Lemon-Cranberry Scones

Scones don't seem to be a big thing in North America, but really, they should be.  This was my first try making vegan scones, and I have to say, I hit the nail on the head right off the bat with these. The basic scone recipe is very simple to throw together and once that is complete you can add dried fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, a glaze...the possibilities are wide open.

Basic Scone Recipe

1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup coconut oil, chilled
3/4 cup milk

Glaze (optional)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
A few drops of almond milk at a time until proper thickness

Sift dry ingredients together and mix well. Cut in chilled coconut oil until it resembles fine crumbs and add milk. Once mixed together, put dough on floured surface and knead a few times. Roll out to 3/4" thick round and cut in six or eight pieces, depending on the size you want them. I shape mine into rough triangles. Place on parchment paper covered cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees F until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool on rack while preparing glaze, if using one.

Mix glaze and pour into a plastic baggie. Snip tiny bit off of one bottom corner and pipe glaze onto cooled scones. Let rest for 15 minutes and serve, preferably with a nice, hot cup of tea.

Lemon-Cranberry Scones 
Add zest of one lemon and 1/2 cup dried cranberries. Substitute lemon juice for milk/vanilla in glaze.

Lemon-Blueberry Scones
Add zest of one lemon and 1/2 cup blueberries.

Maple-Pecan Scones
Add 1/2 cup pecans and substitute maple extract for vanilla. Replace milk and vanilla in glaze with maple syrup.

Pina Colada
Add 1/2 cup chopped pineapple and substitute coconut extract for the vanilla. Replace vanilla in glaze with rum extract.

Scalloped Potatoes

This is a super easy recipe I whipped up one night after being in the garden all day. It's fast and simple to prepare, not a ton of ingredients and only takes an hour or so to bake.

Ingredients:
5-6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
2 shallots, minced
2 Tbsp vegan butter
1/3 cup flour
5 cups plain, unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper


Directions:
Melt butter in a large saucepan, add flour and stir until absorbed. Let cook for a minute then whisk in almond milk, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Whisk over medium-low heat until thickened.

Slice potatoes. It's best to use a mandoline or food processor so the potato slices are uniform in thickness and all cook at the same time. We've all eaten that potato scallop that had crunchy pieces of potato throughout it from being too thick. I have a mandoline that I literally only use for scalloped potatoes. I've had it for 20 years, well worth the investment for even this one dish.

Butter a 9" x 12" casserole dish and line bottom with sliced potatoes. Ladle sauce on top until potatoes are covered and repeat layers. Leave at least 1/2" at top of casserole dish so it doesn't bubble over. I also like to sprinkle the top with parsley and paprika. Bake 40-60 minutes at 375°, until a fork goes through center easily.


* Oil-free option. Omit vegan butter and instead whisk or blend flour and 2 cups of almond milk until there are no lumps. Add remaining ingredients and whisk over medium-low heat until  thickened. Line bottom of casserole dish with parchment paper.

Dairy-Free Raspberry Cream Cheese

Yesterday I felt like celebrating my excellent doctor's appointment with a treat. While I was shopping I grabbed a tiny container of organic raspberries. I ate about half of them and then thought of what I could do with the rest as they were a bit soft. I've really been trying not to waste food, and after paying $4.99 for about a cup of them, I was even less inclined to waste them.

When we lived in Fredericton, NB, about two hours from where we are now, we used to go to The Great Canadian Bagel. You could watch them make the bagels right there, and they had a fabulous variety of bagels and incredible flavored cream cheeses you could buy as well. We used to love getting their chocolate chip bagels and raspberry cream cheese. I've thought about that cream cheese over the years and always meant to try and make it at home, before I went vegan, but never did.



So, I thought, why not give that a try, but a vegan version. I first googled "raspberry vegan cream cheese" and came up with very little that interested me. I also tried replacing "raspberry" with "strawberry" to see if I could find a good, base recipe, but not much luck there either. At that point, I threw caution to the wind and just started tossing things in the blender. Here's what I came up with at the end.

Recipe:
1 cup cashews, soaked in water overnight
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
2 tsp. lemon juice
Sweetener to taste (optional)





Add ingredients to blender and blend until smooth, scraping sides down a couple times. You can add a bit of water, if necessary and a bit of agave or sugar if you want it sweeter.  Put in bowl and chill for an hour and try not to eat the entire thing once it's ready! I've made with strawberries as well and it was still delicious! I'm sure you could use just about any fruit for any flavor. I'll likely try blueberry next.

Pickled Jalapeños

A bumper crop of jalapeños sparked the need for a recipe. I found one in my Ball Blue Book of Canning for mixed Pickled Hot Peppers, I figured it could easily be adapted for just one type of hot pepper. 

Now if you've never made pickled hot peppers before, take note that you will need rubber gloves for this. If you don't use them, don't say I didn't warn you. Last time I cut dozens of hot peppers, my hands burned for days. Seriously, days. So rubber gloves always now, it's worth it.

You will need:
Rubber gloves
Pickling jars w/ lids, sterilized

2 1/2 - 2 3/4 6 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
3 cloves of garlic, crushed

First you'll need to sterilize your jars. You can do so by running them through the dishwasher, boiling them in water for 10 minutes, or by putting the jars on a cookie sheet and placing in the preheated oven on 250 for 10 minutes.

Once your jars are sterile and set aside, you'll need to make the brine. Put the 6 cups of white vinegar and 2 cups of water in a saucepan with 3 cloves of crushed garlic. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.

While brine is simmering, wash and dry the peppers, then cut off the stems. Next, slice them into 1/2" slices and rinse them in a colander for a couple minutes to remove some of the seeds. If you really like heat, you can skip this step. Place in sterilized jars, leaving 1/2" of head space.

Fill jars with hot brine, leaving 1/2" of headspace. Remove any air bubbles and put lids on. Lids should only be finger-tight. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Remove bands for storage once cooled.