Gluten-free, Dairy-free Berry Scones

scone after a trip through the toaster oven

While I wasn't going to get myself out of bed at 5am to watch the coronation of King Charles III, I did think it would be nice to recognize the occasion with a batch of scones. Scones, like biscuits, can be made with butter and cream, or with cream alone. Being lactose intolerant and somewhat lazy, not wanting to get my hands all buttery, I opted to make cream scones using only coconut milk. And because a large bag of gluten-free flour had been staring at me from the pantry for a few months, I thought I'd use that, too. 

Cream scones are easy-peasy, and using gf flour means there's no way to eff them up by overworking the gluten in the dough. I still remember the very first scones I baked. My family had recently come back from a trip to England, where we had devoured many of the clotted-cream-and-jam-smeared, currant-studded, biscuit-like baked goods that often came with a pot of tea. We were a little obsessed, but found there were few places to purchase scones in Baltimore in the mid-1970s. That problem could be solved if we made our own, which we attempted with a recipe sourced from who-knows-where. Clearly my mother and I had overworked the dough, as the resulting objects--though pretty and pleasantly-scented--would more aptly be called "stones." They all went into the trash except for one, which we deposited into a lidded container and shelved as an experiment. Occasionally we'd take off the lid and poke at the stone to see if it had gotten any harder. It appeared to have reached maximum rigidity during baking, because it remained the same texture during its entire tenure in our house. We kept it around for a number of years before tossing it out, though it still smelled fine and never got moldy. 

Anyhoo...Mom and I were wary of attempting scones after that, though at some point I discovered that they could be made with very little handling. Gentle patting is really all that's required; drop scones are even more stupid-simple. 

scones immediately after baking

I briefly considered making drop scones on this occasion, but the dough produced with coconut milk and gf flour proved very sticky. A test drop produced something that resembled an albino hedgehog more than a baked good. I had a hard time scraping the dough off the spoon and my fingers; attempting to do so formed little spikes all over the sad blob on the baking sheet. After I plopped the hedgehog back in with the rest of the dough, I thought a short stay in the fridge would firm up the dough a bit. It works with cookie dough, so why not give it a try? About half an hour later, the dough was firm enough to divide into two blobby balls and pat into disks. I dampened my hands a bit before patting them down, which left enough moisture to help the gold-colored coarse sugar I sprinkled on top to adhere. 

Because I chose not to brush the tops with cream, the scones didn't brown very much. I think this is also a result of the gluten free flour. Again, I was lazy and didn't want to have to wash a pastry brush (we don't have a dishwasher). They scones did brown very nicely after a trip to the toaster oven, which I recommend, particularly if you are eating them the day after baking, as we did. The texture of gluten free flour is not the same as of wheat flour. It doesn't have the same springy crumb, and it's also a little, hmm...mushy? Easily squished? I am hard pressed to describe the interior texture accurately. This is why I chose to add almond meal to give the scones a tiny bit more interest. 

Overall, I think these scones were pretty successful. They were simple to make, and delicious with a smear of vegan butter and a dollop of lemon curd. If you try them, please let me know in a comment.

No-Gluten No-Dairy Berry Scones

1 cup canned coconut milk (don't use the "lite" stuff)

1 1/2 cups gluten-free 1-for-1 (cup for cup) flour

3/4 cup almond meal

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp salt

¼ cup dried blueberries, cherries, cranberries, or a mix

grated rind of 1 lemon or half an orange, optional but tasty

1 tsp vanilla

Sugar for the top

Preheat oven to 425F.

Shake the can of coconut milk well, to mix in the cream. (If you don't shake it, you'll find a layer of coconut "cream" on top of a thinner liquid.)

