Scones - Sweet or Savoury

I thought it was about time I contributed to this blog, so I've chosen something simple and versatile. Something my children enjoy making and eating!

Basic Plain Scone Recipe:
8oz Self Raising Flour
Pinch of Salt (optional)
2oz Butter
1oz Caster Sugar
150ml Milk

For a sweet variation, add 1oz Raisins/Dried Fruit (Glace Cherries work well)
For a savoury variation, omit the sugar and add 1oz Cheese or 1oz Walnuts.

Preheat oven to 220'C.

Mix together the sifted flour and salt and rub in the butter. Stir in the sugar if you're making the sweet variety.

Add your sweet/savoury ingredients (Dried Fruit/Cheese/Walnuts).

Add the milk and mix to form a dough - it's really important not to knead the dough like you would bread. Try to handle it as little as possible.

Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out to about 3cms thick. Cut out circular discs of about 6-7cms diameter.

Place on greased/floured baking tray and brush with egg or milk
Oven cook for 12 - 15 minutes.

To serve: Slice in half, add butter to the cheesy or walnut ones. Serve the sweet ones with whipped cream and strawberry jam.

Delicious!

Mince Pie Muffins

300g Plain Flour
1 tbsp Baking Powder
115g Caster Sugar
1/2 tsp Ginger (I would say optional)
1/4 tsp Grated Nutmeg (I would say optional also, but thats because I didnt have any!)
175ml Milk
2 tbsp Grand Marnier (Optional as I didnt have any!)
1 Beaten Egg
115g Melted Butter
Finely Grated Zest of 1 Lemon (surprise.... didnt have any!)
About 6 tbsp Luxury Mincemeat

Preheat oven to 200'c /400'F/Gas 6. Grease or line a 12 hole muffin tin.

Combine flour, baking powder, caster sugar, ginger and nutmeg and sift into a large bowl.

In a seperate bowl or jug, combine the milk, Grand Marnier, egg, butter and lemon zest. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. Half fill each muffin cup with the mixture, top with a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat, nestling it down into the mixture, then top with another dollop of muffin mixture to cover.

Bake for about 20min until risen and golden. Leave to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To serve, dust with icing sugar, decorate with a holly leaf and sprinkle with a little silver glitter.

I would add that you need to try and judge where the very middle of the mixture will be as if the mixture is seen above the top of the mixture it can be charred when being cooked. So ensuring that it is quite far down, but yet not too far down as I guess it might come out the bottom?

'Baking Magic' by Kate Shirazi

Minted Lamb Stew

After over a year of rejecting meat, we recently discovered that lamb is acceptable providing it is smothered in mint sauce. We have also discovered that chicken is acceptable if smothered in cranberry sauce...tiny steps forward: steps astride the question of "by condiment-ing, are we in fact stealth feeding him meat which goes against our BLW principles".

With that question burning in the back of our minds, we decided to try making a minty lamb stew for Lentil.

Minted Lamb & Pea Stew

• 350g lean lamb leg, cubed
• 1 tbsp plain flour , seasoned
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 leeks, sliced
• 4 carrots , thickly sliced
• 400g potatoes , cut into large chunks
• 700ml lamb or chicken stock
• 300g frozen peas
• Mint sauce to taste (1 tsp or more)
  
• handful mint leaves, to serve

1. Toss the lamb in the flour. Heat half the oil in a large pan, then brown the lamb over a high heat for 2 mins. Transfer to a plate, then add the rest of the oil, shallots, leeks, carrot and potatoes to the pan. Fry for a few mins until starting to soften.
2. Pour over the stock, scraping up any meaty bits, then simmer for 10 mins until the veg are almost cooked. Tip the lamb into the pan with the peas and stir in the mint sauce, then simmer for 4 mins or until the lamb is just cooked and the veg are tender.
3. Scatter with mint to serve.

It was lovely, very warming on a cold & wet night and so easy to cook. The minty stew was a complete winner and Lentil cleaned up his plate, meat included.

Source: Good Food Magazine