Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Scones

To Do List: Bake These Lovely Weekend Scones

The almighty weekend is here at last. It's Friday, Babycakes.

My advice? Bake up some scones.

Scones are (totally!) easy to throw together. In less than half an hour (in between Saturday morning bouts of dusting and laundry and vacuuming to Mumford & Sons) you'll have a tender gluten-free morsel to share and savor. Gently spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and studded with sweet bursts of raisins, I predict these cinnamon raisin scones will make you smile.

Why they're perfect for the weekend:

These scones make a light and simple continental breakfast or a perfect mid-morning (or afternoon) pick-me-up. Make a pot of tea and invite a friend. Serve with some yogurt and tasty girl talk. Discuss the lovely Vanity Fair article on Johnny Depp by Patti Smith that you finally (finally!) got to read.

Bookworms never seemed so deeply beautiful.

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Gluten-Free Butternut Pecan Scones

Get sconed, Babycakes, with these fab gluten-free scones.

Have a warm, tender scone for breakfast. Or afternoon tea.

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Gluten-Free Blueberry Scones

Tender gluten-free dairy-free scones baked with whole grains.

Mother's Day Blues

Blueberries and Mother's Day. I cannot imagine one without the other. It is virtually impossible. Beyond my control. The same way a certain scent, caught unexpectedly in passing, can- in a single heartbeat- transport you to another time and place.

Scents and tastes and memories link and embed themselves deep in the mushy hardware of our brain, micro-threading bits of life experience into electrical impulses that spark and conjure images and emotions that rival the blinking hot concept of time travel. Sun warmed wild mint, for instance, jolts me into my six year old body faster than you can wish for blueberry pancakes, tugging me into a swirl of loneliness and boredom I can almost taste, the heat and dust of a summer afternoon prowling a parking lot, looking for a tiny piece of shade apart from the bees.

In a perfect world I would have been blueberry picking, roused from innocent rumpled sleep before first light by a beloved grandmother or a tender hearted aunt, and given a small metal pail to fill, tasting every other silvery blue berry I picked, listening to my steady companion hum Dylan's Chimes of Freedom.
But I have no blueberry stories of childhood.

My picking days came later. As a young mother bending and reaching under a cobalt Cape Cod sky, plucking berries into buckets. Back then summer was forever woven with the fate of blueberries. Scattered on clean white scoops of yogurt in an antique bowl, baked into tender blueberry breads drizzled with lemon glaze (the cherished, hand written recipe given to me by an old friend, Cape Cod Kitty- it was her mother's famous blueberry cake), or bursting out of muffin tops glittering with sugar, and scented with cinnamon.

But the truth is I cannot rewrite my childhood. Nor change what is beyond my control to change. And I do not believe in destiny. I am not a fatalist. I do not believe in a master plan. I wrestle with mystery and meaning every single day, with nary a satisfactory answer in sight. It seems to me that nothing happens for a reason. And everything happens for a reason.

Because life is for learning.

And each day breaks with a fresh beginning.

So darling. What will you choose today?

Make it good.

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Savory Gluten-Free Scones with Rosemary

Gluten-free savory scones with rosemary. 

Let's Bake: Savory Scones

One of my holiday surprises was this nifty cast iron cornbread pan. This week I put it to good use. To celebrate the recent return of Downton Abbey, you see (season two has begun, and promises to be as riveting as the first). Scones somehow seemed more appropriate than cornbread. Though these scones would most certainly not pass muster with Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham. She would be- most assuredly- appalled. And raise an elegantly arching, ironic eyebrow in utter disdain. Gluten-free? Who ever heard of such a thing? It is as suspect and deserving of mockery as electricity.

Or weekends.

Who is your favorite Downton Abbey character?

I honestly cannot decide (though I may have inadvertently revealed some vaporous hint of favoritism). I love them all with a devoted heart. The cast, the superb writing, the stunning photography, the lustrous set design is all beyond delicious.

But if you, darling, cherish a favorite Lady, attorney or housemaid, or if you blush and inhale when the honorable Mr. Bates makes an appearance, please do share. We'd love to relish every detail along with you.

Make your case.

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Gluten-Free Zucchini Lime Scones

Fresh baked zucchini scones with lime.

Savory Wheat-Free Scones To Love

As the old Zen koan advises, row row row your boat, gently down the stream, merrily merrily merrily... summer is but a dream. Dear (beautiful and appreciated) reader, forgive my clumsy extra syllable as I squeeze summer in for life and stumble up the rhythm for the sake of my wandering focus today, which is how mind-bogglingly fast time goes by. In spite of the airless, oven-style heat. In spite of the sticky sleepless nights (thank goddess for iPhones).

Summer is careening into Fall faster than you can say Lady GaGa is gluten-free.

And zucchini is taking over the universe.

But I've got your back.

First up on the Z List is this moist and tender Gluten-Free Goddess Zucchini Bread that even GaGa herself might be tempted to bake (if she baked instead of practicing her waggle and ingesting only lettuce). There are these little gems- my Maple Sweetened Almond Zucchini Mini-Muffins (to die for). And this Zucchini Quinoa Breakfast Cake. Not to mention, Chocolate Chip Zucchini Brownies.

If savory zucchini recipes are calling to you, I've got some hot zuke favorites, too. Remember those crispy Fried Zucchini Chips with Lime-Mint Dipping Sauce? So good. And in the comfort food category, Creamy Penne Pasta Bake with Zucchini hits the spot. As does my old school Italian Mama inspired favorite- Zucchini Gratin. For a new wave no-cook vegan pasta, turn your gaze no further than this Raw Zucchini Pasta with Curry Cream Sauce.

