Finally! Gluten Free Scones worthy of Praise!

1 Comment

My daughter was diagnosed last year with having gluten intolerance as well as lactose intolerance. If you are tested for celiac, and you come up negative but still have issues, they put you on the elimination diet. That timing coincided exactly with the holidays. I was in a fluster. I have grown up cooking and baking with flour my entire life. Going gluten free, wheat free as well as eliminating all dairy and dairy proteins over thanksgiving and christmas was just more than a little overwhelming. Gluten is hidden under all various forms and names, and so is that dairy protein. 

Well, after 8 very long weeks we have pinned it down to Gluten and Lactose. There are pills to help with lactose, so that has been a HUGE gift to me. But gluten? That one is tougher, and as a newbie to this style of cooking it was just easier to buy pre-made or go without. (As a family, we ALL adopted this lifestyle) 

That left out something I really excel at. Scones. I make really awesome scones, just ask around. I’m not bragging, just making a statement. It’s a combination of technique and knowing your ingredients. My mouth waters just with the thought of them. A dollop of Devonshire cream or Marscapone and I kid you not, heaven on this earth. 

I have been attempting to re-create a Gluten Free (GF) version, using GF flours, mixing my own flour ratio, adding in extra fat, tweaking here and there and all were failures. I kept ending up with grainy, tough, heavy, dry and not very tasty lead bombs. The most successful attempt was tasty but like eating sand, generally not acceptable in my kitchen nor any kitchen. Then, while searching the web for tips, I saw a video for Pamelas’ Baking Mix. I actually saw it while researching for pizza crust, another thing I’ve been unsuccessful in reproducing. She was using her bread mix, but there were links to her ‘baking’ mix. I guess you could sort of equate it to Bisquick, but its not Bisquick. I proceeded to read all the reviews on it, and it received glowing comments on its ability to substitute very closely for real flour. 

Hmmmmm, I thought, maybe I can try this and see how they turn out? I scooped it as directed, I added just a smidge more fat, a little less baking powder (the mix has some in it) and mixed up a batch. It was loose, so instead of forming a disc, I used a batter scooper and ‘dropped’ it on to my sheet pans, garnished with sugar crystals and popped in to the oven. I adjusted the time to compensate for smaller scones and a looser batter. Pulled them out and put them in front of my daughter piping hot with a tub of Marscapone. 

“THESE ARE AWESOME MOM!!!!”

Dang if my heart didn’t just swell up! She had been missing my scones for months now, and I fear was getting very tired of being a guinea pig. There are some days that just ROCK as a mom, and this was one! The only downside was they looked kinda/sorta like cookies. Food, whether we want to admit it or not, is a visual experience. I wanted my scones to look like scones. That is when hubby, who I’ll confess has moments of true brilliance, said: “You need a mold”. Seriously, why didnt I think of that? I’ve seen them in my cooking magazines and I’ve always thought to myself: “Why would anyone need a mold? Just pat it in to a disc and cut it in to triangles with a bench knife”. Well, those molds may not have been designed specifically for GF scones, but its on my ‘to buy’ list as of now. 

Some days are good days, and then there are some ROCKIN good days. Making my GF daughter GF scones I could be proud of makes this a ROCKIN good day. 

I have a ‘guy’ who sells me my meat.

I haven’t always had a meat resource, but I am blessed to have a dear friend who facilitated my desire to source locally raised animals, so now I can happily say I have a local farmer who I can turn to when I need to stock my freezer full of meat.

Todd the Meat Guy (as I lovingly call him) is a sweet farmer one state over (about 40 minutes drive) who raises lambs, hogs and cattle with his family. I met him when my friend called and asked me if I wanted to go in on a half hog with her from a local farmer. There wasn’t a moments hesitation, as I had been searching around for a local source anyway.

