OATMEAL SCONES

To keep my sanity during these stressful times, my baking marathon continues.  For me, baking is not only relaxing, it gives me something to focus on, fuels my creativity, as well as provides a really yummy end product (well, most of the time).  Even if it doesn’t look good, most bakes taste good and that’s really all that matters.

I found this recipe (originally from the Quaker Oats company) as I was cleaning out old cookbooks.  It looked quick and easy, perfect for today’s rainy day … and perfect to go along with a hot steamy cuppa and a good book.  Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.

OATMEAL SCONES
Bake at 425° for 20 to 30 minutes.  Makes 8 to 10 scones (or more, depending upon the size)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup oatmeal (any type will do)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold butter, cubed
3/4 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping – optional
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar

Glaze 
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons orange juice

First, line up all your ingredients.  Don’t be one of those bakers who goes looking for things as you go along.  If you have everything in front of you, you’re less apt to make a mistake and forget something.  Then, preheat your oven and prepare your pan.  Most ovens take 20 minutes or more to heat up thoroughly.  A $5.00 oven thermometer is a great investment and saves a lot of baking disasters.

You don’t need any special equipment to make these, but I did use my food processor.  Nothing is quicker than a food processor … as long as you know how and when to use it.  The “pulse” button is all you need for these!

In a large bowl (or food processor) add the dry ingredients.  Mix well or pulse two or three times.  Cut the icy cold butter into cubes and add it to the dry ingredients until it resembles fine crumbs.  Again, if using a food processor, PULSE 10 or 12 times … no more!

In a small bowl mix together the egg, milk and vanilla.  Then add this wet mixture to the dry mixture.  Stir it in with a fork or PULSE a few times just to combine everything.

Turn the mixture out onto a floured board.  Knead a few times to bring it together.  Do not overwork the dough or your scones will be tough and won’t rise properly.

Form the dough into a round and with a rolling pin, gently roll until you have about 3/4″ thickness.  Cut the dough into triangles (or you can use a cutter to cut out shapes).  Place the triangles onto a parchment lined baking tray.

In another small bowl, mix the chopped nuts, sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle over the scones, pressing down lightly to fix them onto the scones.  This is completely optional.

Bake the scones in a preheated 425° oven for 25-30 minutes (if smaller scones are made, you may need to reduce the baking time.  When they have baked through and are browned, remove them and place them on a wire rack to cool.

Combine the powdered sugar and orange juice and just drizzle over the top of the scones.  Then be prepared to watch them disappear.

Be sure to put the kettle on and enjoy this easy-to-make, delicious treat …
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LEMON LAVENDER SCONES

It’s another wintry day and, as with most everyone, I’m ready for spring.  Not, of course, that we’ve had a bad winter, but … I’m still ready for spring.  So, to brighten my mood, I am going to buy some bright, cheerful flowers and then make scones.  Not everyday scones, but fresh, fragrant Lemon Lavender Scones … and, I’m going to serve them with an indulgent honey butter.  A springtime treat!

These scones are not difficult to make at all.  Assemble all your ingredients and give them a go.

LEMON LAVENDER SCONES
Bake 400° .  Makes 8 to 12.  Bake for 15-20 minutes depending upon size.

2 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons dried lavender, food grade
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream, cold
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 large egg, beaten for egg wash
Confectioners’ Sugar Glaze (optional):
4 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon milk

In a large bowl or food processor (which I prefer), mix or pulse together all dried ingredients:  flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, lemon zest and lavender.

Using your fingers or a fork, work butter into dry ingredients until just crumbly.  If using a food processor, pulse 8 or 9 times.

Whisk together egg, lemon juice and heavy cream and add it to the mixture.  With a fork, bring  together quickly.  Do not overmix or scones will be heavy.

Dump the mixture onto a lightly floured board.  It will be a bit crumbly.  Knead two or three times to bring the dough together.  Again, do not overwork the dough.

Shape into a round about 1/2″ thick.  Cut the desired number of scones you’d like … in the shapes you’d like.  Round.  Triangular.  Square.  It’s up to you.  I decided to be creative and cut mine  to resemble a flower.

Place the scones onto a parchment lined baking sheet.   Brush the tops lightly with a beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.  Refrigerate the scones for at least 1/2 hour.  This will ensure the butter gets cold and your scones will be light.  While the scones are refrigerated, preheat the oven to 400°.  Depending upon the size and thickness, bake anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes until baked through and lightly golden brown.

Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.  (Unfortunately, the angle of the photo doesn’t show how much they’ve risen.)  For confectioners’ glaze, mix together four tablespoons confectioners’ sugar and 1 teaspoon milk.  When the scones are cool, drizzle with confectioners’ glaze.
How do you like my scone flower?

I mixed up some honey butter*, but you can serve these light, fragrant and delicious scones with absolutely anything … from strawberry jam to lemon curd to clotted cream.

Be sure to put the kettle on and have your cuppa ready because you’re going to want to dive right into these … well, at least, I did!

*Honey Butter
Mix together one stick softened butter with two to three tablespoons honey.
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The Willow Tea Room

A “must” visit during our trip to Glasgow was the world-famous Willow Tea Room.  I have to admit that I didn’t know much about the Willow then, just that I had to go.  What I did know was this tearoom was designed by one of the most talented architects of the time, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, in 1903 in the futuristic “Arts and Crafts” style.  What I didn’t know was the “back story” of how this tearoom, created by Kate Cranston and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, had become one of the most expensive and famous tearooms of Europe.

Born in 1849, Catherine, or Kate as she was known, was the daughter of George Cranston, a successful Glasgow baker.  George bought the then very popular hotel, the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Chop House and Commercial Lodgings.  He renamed the hotel the Royal Horse, which then became known as Cranston’s Hotel and Dining Room.

 Glasgow at the turn of the century was riddled with problems … industries were closing, slums were prevalent, and overcrowding was a huge problem, followed by diseases like cholera and typhoid.  Social centers were male dominated pubs serving coffee and ale, where politics was always the conversation of the day.  Glasgow was also the center of the temperance movement and political tensions were high!

Stuart Cranston's TEA Spoon

Stuart Cranston’s TEA Spoon

Kate’s older brother, Stuart, following in his father’s footsteps, was quite the visionary and saw through all these problems.  One of his visions was how “tea” (up until now only afforded by the upper classes) could be an alternative to alcohol, afforded by all.  Stuart set out to and had become a successful importer of tea.  When customers would come into his shop, he would put the kettle on and offer them a sample.  From there he decided to create a place where both men and women together (which was unheard of at that time) could enjoy tea and perhaps light sandwiches in a simple, clean, safe, pub-free atmosphere.  This concept was so successful, he opened two more.

Now enjoying great success, Stuart went on to buy one of the first covered shopping malls in Europe, Glasgow’s Argyll Arcade.  Built in 1827, the Argyll Arcade housed many retailers and craft shops, but was beginning to be run down and in need of major repairs.  Cranston was very focused in what he wanted in this row of shops, from uniformity of shop front designs and styles, to the quality of goods to be sold, as well as a very strict code of conduct for shop owners … which still applies today.

Kate, following in the entrepreneurial spirit of her family, opened the Crown Luncheon Room in the Argyll Arcade.  Although Glasgow was ranked as one of the richest cities in Europe, it also suffered from some appalling social problems …  poverty, crime and disease.  Kate’s father and her brother had taught her well because Kate was a force to be dealt with … not only on quality of tea and food, but on service and cleanliness.  With the success of this luncheonette, Kate then opened Miss Cranston’s Tearoom in 1878 where she continued to place great emphasis on the details, from the decor and design, to her strict code on cleanliness, quality of food and service.

Glasgow, in an effort to raise money for the city and showcase what Glasgow had to offer, opened The International Exhibition of 1888 at Kelvingrove Park (which attracted over 5 million visitors).  Kate wanted to be able to offer exhibition goers a place where they could sit and enjoy a cuppa in a clean, safe and well organized atmosphere. She opened what is now a very popular concept, a “pop-up” tearoom.  Like her brother, Kate was becoming quite successful.

Catherine “Kate” Cranston

Kate was a bit eccentric at times, always defying social conventions. She dressed in Victorian crinolines, similar to what her mother might have worn, long after they had gone out of fashion.  She’d also be seen around town dressed in a grey suit and bowler hat.  However she dressed, she was a very astute business woman and although Kate married John Cochrane in 1892, she continued to be known as Miss Cranston of Miss Cranston’s Tearooms.

