Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Rhubarb Scones & Strawberry Jam

When I got to my CSA pick-up site last week, they had strawberries for sale. I bought two containers. Then yesterday I realized one of the local farms opened for strawberry picking. I loaded the kids up, got there at 9:00, and by 9:30 had 8 quarts of strawberries to bring home. THEN, I look at the CSA newsletter for the week and see I'm getting strawberries as part of my share. Is it possible to have to many strawberries? Perhaps not, but I'm guessing we may make ourselves sick trying to eat them all before they rot. So we ate strawberries for a snack. We had strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. I made strawberry jam.

You know that episode of Friends where Monica has the jam plan and Joey eats jam with a spoon? That is Steven, my 6-year-old right now. He's had jam on toast, PB & J, and now he's resorted to just a spoonful of jam as he passes through the kitchen.

Today I am still facing a mountain of strawberries. I made a strawberry rhubarb sauce this morning to use on pancakes, waffles, and ice cream. Maybe I'll make more jam. I'm pretty sure the jam would pair nicely with the whole wheat rhubarb & ginger scones I made this week. They are a little nutty from the whole wheat, a little tart from the rhubarb, and a little spicy from the crystalized ginger. Strawberry jam would add a bit more sweet. I think I just decided on my afternoon treat (Did I just rhyme?)


Whole Wheat Rhubarb & Ginger Scones (inspired by Brown Eyed Baker)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup small-diced rhubarb
1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1 large egg
3/4 cup whole milk, plus more for brushing the tops
Raw sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425*. combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add rhubarb and ginger. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Consistency will be thick! Drop spoonfuls of dough 1/2 inch apart onto a large ungreased baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Scones may be as large or small as you like, but be sure to make them at least 1-inch thick. Brush tops with milk, sprinkle with raw sugar and bake 13 minutes or until tops are golden. Let cool and serve with butter, jam, or whipped cream.

Easy Strawberry Jam (From Ball Canning)

4 cups coarsely crushed strawberries
4 1/2 T. of reduced sugar pectin
3 cups sugar

Place berries in a large saucepan. Gradually stir in pectin. Bring mixture to a full boil over high heat stirring constantly. Add sugar and continue stirring. Return mixture to a full boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, skim foam if necessary. Pack into jars and freeze or process for longer storage if desired.


On to this week's bag:




















My add-ons this week are simple staples: milk, eggs, honey, pasta, coffee, and butter.

We've been set up with all the ingredients necessary for a Mexican fiesta. And if you know me, you know I have a slight obsession with chorizo. Chorizo in beans, chorizo in tacos, chorizo in dips. Chorizo in everything! Since Sunday is Father's Day and Monday happens to be my husband's birthday, I let him decide most of the meals for the week. The ground beef is simply turning into hamburgers on the grill, and the chorizo is joining some zucchini and mushrooms in one of our favorite taco recipes (I use much more chorizo than this recipe calls for!). Of course I'll serve the tacos with the corn crackers and some cilantro spiked guacamole. I'm thinking an Asian style soup with the bok choy, inspired by this awesome recipe from Bon Appetit. I'll sauté the spinach with eggs, or toss it with the Ohio City pasta I added to my order this week. Mixed greens for salads and on top of the burgers. The kids will eat the broccoli with lunch. So that leaves us with the garlic scapes. Grill them up with a steak or burger, use them in a simple pesto, chop them, sauté them, and toss them with pasta, or add them to soup.

Seriously, Steven just made his fourth PB & J of the day. Looks like I need to make more jam.





Pin It

No comments:

Post a Comment