home at last
It’s been a heck of a summer. At last count, I’ve spent it in no fewer than six states: Minnesota (thrice), Michigan, Wisconsin, Colorado and California. Illinois, too, of course, though it seems like that state—my home state—fits squarely at the end of the list. To be honest, all the traveling has left me feeling a little frayed around the edges. The individual little trips have combined to give me a sometimes-overwhelming feeling that’s part jet lag, part homesickness and part exhaustion.
But never, not once, did I go hungry. These travels all came with the happy byproduct of wonderful meals and time spent cooking atop other people’s stoves; sitting around other people’s dining tables; washing, drying and returning the dishes to other people’s cupboards. These things eased the pangs of longing for my own kitchen, my regret at missing week after week of my farmers’ market.
I’m home now and the travel, for the foreseeable future, has come to a stop. We were home over the long weekend and, in a strange way, we had to re-learn to relax on the weekend. It felt gluttonous to have an afternoon stretching in front of me, full of time to putter peacefully around the kitchen. Gluttonous, but also glorious.
With each hour, the relaxing became easier and easier. In the end, I was so relaxed that I failed to take even one photo of a triple chocolate pudding pie, an heirloom tomato salad, a grilled pizza topped with mushrooms and wild argula, a burger stacked high with Swiss cheese, grilled onions and bacon. I’m sorry about that (the no photos part, that is; I’m quite happy about the relaxed part, not to mention the delicious food), but if it’s any consolation, I did take photos of these scones—an adaptation of a recipe from Heidi at 101 Cookbooks, which I made last weekend.
The recipe, in true 101 Cookbooks form, is brilliant and wholesome. It yields palm-sized square scones that have a lightly sweet crumb, thanks to the maple syrup, and a heartiness, thanks to the whole wheat flour and oats. I added a couple handfuls of wild blueberries to the recipe, an addition that provided tiny pockets of tartness throughout the scones. They were the blueberries we picked in Northern Minnesota weeks and weeks ago. Since then, they’ve been in the freezer. See—I told you it’s been a busy summer.
You can find Heidi‘s recipe for Maple Syrup Scones here. The recipe calls for either oats or quinoa flakes and I opted for the former. My only change to the recipe was to press tiny wild blueberries into the dough before shaping and baking the scones.
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Oh these look lovely! I absolutely know what you mean, relaxing is never as easy as it seems, but I’m sure these delicious little guys and a warm cup of tea couldn’t hurt.
*Sigh* Those look seriously yummy — and very homey. Hooray for comfort foods!
the dough looks so good I’d eat that too! bad I know.
Oh my. At first I thought those were chocolate chips. Can you make something with chocolate chips next?
These look absolutely lovely and delicious.
love Heidi, such a talent. The scones look fabulous and weclome home!
I’ve yet to make scones. They look really good!
~ingrid
How did you cut those scones? Is the tool next to the scones a cutting tool or a ruler? The cuts look so precise and geometrical, in contrast to the rough edges.
They definitely look very yummy.
Bloggers are never 100% on vacation. I totally commiserate with the forgotten photo guilt. I just spent the weekend sampling pierogi, elephant ears, gyros and burritos in Portland, OR and don’t have a single photos to share. Sometimes you just have to enjoy the moment.
Elizabeth: You’re so right!
Anne: Hooray, indeed!
dawn: Oh, I did that. Don’t worry. : )
Half Assed Kitchen: If you insist!
Sprouted Kitchen: Thanks! And, absolutely, about Heidi.
ingrid: Ooooh, you have to try it! It’s super quick, though you’d never know it when you pull the beauties out of the oven.
Kimba: I used a bench scraper that has a ruler on it. No matter how perfectly you cut them, they’ll still come out of the oven looking rustic and a bit free-form, but I like that.
Devon: Well said. Sounds like a great trip.
These look absolutely wonderful! I love how golden they look and dotted with the berries.
I’ve had Heidi’s scone recipe flagged for many, many moons, and I think I’m more apt to try it with handfuls of berries. Mmmm.
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