This week is my first stint as the preschool “snack mom.” With a $40 budget, I need to bring 28 servings of a peanut-free snack to school each day. Per usual, I never like to take the easy route, so my initial plans involved some very elaborate recipes. I underestimated the amount of work in preparing 28 snacks for five days in a row while managing Mini Whipped, taking care of a kamikaze, danger-seeking 9-month old, and maintaining my normal work duties.

I also have a bit of learning to do about how picky many children are. We have the good fortune of having two good eaters. Baby Whipped recently put her hand straight into my bowl of chili and gobbled up the beans and ground turkey, which signaled the end of me preparing any special meals for her.  When Mini Whipped and I brainstormed snack week ideas together, I had to delicately shoot down her plans for cup of cold black beans or her favorite molasses bran muffins. Not only was I quite sure that many kids would not like her selections but I figured that the teachers wouldn’t appreciate the extra doses of fiber.

Blueberry muffins seemed like a strong start to win over the tough 28 customers. I didn’t have a standby recipe so I turned to my new favorite cookbook, The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook. I chose the Blueberry Swirl Muffin recipe as I knew that Mini Whipped would have a grand time serving as my “swirl expert.

The muffins were pretty and though a bit more dense than I anticipated, the crumb was good and the flavor heightened by the swirl. On Monday, I stayed at school until mid morning when the debut snack was served. Many children were thrilled to spy the muffins on the tables exclaiming, “muffins are my favorite!” As I approached the 3-year old table, where Mini Whipped had confidently taken the head seat, reviews were mixed. A few boys had pushed it away and one had exclaimed that he wanted pretzels instead.

The teacher thoughtfully brought out ziplock bags for the kids who couldn’t finish their entire muffin so that they could bring them home. I think they were being respectful of my homemade creation.

As I prepared to leave and gave Mini Whipped a kiss goodbye, she hugged me tight and whispered in my ear, “You made a really good snack mom.”

Melt.

Blueberry Swirl Muffins
Makes 12 muffins.

Lemon-Sugar Topping:
1/3 cup (21/3 ounces) sugar
1½ teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon

Muffins:
2 cups (about 10 ounces) fresh blueberries, picked over
1 1/8 cups (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups (12½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (see note)
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1. FOR THE TOPPING: Stir together sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined; set aside.

2. FOR THE MUFFINS: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 11/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)

4. Use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over muffins.

5. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Sometimes I find it refreshing to talk about things I am bad at. I have always tried to do more than I have time for and I like to do things well. The two traits do not always create the most relaxing pace or satisfied peace of mind. I am a pleaser who likes to succeed. I enjoy accomplishments, I seek challenges and I feel proud of successes.  But, all that can be a bit too much and from time to time, I feel like I need a break from myself.

I wish I could carve out the time to post on this blog 3 times a week consistently. I never do. I wish I had the willpower to turn down chocolate and doughnuts. I don’t. I wish I could learn to say no to things so that my life is not always flying at a break neck pace. I can’t. I am not good with punctuation and grammar and the three unread English grammar books I bought two months ago aren’t going to fix that. I was never good at basketball. I talk too much. I can’t make good salad dressing.

Sometimes I dream of going back in time and being a bad kid in school for a week, just to see how it feels. I wouldn’t do my homework. I wouldn’t care when I failed. I would skip school and hang out at the beach (probably smoking) without a single concern. I can barely imagine. When I first started my own consulting business, I worked out of my house.  Someone suggested that I get dressed and walk out of the house and then back in again to symbolically start the work day and make sure I stay on task. I wish that someone had given me the hint about how to symbolically turn the work day off!  For two years, I have been planning to skip out of my office one day and go see a matinee by myself. Some day I really am going to do it …

Regarding salad dressing, I have a new technique to tackle this weakness. It is very novel, it is called “following a recipe.” I always see people toss together a number of ingredients, tasting here and there until they have a wonderful emulsification of flavors to coat their veggies. Though I wish I could, I have never been able to do that. So, I am backing up a step and trying to follow recipes now and then to better learn the basics.

This buttermilk dressing was simple and tasty. I have mixed up the herbs to slightly change the flavors. Perhaps after I have made it a time or two, I will be able to save from dirtying the measuring tools and wing it like the pros.

Buttermilk Dressing
Found on Smitten Kitchen

Whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar, shallot, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl until sugar has dissolved, then whisk in chives.

Clearly, nature has beat out nurture in creating my 3-year-old’s desire for all things pink. None of the main caretakers in her life are “pink lovers” and yet, Mini Whipped is drawn to all things rose-colored like a Goth is to black.