When I first called ‘Todd the Meat Guy’ about my hog, he shared that his family is known for its lamb, but they were also starting to get serious in to raising grass fed beef cattle. Well, when life gives you lemons…

So, back to the present. This morning, driving home from church I get a call from Todd regarding this years order. You see, one year I forgot to call early enough in the fall and I missed out on my pork. As foodies the world around can agree, life without bacon is not a life worth living. I now am diligent to call EARLY every fall and get on the list.

So why would I post about local sourcing & meat prices on a blog called ‘Rockin the Mom Role’? Because I feel a good part of my job as the ‘mom’ is to get healthy and cost efficient food on my family’s table.

Might I pass on a few pearls of my wisdom?

Find your own “Todd the Meat Guy”. It’s really not as hard as you think. Just start talking to your friends, their friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, church, grandparents, ect. If you live in an urban area, you can talk to restaurants, who promote a locally grown menu, for their sources. Cooking stores often have names of local producers. Even eggs and chicken can be locally sourced. I have a friend through church who has hens in her yard. There honestly is no comparing those mass produced eggs with the eggs from her, lovingly cared for, hens raised in her backyard.

So, I’ll be pulling out of my freezer some grass fed, 97% lean, mighty tasty ground beef to make sloppy joes made from scratch. Maybe tomorrow will be pork chops, or lamb burgers. Instead of running to the grocery, I can shop in the comfort of my basement. And when I run low, its time to call Todd.

Todd & A Well Stocked Freezer

Aside 8 Comments

Halloween Came Early…

Leave a comment

I am currently sitting here, in my spot, at the kitchen table and had to share with my fledgling community of friends and followers the intense joy I am feeling. 

To my left is a gaggle of girls. I use that term endearingly, having raised two and having had young ladies trooping in and out of my house for years. When there are more than three, it becomes a gaggle. Ask anyone who has experience of more than three women together. Talk gets fast, increasingly louder, giddy, giggly, you know, girlie!

Here in Minnesota, October is the month of MEA. Basically, it’s a convenient, state mandated day off for teachers to ‘educate’ themselves. Thus, basically its two days off for the kids. Offspring #2 is a senior in High School. As seniors, they got off a day early as the rest of the school is in testing. (They do pre-ACT’s for the younger grades) As seniors, they are celebrating by having a pumpkin carving extravaganza, and decorating store bought cookies. Yes, I did offer to make them, but was turned down by offspring #2. To be honest, I was disappointed and relieved at the same time. I love planning parties, and offspring #2 knows that. I think she inherited a bit of control freak from me, as she wanted to do this – HER WAY. (I’m dating myself, but i’m reminded of the Burger King commercials)

I had a bible study tonight, so hubby saved the bacon by setting up the banquet tables in the garage for them to do their ‘biz’ with the pumpkin until I got home. 

Now they are in the kitchen, around my island with frosting flying, black teeth, and the beginnings of a sugar high. And I am in heaven. 

I think about the fact I have a senior. I have been a stay at home mom for 18 years. Staring at that number, I cant help but think 18 looks like a small number. That is, until I put it in perspective. I’ve been through 3 moves; many friends who have come, gone and stayed; I’m nearly 2 decades older, and I’ve seen 3 presidents in office during that time. I have been a mom nearly 2/3rds of my life. This year will fly by. It did with offspring #1 and I know it will with this one. What will it look and feel like this time next year? Where will be the gaggle of giggling girls, excitement and joyful noise filling every corner of my house? It is something I look forward to with anticipation and trepidation. The fear of the unknown, the anxiety of entering a new phase of my life and redefining ‘who’ I am. 

I’ll worry about that later. For now, I am in my own little slice of heaven. Thank you Lord for all the blessings you have given me. Truly, it is the riches of the heart that are more precious than all the gold of this earth.

ps) I am one who struggles with technology. I have not mastered yet how to post pictures, but when I do, I will attach them. I apologize in advance for the lack of visual cohesion. Its a joyful mess here.