Gluten Free Scones for Beltane

I'd usually make oat cakes for Beltane, but GF oats are now ~ $4- a # - yikes!! So for our dance tonight, I decided on scones.

I found the inspration for these on-line last summer, when my Red Hat group was going out for tea, & the hostess said she could do every course except 'you'll have to forgo the scones!'
Loving scones, I decided to do a bit of sluthing, & found this recipe. It quickly became a favorite - scones are one of those 'quick & easy' breads that are perfect for GF baking.

Gluten Free Scones
1 C favorite GF flour mix (I use a basic 'brown rice'potato starch/tapioca flour mix)
3/4 C sorghum flour
1/4 C coconut flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder (aluminum free)
1/4 tsp baking soda
~ 3 Tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
(1/2 tsp garam masala spice mix, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, & ~ 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger - optional)
1/4 tsp xanthan gum (not absoulutely necessary in 'quick bread' recipes)
3 Tbsp cold butter, sliced fine, & 3 Tbsp coconut oil

cut the oil/butter into the sifted/stirred flour mix
add 1/2 C nuts &/or 1/2 C dried raisins or other dried fruit (chopped)

mix together:
3/4 C coconut milk or C milk kefir
1 egg (we just use the whites, as my daughter's sensitive)

Add wet to dry ingredients, & gently knead, then roll & cut into 8 wedges, or pat into wedges or rounds (I pat into ~ 10 - 12 wedges) I bake on a clay baking sheet, so put them on the cold sheet, & heat the oven as they're cooking.

400* for 12 - 20 minutes - I stick them with a toothpick @ 12 min, & ~ every 5 min till it comes out clean.

Enjoy!! & happy Beltane!

Chestnuts a'Roasting

The season/month/year continues to speed past - where does the time go?

Today I played my last Holiday Harp Gig in a local insurance company lunch room - & am not ready to put away the Christmas music. Hmm, family, beware!

I'm enjoying the treats of the season - huge pomegranates - I brought one to a Solstice Circle last night, appropriate for the longest night.
At Saturday's brunch, our hostess had mixed pomegranate seeds into melted chocolate - what a lovely treat!

I'd noticed a basket of local chestnuts at Harvest Fresh, & then this bit on Suzie the Foodie's blog about roasting chestnuts!
Sold! Over the years, I occasionally get a few handfuls of the nuts (though the blight wiped out many of our N American Chestnut trees, there remain pockets of trees which survived)

Fresh chestnuts are ~ 1/2 the price of imported Italian Chestnut flour - & I can whir them in my mini processor to use in a recipe or two - perhaps some pumpkin scones? Or Chocolate brownies??

Susie recommends getting out the rolling pin to smush the nuts & begin to extract the meat.

So I scored, turned the oven to 375* & roasted for ~ 20 minutes. Hmm - I'd forgotten how similar to sweet potatoes or squash roast chestnuts taste! & you need to peel the inner skin as well as the outer - I'm glad I only roasted ~ 20, lol! I roasted the second large blue squash a day or so ago, so think I should try the pumpkin scones (egg free!)

We're going to my daughter's in-laws for a Christmas brunch, these would be fun to take along - & my granddaugters are always interested in grammie's concoctions. Roasted pumpkin seeds are a perenial favorite - it will be fun to see what they think of chestnuts!

****************
Yum!!
I found a suggestion not to use xanthan gum in quick bread recipes over on gluten free gourmand after making the scones - will try leaving it out next batch!

Vegan Pumpkin Chestnut Scones

combine coconut milk & vinegar before mixing flours to make 'buttermilk'

1 1/3 cup brown rice flour blend (brown rice flour, potatoe starch, tapioca flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup chestnut flour (fresh roasted & ground)
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground cardamom (seeds from 3 pods)

-- sift dry ingredients together
-- cut in 6 tablespoons of coconut oil

-- puree:
¼ cup agave nectar or honey or brown rice syrup
1/2 cup pure pumpkin (I rough chopped & pureed with other ingredients

1/3 cup of coconut milk (or your favorite milk) combined with
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar (& a splash of raspberry vinegar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Puree wet ingredients till smoothe, then mix into dry, adding more coconut milk if needed. I bake on a pizza stone, so I don't preheat the oven! Flatten dough on stone, cut into 8 wedges, bake at 425* for 10-15 minutes (till toothpick comes out clean)

What a simple vegan recipe! While I've been using a mix of coconut oil & butter, it came out great with just the coconut oil - & no eggs - my daughter will be happy!
Chestnuts have been called 'the grain that grows on a tree' - fortunatly, gluten free! They are a very low fat nut (54 calories per oz, hazelnuts have 180)
Here's a table with some of the nutrients from this website.
There's a more complete breakdown here - note the high level of potassium, there are only a couple mg. of sodium! Since they have a high water content (1/3-1/2 water) they are best stored in the fridge or frozen.