When she started choosing everything pink and wanted to wear pink clothes every day, I tried to encourage some variety. I would suggest other options offering enticing rewards, “But don’t you want this dolphin to swim around on your blue shirt all day long?!”  I rarely convinced the strong-minded tot. Then one day, I heard her saying to her grandmother with heartfelt emotion, “Grammy, it just makes me SO happy to wear pink.”  After that, I gave up my quest to make her a more well-rounded rainbow and gave in full fledged to the pink power.

Someone gave us colored pellets that turn the bath water blue, yellow or pink. The first time she got in the pink bath she hovered to a new elevation of excitement. She splished and splashed singing about her love for the pink water and even carefully leaned down to touch her cheek to the water professing, “I love you pink tub tub.” At that point, I became a proponent of pink love. If something so simple could bring such joy, I figured I better embrace it. Warnings of losing the priveledge of a pink bath have proved to be my strongest disciplinary force yet.

As we planned for Mini Whipped’s third birthday celebration, we decided to do everything we could to create a pink paradise for her. Her Daddy wore his pink shirt to work, Mommy searched her closet for the only pink she could find (in the underwear drawer), her babysitter wore all pink and we bought pink balloons. The birthday girl was thrilled with the idea of red velvet (dark pink) cupcakes with pink frosting and pink sprinkles.  She requested a special pancake and sausage dinner and Mommy even surprised her with pink pancake batter. They didn’t look very appetizing to us but the guest of honor claimed they were the best tasting pancakes she had ever had.

Parenting involves constant learning. My daughter loves many of the things that I do:  swimming, baking, reading and eating. As she continues to develop and grow into herself, I have realized she is going to find pleasure in some things that I don’t. If those things are healthy, I have learned that I must respect them and help her be her own individual.

There are many things a parent will do to give their child happiness on her birthday like go to two stores to find enough pink food coloring, wear pink underwear and even choke down pepto-bismal colored pancakes while smiling. Happy third birthday my little pink princess. May you continue to find as much easy joy in simple pleasures.

Triple Pink Cupcakes
(red velvet cake with pink cream cheese frosting and sprinkles)
Makes about 18 cupcakes.

2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs
2 Tablespoons red food coloring
1 t white distilled vinegar
1 t vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put paper cupcake cupcakes in a cupcake pan. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa. In another bowl whisk oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla together until combined. Mix wet and dry ingredients together in a stand mixer with paddle attachment just until combined. Fill cupcake cups 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack completely before frosting.

Pink Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
Pink sprinkles (optional)

Mix softened butter and cream cheese together until fluffy. Add powdered sugar little by little. Mix in food coloring to desired color. Put frosting in refrigerator until stiff enough to frost the cakes. Be sure cupcakes are cool before frosting. To make a piping bag, cut just a small tip off the corner of a plastic ziplock bag. Fill with frosting and squeeze out in a circular, pinwheel onto the cupcakes started on the outside and circling inward. Decorate with sprinkles.

After a last minute decision to whip up some biscuits to go alongside a bowl of chili, I was reminded just how easy these little buggers are to make.  The key… mess with them as little as possible.  I like to use my hands to mix the fat into the flour.  Mini Whipped liked it too. She sat on the counter and dug her little toddler hands in to help. We both ended up covered in white dust and giggling uncontrollably.

This Buttermilk Biscuit recipe is from Alton Brown and I wouldn’t alter it a smidgen.  Hot out of the oven, lathered up with butter and honey, these flaky disks will satisfy every carb-craving inch of your body.

Hint: if you don’t have a biscuit cutter (like me) just use a glass to cut the biscuits.  Or, cut out both top and bottom of a can that is the correct size you’ll have an instant biscuit cutter.

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
from Alton Brown, via foodnetwork.com

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk, chilled

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don’t want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that’s life.)

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

Last week, while visiting my friend Katrina, the chocolate sorceress of Vosges Haut-Chocolat, she asked if I wanted some milk chocolate.  You would be crazy to turn down an offer like that from one of the best chocolatiers of all time so I thanked her and accepted.  Expecting a nibble or bite, I was surprised to see her loading about 3 pounds of chocolate pastilles into my work bag.  I nearly made myself sick that afternoon melting one after another against the roof of my mouth.

While ruminating on what to make with my newly acquired treasure, I remembered an article featuring milk chocolate desserts in Bon Appetit.  A household search finally led me to my recycling bin where I had accidentally and prematurely disposed of the February 2010 issue.  Milk chocolate recipes ranged from mousses to tarts to souffles but due to a welcome request to make a friend’s birthday cake, I decided on the Devil’s Food Cake.