Charles Rennie Macintosh

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

 

After the success of her luncheonette and first tearoom, Kate opened a second, then a third and then in 1903, the one which was to become her most famous of all, on Sauchiehall Street.

As a prominent businesswoman, Kate had become very well known in the artist community. This is where she had met the young Charles Rennie Mackintosh.  Charles Rennie Mackintosh was born in Glasgow on June 7, 1868, one of eleven children.  From the age of 9 he studied art and design, then trained as an architect in a local practice.  At art school Mackintosh and his friend and colleague, Herbert MacNair, met sisters, Margaret and Frances MacDonald, also artists.  Margaret was later to become his wife and worked with Charles on many of Kate’s projects.

Frieze of woman in rose trellis.

Kate first employed Charles in 1896 to provide just a stencil for the walls of her first tearoom on Buchanan Street.  Mackintosh created a frieze depicting delicate elongated lines of female figures in pairs facing each other surrounded by roses.  Kate loved it.  She then gave Mackintosh more responsibility for the Argyll Street tearoom, where he created his first major piece of furniture, the elegant high-backed chair (now housed in the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery).  In 1900, working closely with Kate, Charles designed the ladies’ luncheon room for Miss Cranston’s Ingram Street tearoom.  Then came the two-year Sauchiehall Street project.

Mackintosh constructed a barricade around the building to protect his project, decorated with his classic stenciling and lettering, of course.  Nothing escaped Mackintosh’s attention. He and his wife, Margaret, designed everything from the furniture and menus, to the silverware and the waitresses’ uniforms.  Within this tall, white-washed four story building, Mackintosh created a casual tearoom for ladies on the first floor, with a tea gallery on the  mezzanine level above it.   On the second floor, he created a more exclusive ladies’ room, the Room de Luxe.

Stained Glass Mirror Wall

Stained Glass Mirror Wall

Overlooking the street, this room had white walls with a frieze of stained glass and mirrored glass, stained glass double doors (Mackintosh’s largest and most elaborate stained glass creation) and his signature high-backed chairs in silver with sofas upholstered in rich purple. The third floor was to be a men’s billiard and smoking room.  Sauchiehall Street was the “crown jewel” of tearooms.

Kate’s defiant bohemian attitude was frowned upon by the ‘old order’.   Her tearooms broke traditions.  They provided a fashionable destination for women who were dissatisfied with their lot … where women and men were invited to not only dine together, but to play cards, billiards and smoke.  She had created a place where, not only the elite could see and be seen, but where the artist community flourished.  She encouraged young artists to showcase their talents by using her tearooms as galleries.

Unfortunately, Kate’s husband, John, died suddenly in 1917 and Kate was no longer interested in the tearooms or in business in general.  She sold her tearooms and wore black for the rest of her life.  Kate developed dementia and became increasingly difficult to deal with.  She moved from her fashionable mansion to a hotel in the south side of Glasgow where she was looked after by a female companion until she died in April 1934.  Having had no children, when she died, Kate left two thirds of her £67,476 estate (20 times more than her brother Stuart) to the poor of Glasgow.

Willow Tearoom Today

Willow Tearoom Today

Never actually receiving true recognition for his work, Mackintosh left Scotland with the hopes of living in Austria, where his work was admired.  This was halted because of the outbreak of World War 1.   He and Margaret moved to Walberswick, England, where he was arrested as a spy, possibly because of the letters he received from his friends in Austria.  After being released they moved to London.

As happens with so many talented artists, Mackintosh wasn’t recognized as the pioneer of modern architecture until the 1960s with the renewed interest in Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts Movement.  It was only then that the art world recognized his talents.  Charles Rennie Mackintosh died from cancer in London in 1928 – destitute.

Miss Cranston’s Tearooms had become the places to see and be seen for Glasgow society and continued to be for many years.  The partnership between Kate Cranston and Charles Rennie Mackintosh lasted for 20 years, the most important being the tearoom on Sauchiehall Street … now known as the Willow Tearoom.  Today Charles Rennie Mackintosh is studied and celebrated around the world.  Did I know any of this when we visited the Willow?  Absolutely not! But it doesn’t take long when approaching the building to realize you’ve come upon a tearoom unlike any other.

