This weekend was magical. Scones were involved, for one. Lovingly made with lowbush cranberries handpicked here in the valley forest. Even the rain held off long enough for us to get outside for a delightful walk through the damp woods. Heavily scented with tart and pungent highbush cranberries and the unmistakable aroma of yellowing leaves.
Autumn light is decidedly the most beautiful light of the entire year and is not to be squandered. I think my friend Nate really said it best.
We even encountered a sleepy bunny friend on the trail. Don't worry bunny, you're safe with us.
Regarding scone and muffin making, I only ever consult one source. America's Test Kitchen. Those folks know their stuff and scones are not to be trifled with. My recipe is veganized and adapted from their blueberry scone recipe.
I have a love/hate relationship with baking. Making these scones was no exception. Tortured with fits of frustration from holes in my dough...being a perfectionist can be burdensome when it comes to making pastries. However, even with a couple openings where tiny cranberries menacingly dared to escape, these scones turned out wonderfully. They're really quite easy and I wouldn't say they take more patience than any other scone recipe.
- 9 Tbsp. vegan butter (1 stick + 1 Tbsp. ), frozen
- ½ cup coconut or soy milk
- ½ cup vegan sour cream
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for working (10 oz.)
- ½ cup vegan sugar, plus additional for sprinkling (3 ½ oz.)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
- ½ tsp. table salt
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- scant ¼ cup fresh mint, minced
- 1 ½ cup fresh cranberries (7 ½ oz.)
I adore Bailey's spotted mouth! We rang in Autumn, officially, with this Alaskan pumpkin porter on our playful walk.
German Word of The Day
Scones --> Teegebäck (tea-geh-beck)
Good Deed of The Day
Beyond Meat is offering a free pallet of their brand new Beast Burgers to burger joints that agree to offer them. You can ask your local or national burger chain to serve them by tweeting #beastme at them! Pretty cool huh? It'd be great to see more (or any) vegan burger options around!