Combine the dry ingredients, including the dried fruit, in a large bowl. Add the citrus rind, if using. Stir in most of the coconut milk to form a somewhat sticky dough. If the dough seems dry, add the rest of the milk. If it seems too sticky/wet, add a little more flour. With damp hands, form the dough into a ball, put it back into the bowl, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Take the dough out of the fridge and divide it into two equal balls. Place them side-by-side on a large, parchment-lined, baking sheet. Using your hand, flatten each ball into a disk about 1-inch thick. Cut each disk into four wedges and pull them apart from each other. 

Bake at 425F for 20-22 minutes, until lightly browned and firm to the touch. (They won't get very dark.) Allow to cool to room temperature before serving with butter-like spread of your choice, jam, and lemon curd. 

Makes 8 scones.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Curried Quinoa with Blueberries

I'm so glad I never follow a recipe to the letter; so often it's not to my taste. For example, the curried quinoa with blueberries I found in the July-Aug issue of Vegetarian Times. I didn't need to make 2 cups of quinoa...that's far too much for two people, and I didn't want to be taking it for lunch for the whole rest of the week. So I reduced the amounts by half. This meant one cup of quinoa and 4.5 teaspoons of curry powder. Yes, the original recipe called for 3 tablespoons of curry powder. Three tablespoons = 9 teaspoons, half of which is 4.5 teaspoons. Still a ton. I stopped at 3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon), and it was still too much. Maybe the recipe expected readers to use some cheap-ass curry powder that had little flavor, but I used some nice sweet curry powder from Penzey's (the same curry I used in my White Chocolate Saffron Cupcakes). In any case, I now had 1 cup of cooked quinoa flavored with 1 whole tablespoon of curry powder. It was a tad on the bitter side, so I added about 1/4 teaspoon of sugar and a few squeezes of lemon juice for balance. Your mileage may vary, of course, depending on the brand of curry powder you use. I say err on the side of too little; you can always add more later.

I also served the salad cold. I like my sugar snaps raw and crunchy. Otherwise, the salad was quite nice. Good texture, and lots of fruits and veggies.

Curried Quinoa with Blueberries (adapted from Vegetarian Times)

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon coconut oil, divided
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
2-3 teaspoons curry powder
Large pinch salt (especially if your curry is salt-free)
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
1 ½ cups fresh snap peas, sliced lengthwise into thirds
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
Few springs fresh mint, chopped
Handful of chopped unsalted cashews or roasted peanuts

Melt 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add quinoa and curry powder and saute until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Add 2 cups water and the pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover pan, and simmer 12 minutes or until quinoa is cooked through and water is absorbed.

Remove quinoa to a large bowl and set aside.

Wipe out the pan and add the remaining teaspoon of coconut oil. Add shallot and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add blueberries and snap peas and cooked until warmed through, about 30 seconds - 1 minute.

Add the blueberries and peas to the quinoa in the bowl. Stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add more salt to taste. Serve dolloped with yogurt and sprinkled with mint and nuts.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - September 7, 2012

This post was originally published on July 27, 2009. I have eaten a ton of blueberries so far this year, but haven't actually cooked with them, apart from some lackluster blueberry muffins (from a Top Cheftestant cookbook, no less). Maybe I should make some more ketchup?
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Blueberry Ketchup?

This weekend I got adventurous with blueberries.

I love blueberries and whenever I find them on sale at the supermarket, I buy several pints. They're not just for pancakes and muffins - blueberries are great in sauces and with savory items, too. Plus they're high in antioxidants, so shouldn't one eat as many as possible, especially in season?

I was feeling like a burger, and we had ground lamb in the freezer. What goes with burgers but ketchup? How about blueberry ketchup? And to make it more exotic, I gussied everything up with spices from the East. I stopped short of making my own hamburger buns, but knew we had seeded rye and there's always a selection of cheese in our fridge. Patty melt! Mmmm...always loved those. So here's my version, featuring blueberry ketchup!

The smoky hot mayo and sweet ketchup paired perfectly with the burger, which was somewhat spicy but retained a lot of luscious lamb flavor. I pan-fried the meat but think it would be even better on the grill.

