enough!! Anyway, we all enjoyed it.

I could have called for the recipe, but our friend mentioned that it was made with a mix. I figured I could find it in one of my many church cookbooks ... and I found a recipe that I believe will produce identical results.

E-Z Moist Cake
Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:
1 cake mix*
2 eggs
1/2 cup cultured sour cream
1 can pie filling, any flavor (cherry and chocolate are a great combo)

Directions:
Use the cake mix dry. Add all ingredients. Mix by hand or at low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at high speed. (I mixed by hand because I didn't want the cherries mashed.) Spray the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray and pour the batter into the pan. You will need to spread the batter out evenly. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

I plan to frost with chocolate frosting. Chocolate frosting is great on chocolate cake with cherry pie filling (this is what our friend brought over). However, I think caramel frosting would be excellent on white cake with apple pie filling. One other note ... if you use apple pie filling, toss in about 1 tsp. cinnamon.

*Recipe recommends white, friend's mom uses chocolate ... mmm not a hard decision ... CHOCOLATE!)

Sourdough Bread

This is my second attempt. The first ended up rather flat, and while it had the sourdough taste, it definitely wasn't good for much else! So, hopefully the end result you see here is better. I have been reading a lot online about sourdough. Lots of opinions out there! There is a bit of a learning curve ... mostly because I'm not a 'natural' bread baker. But, my waffles and pancakes have turned out wonderful and I felt it was time to branch out.

I was up early again today - 5:30a - so an early start for bread-making (which is a good thing). By 6a, the dough was mixed and ready to sit for its first 90 minute rise. I have such a hard time throwing out ANY starter, so this is a double batch. I split my starter yesterday with the intent of making bread this morning, so that meant I had two cups of starter ... thus the double batch. If all goes well, I'll have two loaves and sourdough buns for supper ~ and snacking.





Mixing the ingredients and forming a nice dough ball were the first steps this morning. As you can see below, the dough rose well during the first 'sitting'.



Next, I divided the huge dough ball into four portions. I formed two loaves and cut the remaining quarters into appropriate portions for buns - I was able to get about 2 dozen buns. (My picture shows 8 portions, but I had to make them a bit smaller for sandwiches. Eight portions would be great for hamburgers, though.)



Next, my formed loaves and buns are shown.





The formed loaves and buns sit for another 60 minutes to double in size, once again.



The tops are slashed on the loaves and they are ready to bake. Only time will tell ...



Buns into the oven, too. I'll try baking for 15 minutes and then check for doneness on the buns. (15 minutes is the perfect amount of time)



The loaves are done and nicely browned. They will need to cool just a bit and then I'll test a slice with rhubarb jam (courtesy of Grandma Golden Acres).



Sweet Success! The bread is delicious!! The buns turned out nice, too. I brushed the tops of the loaves and buns with butter after they came out of the oven. The best bun-maker in my hometown used to do that; I'm not sure why, but it tastes good.



Rustic Sourdough Bread
Source: King Arthur Flour
Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients:
1 cup (8.5 oz.) "fed" sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) luke-warm water
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbls. sugar
2 tsp. instant yeast
5 cups (21.25 oz.) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients, kneading to form a smooth, soft dough, adding a bit of additional flour if needed. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.

Divide the dough in half and shape into two oval loaves. Place on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise till very puffy, about 60 minutes. Slash the tops, and bake in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, and cool on a rack.