The original recipe is titled “Top Tier” Devil’s Food Cake with Sour Cream Fudge Frosting.  It is a Valentine’s Day recipe that yields a small, 5-inch layer cake intended to be enjoyed in place of the top tier of a wedding cake that is often saved for the first year of a marriage.  Cute idea but I needed a full size cake for 20 people.  My first attempt at doubling the recipe did not provide enough cake so I found myself up late into the night calculating and baking an additional tier.

I love desserts with buttermilk, sour cream and cream cheese because the sour-ish dairy balances the sweet.  That is exactly what happened with this fudgey sour cream frosting that cushioned and surrounded the layers of chocolate cake.

Though I wrestled with this cake to get the recipe adjustment right and properly level the layers due to some oven inconsistencies, I am quite sure the next time I make it, the steep learning curve will be behind me and I will whip it out in a few hours. For all of you, accept my learning curve as yours and use the below adjusted recipe to create an impressive 4-tier, 9 inch layer cake!   This probably isn’t the best recipe for a beginning baker but for those who love the process… you will be melting, sifting, whisking, whipping, leveling and spreading…. for me, it all adds to the wonderful reward of a final, beautiful and delicious layer cake.

Devil’s Food Cake with Milk Chocolate Sour Cream Fudge
Adapted from Bon Appetit, Feb. 2010

For the Cake
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
3 ounces high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt, Perugina, or Valrhona), chopped
3/4 cup boiling water
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups cake flour (*see substitute below)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Frosting
24 ounces high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt, Perugina, or Valrhona), chopped
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper. Combine cocoa powder and milk chocolate in medium bowl. Pour boiling water over; whisk until mixture is smooth. Whisk in buttermilk. In another medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt .

Using electric mixer, beat both sugars, oil, egg, and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Add flour and cocoa mixtures; beat until blended (batter will be thin). Divide batter between pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out with some crumbs attached, 30 to 34 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes. Turn out onto racks; peel off parchment. Turn over; cool on rack for at least an hour or until completely cool.

For the Frosting
Place chocolate in large metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water. Add butter and stir until melted, then add sour cream and corn syrup and whisk until smooth. Let frosting stand at room temperature until thick enough to spread, about 20 minutes.

To Assemble
When cakes are cool, using serrated knife, trim top of cakes to make level. Cut each cake horizontally in half. Place 1 cake layer, cut side up, on platter. Spread about 2/3 cup frosting (I eye-balled it) over, leaving 1/2-inch border. Top with second cake layer, cut side down. Spread 2/3 cup frosting over, leaving 1/2-inch border. Top with third cake layer, cut side up. Spread 2/3 cup frosting over, leaving 1/2-inch border. Top with remaining cake layer, cut side down. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over top and sides. This is a thin layer – cake will show through. Chill in the refrigerator until frosting is set, about 30 minutes. Keep remaining frosting at room temperature. Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake.

DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at room temperature.

* Cake Flour Substitute: Fill 1 cup measure with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, fill the rest with white flour. This is equivalent to 1 cup Cake Flour

In the past, I have sung the praises of Grand Central Bakery.  When I visit my best pal in Portland, Oregon I always find myself at the bakery ordering a cup fragrant, locally roasted coffee and about 10 other treats from the menu.  For Christmas, my bestie proved that she knows me well by gifting me the Grand Central Bakery’s new cookbook.  Since their bakeries are only on the West Coast, I can now get a little fix of Grand Central goodies in my own Chicago kitchen.

I am always suspicious about restaurants that are willing to print all their recipes and give away their secrets.  Did they leave just one ingredient out?  Did they skip an essential step to ensure we can’t COMPLETELY replicate their yumminess?  Or do they count on the fact that we just prefer them doing the work and enjoying the experience enough to continue buying their treats?

In the case of this Irish Soda Bread, Grand Central seems to not only have given us the true recipe but also pages of hints, tips and tricks on baking and ingredients so we can make them just right.  Thank you Grand Central!  I will still sit at your long, wooden table and eat YOUR Irish Soda Bread whenever I find myself in Portland.  But until then… I will be smiling ear to ear that I have a little taste of you in Chicago.

These are best eaten the day you make them so give a few to neighbors or co-workers.  Your unexpected good deed will surely lift their spirits.

Irish Soda Bread from Grand Central Bakery
Makes 8 large pieces.