Moorish Patty Melt with Manchego Cheese, Smoky Hot Mayo, and Blueberry Ketchup

1 lb ground lamb
1 T minced onion
1 T minced fresh cilantro
1 T minced fresh mint
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cumin
1/4 t hot paprika
1/2 t Sriracha or other hot sauce
1/2 kosher salt
1/4 t freshly ground pepper
manchego cheese

Blend first 10 ingredients together and form into patties. Grill or pan fry in a tiny bit of oil until done to your likeness. When burgers are almost done, top with manchego cheese and allow it to melt.

Blueberry Ketchup

1 pint blueberries (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 T minced onion
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 T lime juice
1/2 t ground ginger
1/8 t salt
1/8 t freshly ground pepper
1/8 t ground cardamom

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer until the blueberries pop and the sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Allow to cool slightly, then pour the mixture into a bowl through a strainer, pressing hard on the solids to mash them. Add the mashed solids to the bowl and stir well.

Pour ketchup into a glass jar or bowl. Chill until thickened, 3-4 hours. Makes about 1 pint.

Smoky Hot Mayo

1/4 t ground chipotle
1/4 t Spanish smoked paprika
2 T mayonnaise (I used Kewpie)

Mix ingredients together in a small bowl. Place in fridge at least 30 mins to allow flavors to meld.

To assemble sandwich:

Rye bread
sautéed onions
thinly sliced fresh tomato and lettuce, if desired

Lightly toast rye bread. Spread generously with Smoky Mayo. Top with lamb patty, sautéed onions, a dollop of Blueberry Ketchup, lettuce and tomato. Top with second slice of toasted rye.

Serve with Blueberry Ketchup for dipping. Serves 2.

I made some edamame succotash and "crash hot potatoes" on the side. (the potatoes were fantastic tasting AND fantastically simple.)

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Muesli

Although my Dad is not a particularly adventurous eater, he is usually willing to try something new if it doesn't involve sour cream, lamb, or sea critters. One day in the 70s, he brought home a box of cereal called Familia. Familia was a muesli, a breakfast or light supper dish comprising fruit, nuts, and raw grains like rolled oats. It was developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner as part of a nutritious diet for his patients.

I was never a fan of hot oatmeal because I hated its gummy quality, but muesli I quite liked. Because Familia was so expensive, we didn't buy it very often. Eventually I started making my own version at home with standard quick rolled oats and whatever dried fruits and nuts that were on hand.

One of my favorite variations involves chopped pecans, dried Montmorency cherries, and fresh raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries. And if there's almond milk in the house, all the better!

Muesli is best when it's left to soak overnight, making a thick porridge-like concoction, but sometimes I eat it right away, when it's still soupy.

Muesli

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon wheat germ or flax seed or whatever extra nutritional stuff turns you on

1 tablespoon chopped nuts

1 tablespoon dried fruit (raisins, cherries, cranberries)

1 teaspoon honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar

1/2 cup almond milk

dash of cinnamon, if desired

Combine all ingredients in a lidded container. Refrigerate overnight. Serves 1.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

More Adventures with Blueberries

I was pretty sure I wouldn't use the cup of leftover blueberry ketchup from last week's lamburger experiment as ketchup, so I thought it was best to use it up in another recipe. Ketchup is a main component in basic sweet bbq sauce, and my off-the-top-of-my-head bbq sauce recipes usually turn out pretty good. Here's what I ended up doing:

Blueberry BBQ Sauce
1 cup blueberry ketchup (recipe here)
4 T rice wine vinegar
1 T dijon mustard
2 T light brown sugar
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 t chili powder
1 T tomato paste
1/2 t onion powder
dash cloves
salt and pepper
1/2 cup water

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer until thickened and flavors are blended, 30 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper as desired. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Yes, the resulting sauce was blue. I mixed it up with some shredded pork shoulder. And the pork turned blue as well. Blue BQ.