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References:  Wikipedia, Undiscovered Scotland, Argyll Arcade, BBC, Willow Tearooms, BBC HistoryCRMSociety,

A Perfect Cuppa

Yes, I know, everyone knows how to make a cup of tea.  Right?  Wrong!  I am simply amazed at how many people make tea BADLY.  The water is generally not hot enough, or too hot.  If they use a teabag, it’s left in the cup or pot FOREVER!  And these are the very same people who would never think of serving a badly prepared cup of coffee.  A well made cup of tea is delicious. Please don’t offer me a tepid cup with a teabag hanging out.  If you do, of course I will accept, but don’t be offended if I don’t drink it.

It’s not complicated.  There are really just three simple steps:

HEAT THE WATER
Get a tea kettle or a saucepan, fill it with as much water as you think you will need for the pot or cup you are making. DON’T use water that’s been sitting in the kettle most of the day.  The oxygen has dissipated and now it’s flat.  Use freshly drawn water from the tap. Bottled water is not necessary.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

You don’t need any fancy appliance.  By all means, if you have an electric kettle, use it, but if not, put the kettle or a saucepan on the stove.  Please do not use a microwave.  It’s just not possible to know what the temperature of the water is when using a microwave oven.  And, if the water gets too hot, there is a chance the cup will explode. Yes, it does happen!

WATER TEMPERATURE
The temperature you heat the water to is very important.  If you use boiling water (210°) for green tea, you will stew the leaves and it will be bitter.  If you use water that’s under the boil (180°) for black tea, it will be flat and insipid.   When making black tea (English Breakfast, Earl Grey, etc.), bring the water to a rolling boil.   When making green tea (Jasmine, flavored or unflavored greens), bring the water to a soft boil and let it cool for a minute or two before pouring over the tea.  It’s not complicated.

POT OR NO POT
Yes, I use a teapot every time I make tea.  Must you use a teapot?  No.  But I truly believe it adds to the ceremony, the enjoyment and the taste.  Using a teapot doesn’t mean you need to get Grandma’s old 6-cup porcelain pot from the back of the cupboard.  Teapots come in all sizes and styles.  In the morning I use a three-cup ceramic pot, perfect for making two large mugs of tea.   Later in the day, I use my two-cup glass teapot, for an afternoon pick-me-up.

LOOSE OR TEA BAG
Do you drink instant coffee?  No.  Then why would you use a teabag, which is nothing more than instant tea?  Yes, teabag offerings have become much better recently.  This is only because the large tea companies were losing market share as consumers started buying more and more loose leaf tea.  As a result, these large tea companies had to step up their game to compete with the loose leaf tea market.  Certainly you can use a tea bag if you’d like, but given the choice, use good quality loose leaf.  Don’t you deserve it?

MEASURE THE TEA 
 Use one teaspoon of tea for each 8 oz. cup.  An 8 oz. measuring cup is not the same as a teacup. Teacups are usually 5 oz.  Mugs are usually 12 to 14 oz.  All the more reason to use a teapot for accurate measurements.  A three-cup teapot uses three teaspoons of tea.  What is the capacity of your teapot?  Just get a measuring cup and find out.

Green teas and white teas are lighter in weight than black teas.  You may want to use a bit more green or white teas than a teaspoon.  Black teas are heavier.  You might want to use just a bit less than a teaspoon.  Your taste will ultimately determine how much to use.

Then put the tea into an infuser or directly into your teapot.  Pour the boiling water if it’s black tea (cooler than boiling if it’s green tea) over the tea.  Cover and let it steep.

TIMING – HOW LONG TO STEEP
This is also a critical point.  You need to steep the tea long enough for the flavor to be extracted from the leaves.  30 seconds is plenty of time for a tea bag, but certainly not enough for loose leaf tea.  For black tea, steep for 3 to 5 minutes.  For green tea and white teas, steep for 2 to 3 minutes.  Start with these times and then adapt to your own taste.  If you like your tea steeped a little more, or less, adjust the steeping time slightly.  But, please, remember you must take the tea bag or infuser out of the cup or pot at the end of the steeping time.

POUR AND ENJOY
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAgain, please remove the infuser or the teabags from the teapot or cup.  Don’t leave them in the pot or your tea will oversteep and become bitter.  Do you take milk and sugar with your tea? Feel free.  Now relax and enjoy!

To recap, all you need to make the perfect cuppa is:
.. good quality tea
.. water at the right temperature
.. steeped for the correct amount of time

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