Chestnuts, cooked/4 ounces
Calories	149
Total fat (g)	1.6
Saturated fat (g)	0.3
Monounsaturated fat (g)	0.5
Polyunsaturated fat (g)	0.6
Dietary fiber (g)	5.7
Protein (g)	2
Carbohydrate (g)	32
Cholesterol (mg)	0
Sodium (mg)	31
Vitamin C (mg)	30
Potassium (mg)	811
Magnesium (mg) ----------------------------- 53 Calcium (mg) ------------------------------- 46

December Daze

Does the season seem to be racing by to you, too?? I think my mind is still in November. It's grey & rainy (was COLD last week, with my first frozen pipes in this 100 yr old farm house!) Threats of bad weather kept my group of galfriends in town on the weekend, rather than our planned Holiday trip to the big city (Portland). We had coffee at our regular watering hole, & dinner at a lovely restaurant where I've played several times - to the delight of all! The food was delicious & well prepared, & blissfully gluten free (yes, there was bread on the table, but not in the sauces! & since the others chose 'cakey' deserts, I got a poached pear with house ice cream & chocolate sauce all to myself!)
My grandkids, as well as my son & his wife are all in 'Nutcracker' last weekend & this, so I went along to help backstage (& watch from the wings) for Sunday's performance. I began dancing with the senior teacher 30 years ago, after seeing this show, so there's always a bit of magic! Emily, almost 6, was a little sister of 'Marie' (often 'Clara') & had a duet on the front of the stage during party scene! She loves ballet - took classes in the summer up in their area, & seems to thrive with all the dance. The 9 year old is a clown & an ice princess, so again has some extra bits.

I'll be playing over the lunch hour at a local ins. office, You can head over to my Ladyharp blog for my post on the season's Holiday Music.

I've been working on more fingerless gloves, & somehow yesterday misplaced (lost??) my bag of knitting - sigh!! Where?? Had it (I thought) when I went to the car, didn't have it when I reached my office!! Was distracted by texting back & forth with my dau-in law about something she's making for a friend (she created the pattern for me, so I was sending her measurements, etc)
& I'm working on the presents for my 'Mom's Group' gals for our brunch next weekend. For several years our group has been a steady 6 or 7, several have joined so 10 - 12 could be present next week!! It's a simple item, & I'll make 12! My 'treat' for the Brunch will be the yummy Gluten Free Scones - no nuts, as one of the gals is sensitive to tree nuts. & head over to Hanlie's blog for a great re-cap of the info on coconut oil!!
The year I joined the group, I knew there was a holiday 'brunch' - but not that it included presents! So sat in amazement as gals with full bags made their way around the table, placing a small bundle in front of each plate! I've made ornaments, blessing stars, & etc, & recieved similar gifties. Last year, one of the gals had gone to France in the summer, & brought back a cutwork placemat, another year, we had a glass 'candy' from Italy from another adventurer!

Off to work on the presents!

Gluten Free scones

Since going gluten-free this summer, it's been interesting to consider that when going 'out'.
At Breitenbush, I was pleased to find so many fabulous gluten free choices, including Goddess Cake on my BD! Today when a friend suggested a lunch date, I opted for Thai, rather than a favorite soup & sandwitch cafe, which makes the best gluten loaded bread, & uses flour in the cream soup . . .

This Friday my 'Bodaceous Babes' Red Hat group is going to a private tea room that's open a few times a month (the owner sends out e-mails with those dates, & folks call to book). We went several months ago, & it's a lovely venue. So today I called to check about gluten-free options, (she serves a 'set' menu, varying it seasonally) & she said oh, yes, she can accomodate that with notice - but I'd have to 'forgo the scones.' hmm

So I checked on-line, & found this lovely scone recipe on the gluten-free gormand blog. When my kids were young, scones were an easy quick solution for their lunch if we were out of bread - we usually had a good supply of whole wheat flour & eggs :) I enjoyed backing them stove-top in a frying pan, & could whip up a batch while they got ready for school.

I made a batch tonight, using my brown rice 'basic' GF mix with 1/4 C coconut flour, egg whites (my dau's allergic to egg yolks & I want to share them), coconut milk, & 3 Tbsp each of butter & coconut oil. Peppy Lady shared a great list of egg substitute options!
I chopped filberts (local) & dried apricots, grated a bit of lemon 'zest' (peel), & added some freshly ground nutmeg - YUMMMMY!! I used the full amount of sugar (sucanat 'SUgar CAne NATural) & a bit of agave nectar - too sweet (for me!) The brown rice flour makes for such a nice texture.

So, no, I won't need to 'forgo' the scones - I can bring my own!
& while looking at recipes, found this lovely one for G F croissants!! Croissants? One of the few true regrets/ wists I was having, going gluten free . . . . so that's next on the list!