I had read on another food blog a variation on hush puppies based on the recipe in the July '09 Food & Wine magazine - Hush Puppy Corncakes. I love hush puppies, but hate the idea of deep frying, so decided I had to try this one. Except, when I read the recipe, I thought, "hush puppies don't have oregano! ack!" I checked my dog-eared copy of The Joy of Cooking and found a more authentic recipe, one with ground onions as the flavoring component. And that's the recipe I used, thinned out a bit with more milk.

It was awful. The cornmeal was too gritty, and cooking them pancake-style on my skillet with very little oil made them dry. And, despite the copious tears produced while grating 1/2 cup of onion, the onion flavor was non-existent. Topping them with the Blue BQ helped a bit, but not enough. Although my friend Kate and Mr Minx said they were fine, I was not happy. Next time I make corncakes, I'll use my usual box of Jiffy cornbread mix....

What did make me happy was the batch of gazpacho I whipped up. I cheat and use canned tomatoes, roasted red peppers from a jar, and a cucumber. This time I used a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, which added an extra dimension to the flavor. Seasoned with sherry vinegar, green Tabasco, a pinch of cumin, and a dribble of honey, it was divine. And fast.

Oh, did I mention I made this all for lunch last Wednesday? Yes, I did start cooking at 7:30 am...lol

Blueberry Ketchup?

This weekend I got adventurous with blueberries.

I love blueberries and whenever I find them on sale at the supermarket, I buy several pints. They're not just for pancakes and muffins - blueberries are great in sauces and with savory items, too. Plus they're high in antioxidants, so shouldn't one eat as many as possible, especially in season?

I was feeling like a burger, and we had ground lamb in the freezer. What goes with burgers but ketchup? How about blueberry ketchup? And to make it more exotic, I gussied everything up with spices from the East. I stopped short of making my own hamburger buns, but knew we had seeded rye and there's always a selection of cheese in our fridge. Patty melt! Mmmm...always loved those. So here's my version, featuring blueberry ketchup!

The smoky hot mayo and sweet ketchup paired perfectly with the burger, which was somewhat spicy but retained a lot of luscious lamb flavor. I pan-fried the meat but think it would be even better on the grill.

Moorish Patty Melt with Manchego Cheese, Smoky Hot Mayo, and Blueberry Ketchup

1 lb ground lamb
1 T minced onion
1 T minced fresh cilantro
1 T minced fresh mint
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cumin
1/4 t hot paprika
1/2 t Sriracha or other hot sauce
1/2 kosher salt
1/4 t freshly ground pepper
manchego cheese

Blend first 10 ingredients together and form into patties. Grill or pan fry in a tiny bit of oil until done to your likeness. When burgers are almost done, top with manchego cheese and allow it to melt.

Blueberry Ketchup

1 pint blueberries (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 T minced onion
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 T lime juice
1/2 t ground ginger
1/8 t salt
1/8 t freshly ground pepper
1/8 t ground cardamom

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer until the blueberries pop and the sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Allow to cool slightly, then pour the mixture into a bowl through a strainer, pressing hard on the solids to mash them. Add the mashed solids to the bowl and stir well.

Pour ketchup into a glass jar or bowl. Chill until thickened, 3-4 hours. Makes about 1 pint.

Smoky Hot Mayo

1/4 t ground chipotle
1/4 t Spanish smoked paprika
2 T mayonnaise (I used Kewpie)

Mix ingredients together in a small bowl. Place in fridge at least 30 mins to allow flavors to meld.

To assemble sandwich:

Rye bread
sautéed onions
thinly sliced fresh tomato and lettuce, if desired

Lightly toast rye bread. Spread generously with Smoky Mayo. Top with lamb patty, sautéed onions, a dollop of Blueberry Ketchup, lettuce and tomato. Top with second slice of toasted rye.

Serve with Blueberry Ketchup for dipping. Serves 2.

I made some edamame succotash and "crash hot potatoes" on the side. (the potatoes were fantastic tasting AND fantastically simple.)