And if that isn't enough to satiate your zucchini lust, I've got one more recipe. A new recipe we baked this morning. Perfectly light and golden, lovely for a Sunday brunch. Or any day you feel like visiting with a friend over a pot of tea.

Because life is all about flow, baby. Don't let it pass you by.

Row gently.

Bake some scones.

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Gluten-Free Wheat-Free Chocolate Chip Scones

Gluten-free scones for tea time, brunch or breakfast.

Chapter 2.

It was ridiculous how nervous she was.  It was only a class. A painting workshop. It wasn't as if she was entering a world unknown. She knew this world.  Art school was only, what, fifteen years ago? Wrong tactic. Fifteen years is a lifetime ago. She shook it off, pushed the door open with her left hip and met the familiar aromatics of turpentine and linseed oil, the clatter of wooden easels and scrape of chipped metal stools as painters staked out their territory.

A gaggle of older women who obviously knew one another nattered about flea markets and ringed the front of the classroom where a beat up French easel sat unopened on the floor next to a brown paper grocery bag stuffed with ragged brushes and a dented roll of green spattered paper towels.

She angled toward the unoccupied far corner near the window, hoping for a wedge of natural light and some semblance of anonymity and breathing room. Painting among people was an unnatural state. To take such a solitary, contemplative practice and share it with strangers in a public space was difficult. If not impossible. In order to paint well one had to lose oneself- forget the world, shed all self-consciousness, surrender to some mysterious, invisible process. Unlikely in a group chattering about Dancing with the Stars. She tugged the brim of her baseball cap down over her eyes, tuned out the chit chat, and set up her canvas.

This is a mistake, she thought. I shouldn't have come here. I can't do this. She squatted next to her canvas bag, pulled out tubes of titanium white, cobalt blue, cadmium yellow and red. She thought about art school and how it had been the same. The easy camaraderie of everyone else. Her awkward isolation. Her big dumb need not to be noticed. Her craving to be unobservable.

Then she heard his voice. 

She straightened up and turned toward the flutter of greetings and palpable affability emanating from the front of the class room. She caught only a glimpse of his plaid flannel shirt and the flash of a large Dunkin' Donuts coffee he placed on a nearby stool before he knelt to unpack his easel. She thought she heard him say something about The Fisher King.

What a weird movie, one of the women sniffed, you liked it? I didn't get it. And I usually like that Jeff Bridges.

I thought I'd start with a demo today, he said, standing up and turning toward the class. Sound good? 

His keen blue eyes scanned the crowded room. She tried not to meet his glance. She didn't expect him to be so... So, what? Interesting? She crossed her arms and inched forward with the others to get a better view. He was washing his canvas with a swath of warm ocher and talking about values and laying in dark shapes. He joked with a mustached man who asked him the same question twice, then paused to sip coffee and wipe his brush. His back was toward her. She tried not to notice the way his shoulders fit into his shirt.

And that's when she knew.

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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Scones

Gluten-free pumpkin scones with maple nutmeg icing.

I know what you're craving. Because I'm craving it, too. Something indulgent. But not overly indulgent. Sweet. But not too sweet. Something warm and tender, and laced with all of the holiday spices you've been shaking and dashing and pinching with abandon. Something using up that leftover half cup of pumpkin sitting in the fridge.

Are you with me?  Are ya feelin' me? 

Then let's get sconed.

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Gluten-Free Muffin, Scone + Brunch Recipes

Here is my collection of favorite brunch-worthy gluten-free muffin, scone, and coffee cake recipes for breakfast in bed, brunch by a cozy fire, or a laid back morning spent reading the Sunday paper on a sunlight dappled patio.

I've also included my best egg recipes- easy frittatas and crustless quiches (my all time favorite brunch egg dish is the spicy Eggs Diavolo served on creamy polenta). And if you haven't tried one of my crustless quiches studded with roasted vegetables or my light but filling pasta frittata-- Babycakes, what are you waiting for? 

If you're going vegan continental, browse my bakery recipes for tender scones, tea breads, and warm, fall apart muffins. Or zap up a smoothie. 

There's no excuse to reach for the cold cereal box.

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Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones- Gluten-Free Recipe

Get Sconed.

Today was a good day. A strawberry and chocolate laced crusty on the outside tender on the inside kind of day. That's right. I got sconed. Here's the back story.

Shopping for groceries, I was in such an expansive mood post my double espresso (who isn't?) I thought I might try baking something fun and slightly indulgent for the weekend. The local organic strawberries at the market smelled beyond heavenly in their ripe and ruby lusciousness. Yes, I smell all my fruit and veggies before I buy. Don't you? The woman with the amber handled cane you see standing in the Whole Foods produce aisle sniffing tomatoes and berries and anything else she can get her one free hand on, Darling?

That would be me.

But I know what you really want to know is how I conjured such utter scone cuteness from troublesome gluten-free dough. Gluten-free dough is notoriously sticky and the baking mix directions suggested scooping the dough and making free-form drop shapes. Easy peasy? Yes. But I wanted more of a wedge shaped scone. Something pretty, suitable for tea time.

So using moist hands, I formed the dough into a rounded soda bread style shape- not unlike my Gypsy Soda Bread, in fact. I used a big sharp knife to score and cut the dough into eight triangles. Then I moved them- with a triangle shaped spatula- to my Exopat lined cookie sheet. I soothed and patted and baked them into the contented little wedges you see pictured.

Next time I might try rolling the dough out a little bit flatter and using cookie cutters to make a more biscuit-like shape. Just for fun.

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