Gluten Free Scones: Revisted

Last week I blogged about gluten free scones. I became obsessed and had to make them again two days later. The second time around I tried out a couple new variations and decided I'd actually make the effort to pull my camera out and semi-document the process. The last round of scones were lemon-currant, the two most recent variations were equally as good as the last. I tested out one savoury-spicy-sweet combination: cheddar, cayenne, and date. I also tested out a fall favourite: apple-cinnamon, which would have been wonderful with some chopped walnuts or cheddar. I'm salivating as I type this.

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Apple-Cinnamon Scones

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gluten free scone base 1/2 large apple 1 tsp cinnamon

Using the gluten free scone recipe base (don't add the currants or lemon zest), substitute in the ingredients on the left for apple-cinnamon scones. Make sure the apples are diced to about 1/4 inch cubes and stir into the mixture with the buttermilk. Try adding 1/3 C cubed cheddar. Serve with honey.

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Cheddar, Cayenne & Date Scones

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gluten free scone base 1/2 C extra sharp cheddar 1/4 C dates 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Using the gluten free scone recipe base (don't add the currants or lemon zest), substitute in the ingredients on the left for apple-cinnamon scones. Make sure the cheese and dates are diced to about 1/4 inch cubes and stir into the mixture with the buttermilk along with the cayenne pepper.

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Munch, munch, munch... crunch.

Gluten Free Scones

I love scones. There is something about them that is so inviting and homey. Maybe it's because the oven always makes the kitchen warm and butter really can't do anything but remind you of home cooking. I recently moved out to LA so I am finally experiencing some cooler weather. Coming from the east coast I never thought I'd feel autumn in southern California! What a relief.

Baking is one of my guilty pleasures but catering to those that aren't so hot on gluten is a whole different sort of baking (read: lots of failure). I made this recipe as a half recipe out of fear of gluten free baking. Luckily the recipe was more than a success. This size recipe works perfectly if you want to have breakfast for two and still feel stuffed. It yields about six medium sized scones. This is a perfect base recipe to work off of and throw in different ingredients to make savory scones, etc.

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Gluten Free Scones

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Yields six scones Preheat oven to 425°F 1 C brown rice flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 C cold salted butter* 1 Tbsp lemon zest 1/2 C buttermilk** 1/4 C raisins /currants / craisins

Grease a baking sheet with butter. Combine the flour and baking powder in a medium sized bowl. Cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or two knives. Add the lemon zest and create a well in the center of the ingredients. Pour in the butter milk and add the raisins. Mix until just combined. On a floured board press out the dough into a rectangle until about 1/2 inch thick. Be sure not to overwork the dough or you will loose the flaky texture and create a gluten free, cardboard mess. Cut out into triangles and place on the baking sheet. At this point you can choose to brush some melted butter on top or stay "healthier". Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops/edges are golden brown. Serve hot with honey and Greek yogurt. Yum!

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* I used salted butter because that's all I had. If you have unsalted, used the same amount and add a pinch of salt (less than 1/4 tsp) to the dry ingredients.

** I didn't have buttermilk on hand so I used an old trick that has always worked for me: Curdle your own milk by adding lemon juice or white vinegar to whole milk. The ratio I typically use is 1/2 C whole milk to 1 Tbsp lemon juice/white vinegar.

Extra notes: the scones were so delicious hot that I honestly did not have time to pull out my camera. Hence, you get a scone drawing. Yay photoshop! :) You can also make these scones with the same ratio of all-purpose flour.

Jicama Cilantro Salad

It definitely feels like autumn here in New York. Some serious rain washed away the last bits of summer on Thursday, so much so that I woke up this morning to blog and find myself sitting in my kitchen wrapped up in a polar fleece. Burr! So in honour of kissing summer goodbye some salmon was thrown on the grill last night (hey, it's not snowing yet!) and I made a simple, yet fresh salad to go along with the mix.

Jicama is one of my favourite things to add to salad. It is a root vegetable with a great refreshing crunch. When looking for jicama in your grocery, be sure to get a firm, dry one. I am really not a huge fan of salt, as you may have noticed. So just be aware that where there would usually be salt in most recipes, I have omitted it. Feel free to add a dash!

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Jicama Cilantro Salad

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1 medium jicama 1 granny smith apple 4 tablespoons cilantro, chopped 3 tablespoons citrus olive oil* 1 medium jalapeno cracked black pepper

Wash and peel the jicama and apple. Slice into 1/4" thick slices and place in a bowl. Finely chop the cilantro and jalapeno and add. Drizzle with the citrus olive oil. This is what really makes the salad fresh. Season with cracked black pepper. Toss. *The citrus infused olive oil is what really makes the dish. If you don't have any on hand, I would suggest going out and buying some or ordering some online. I buy mine from the Temecula Olive Oil Company along with a bunch of great balsamic vinegars. If that's not an option, I'd experiment with grating some lime peels.

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Happy munching!

Blue Corn Pancakes (Gluten Free)

Blue corn is amazing. I personally love the nutty, wholesome taste of cornbread; but am also a sucker for fluffy breakfast pancakes. When you combine the two and use blue corn flour, the ultimate breakfast food is created. Yum! I decided to start making this pancake batter at 1 AM on three hours of sleep over two days (no joke). I cooked these suckers up in the morning and the result was out-of-this-world. If I can make these pancakes in the state I did, I'm pretty sure the recipe is fool-proof.

One thing to note is that the batter (yes, I am a total batter whore when it comes to cooking) tasted pretty bitter. But the result once cooked was outstanding. So have no fear! I made these pancakes gluten free by using brown rice flour but you can easily substitute the brown rice flour for all purpose flour. Some of the flours could be hard to find in smaller grocery stores so I've linked the flours in the recipe. I also doubled the recipe and modified it because I knew I'd be eating way too many and feeding a few hungry bellies.

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Blue Corn Pancakes (Gluten Free)

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2 1/4 cups blue cornmeal 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons white sugar* 2 cups boiling water 2 large eggs, beaten 1 cup milk 4 tablespoons butter, melted 3/4 cup brown rice flour 4 teaspoons baking powder

In a bowl, mix the blue corn flour, salt, and sugar. Stir in the boiling water and let mixture sit for a few minutes. Stir until free of clumps. In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and melted butter. Add to the blue corn mixture and combine. Add the brown rice flour and baking powder and stir until smooth. At this point I decided to get some sleep and covered my batter and refrigerated over night. If you don't want to save your batter, you can go ahead and heat up a skillet with butter cook until golden on each side. Yum! *You can substitute the white sugar for maple syrup or honey. Learn how to substitute for sugar here.

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If you decide to make these pancakes, and I suggest you do because they are simply amazing, you will have to let me know how they turn out! I ended up eating these later in the day with a sunny side egg on top and it was delicious!