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped orange zest
3/4 cup currants
3/4 cup cold, unsalted butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
Egg wash

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line a  baking sheet with parchment paper.  Measure the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl with high sides or the bowl of stand mixer and whisk to combine.  Stir in the caraway seeds, orange zest and currents.

Dice the butter into 1/2 inch cubes.  Use your hands or the paddle attachment of the stand mixer on low speed to blend the butter into dry ingredients until the texture becomes mealy.  If you want to finish baking the soda bread the next day, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill overnight; otherwise proceed with the recipe.

Add 3/4 cup of the buttermilk at once, mixing just until the dough comes together, 30-35 seconds.  Scrape the bottom and sides to incorporate dry ingredients, then stir in enough buttermilk to bring the dough together.  You may have buttermilk leftover.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 2 chunks.  Gently shape the chunks into domed disks and score each one into quarters.  Place on the prepared pan and brush liberally with egg wash (1 egg, 1 tablespoon water, pinch of salt whisked all together).

Bake for 30-35 minutes rotating the pan halfway through the baking time.  The soda bread should be shiny and golden brown.  To serve, cut or pull the disks apart where they were scored.

I have been dancing the tango with Red Velvet Cake for some years now.  Just when I think I can turn my face away and retire my quest for the perfect recipe, the scarlet vixen has me pressed to her cheek striding across the dance floor once again.

Our love affair is always reignited in the month of February.  The marketing machines of the world are pressing Valentine’s Day upon us and my palate cannot resist cupid’s arrow.  Festive, moist, red cake topped with classic cream cheese frosting… I am dazed with desire.

What is it about Red Velvet Cake that has captured my heart?  Well, even more than most cakes, there is an element of chemistry that makes this cake right.  That magical mixture of baking soda and vinegar gives me a mad-scientist high.  Second, this cake plays hard to get.  Recipes vary greatly and have often disappointed only fueling my longing to test, try, bake and separate the good from the bad.

This year’s Red Velvet Cake recipe comes from my sister.  If you have been reading my blog long, you will know she is the source of many of my winners.  I don’t usually favor the use of shortening and full bottles of food coloring in my baking.  But, as with everyone that we love, we make exceptions for the smallest incompatibilities.

Red Velvet Cake

Makes about 24 cupcakes or one 9-inch layer cake.

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ounces red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon white vinegar

Grease two 9 inch round pans or line muffin pans with paper liners for cupcakes (makes approx. 2 doz.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring. Set aside.

Combine the buttermilk, salt and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the cocoa mixture. Beat in the buttermilk mixture alternately with the flour, mixing just until incorporated. Stir together baking soda and vinegar, then gently fold into the cake batter.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

* For cupcakes, fill each liner approximately 2/3 full. Bake 15 – 20 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 lb. cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix cream cheese and butter and sugar until fluffy; about 5 minutes. Add vanilla

In an effort to feed my inner baking beast and stay within STRICT parameters of my New Year’s Resolution diet, I have started a Bran Muffin Bake-off.  Basically I am “baking off” against myself week after week in search of the best recipe.  My rating system is still being developed but the winner will likely have the best ratio of being healthy and delicious.  

For the past two weeks on Sunday evenings I have prepared the ingredients and on Monday morning, I have baked fresh bran muffins to start the week.  Deep breath in… ahh, yes, the house smells of fresh baked goods.  Deep sigh out… ahhh, yes… I have not ruined my diet on the first day of the week.

This first recipe was passed along by one of my friends, Kathy, who has gathered the best of the best over the years.  My confidence in her recipes along with my love of buttermilk put this recipe at the top of my list.  They lasted for days and stayed moist in a tupperware on my countertop.  For those who aren’t on a diet, warm them up and slather these with butter and honey!

Stay tuned for the next bran muffin recipes. And, please send me links to your favorite, healthy bran muffin recipes.

Buttermilk Bran Muffins

1 cup unprocessed wheat bran
2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup low fat buttermilk
1/2 cup sugar (Kathy suggests Sugar in the Raw, I didn’t have it)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
1 1/2 Tbs canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
Optional: 1/2 cup dried fruit or raisins, chopped nuts, 3-4 TBS flax seed

Heat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tins with paper cups. In a medium bowl, blend bran, flours, baking soda and salt until well combined. Use a whisk to combine all ingredients well or sift them together. Set aside.

In another bowl, using a handheld electric mixer on high speed, beat the buttermilk, sugar, applesauce, egg, oil and vanilla until frothy, about 2 minutes. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Using a spoon, stir just until combined. Don’t over mix. Fold in fruit, nuts or flax.

Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups. Bake until the tops spring back when pressed gently in the center, about 18-20 minutes. Do not over bake.

I have always loved buying things from estate sales. I usually buy small things: costume jewelry, cookbooks, baking pans. Inanimate objects bring some of their history with them and I find them all the more interesting for it. I wonder what parties my bright bead necklaces have seen… were they dangling around a taught neck during a first kiss? What flavors of muffins most often popped out of my muffin tin before it came to live with me? Was the author of those Joy of Cooking margin notes left handed?

The same romance draws me to recipes that have been passed down, even if they come from people I have never met. This scone recipe is one of them. My mom has been making this recipe she received from a woman named Pam whose mother Helen used to serve scones with tea. I was so taken by the scones my mother asked her if I could share the recipe with all of you. Pam agreed and offered this endearing information about her mother who recently passed away:

A few words about my mom, Helen – She loved gathering people together and serving wonderful food. As a New Englander, she grew up with the tradition of drinking tea, and created little tea parties for my sisters and me with our child-size Blue Willow tea set. She made Cambric Tea for us, which is just tea with sugar and lots of milk, so that the tea looks the color of unbleached linen. Cambric is a word for very fine linen. Tea was always served informally when our aunts came to visit, or when we visited them. Someone would “throw the kettle on”, the most basic form of hospitality. Mum made many kinds of beautiful tea sandwiches and sweets for more formal occasions, and took delight in presenting prettily arranged trays of tea dainties and placing fresh flowers on the table. She was always on the alert for new recipes, and enjoyed the surge of interest in tea and related foods in recent years.

Thank you for sharing Pam. And Helen, wherever you are, we raise our tea cups to you! Your recipe lives on…

Helen’s Delectable Currant Scones
Serve with Devonshire Cream and an assortment of preserves; these are also excellent with no adornment at all.

1/4 cup dried currants
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 Tbsp brandy
6 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk plus 2 tsp for brushing tops of scones
grated rind of one orange

Mix currants, brandy and peel in small microwave-safe bowl and micro at full power 15-20 seconds until just warm.

In medium bowl, blend 2 cups flour, 6 Tbsp sugar, baking powder and salt. With a pastry blender, blend in the butter until no lumps larger than 1/4″ remain. The mixture will look like coarse crumbs. Strir int he currant mixture.

Add 1/2 cup buttermilk, stirring just enough to evenly moisten the dough. Gather dough into a ball, sprinkling with additional drops of buttermilk if necessary. Knead lightly just until hte dough holds together.

Flatten dough to 1/2″ thickness. You may cut into rounds or form a circle and bake in a round scored in wedges. Transfer the scones to a buttered baking sheet, leaving space between them. Brush tops of scones with buttermilk. Sprinkle tops with granulated sugar if you like a sparkling crunch on top.

Bake in 400 degree oven until golden brown (20-25 minutes). Watch smaller cut shapes so you do not overbake. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly. Serve warm.

It is that time of year where pumpkin flavor is nearly pouncing you from every corner…pumpkin spice lattes prancing on every coffee shop counter, towering pyramids of pumpkin bread mix at Trader Joes, a sea of canned pumpkin puree on aisle end caps at grocery stores…

I’m not complaining.

Autumn is my season. I feel better, more alive. I love the colors, the sweaters, the kids starting school, the trees, the smell in the air and the flavors. Bring on the pumpkin spice, the apple cake, the soups, stews and warm comfort foods. Sure, I miss the summer produce but my love of autumn has me temporarily blinded to the fact that winter is coming.

This is my first pumpkin baked good of Fall 2009. The house smelled like a dream today! This is very moist and not overly sweet. If you have a sweet tooth, spread the bread with honey butter or stir in a cup of chocolate chips or dried cranberries and walnuts.

Other Pumpkin Taste Treats:
Pumpkin Buttermilk Bundt Cake
Roasted Pumpkin and Garlic Soup
Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Basic Pumpkin Bread
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Make 1 large loaf or 4 mini loaves

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (be sure to use fresh spice for best flavor! see substitute below if needed)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan or 4 mini loaf pans. Whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating until blended. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in pumpkin, then vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk starting and ending with the buttermilk.

Bake bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. (Adjust for mini loaves. Check after 35 minutes) Cool bread in pan on rack 15 minutes. Cut around bread at short ends to loosen from pan. Turn bread out onto rack. Cool bread completely. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Wrap and store at room temperature.)

Pumpkin Pie Spice Substitute: For the 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice, use instead 1 teaspoon cinnamon plus 1/2 teaspoon ginger , 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon cloves