Irish Soda Bread Scones

If you are in the mood for the flavor of Irish Soda Bread- you can get the same wonderful experience in a scone. I made a batch of these this morning. Perfect with some recently made blueberry jam and a fresh cup of tea. Now if I only have some Devonshire cream. I used golden raisins, but you could use regular raisins, currants, or even leave them out.

  Irish Soda Bread Scones

2 c. flour

3 T. sugar

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

½ t. salt

1/3 c. butter

½ c. golden raisins

1 t. caraway seeds

2/3 c. buttermilk

1 egg

Milk

Extra sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds. Beat together buttermilk and egg and add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until mixture just coming together. Turn onto floured surface and knead 5-6 strokes or until ball of dough holds together. Dust an 8-inch round cake with  flour. Press dough into cake pan. Invert pan over onto prepared baking sheet. I find if I do this quickly the dough comes out more easily. Remove cake pan. This will give you a perfect 8-inch circle of dough. With a sharp, floured knife cut dough into 8 wedges. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with extra sugar. Bake 14-16 minutes. Makes 8.

Blueberry Cheesecake Pie

I wanted to make a fruit pie, but with a twist. I had a container of homemade blueberry pie filling in the freezer. It wasn’t enough for a whole pie. A carton of ricotta cheese inspired me to combine two of my favorite desserts into one. I decided to use the ricotta to make a cheesecake like layer and then use the pie filling as a topper. It worked out great. I was lucky that my friend, Jared, had stopped over so I let him be my official taster. He gave it two enthusiastic thumbs up. With his endorsement I decided to share the recipe with all of you. I will definitely be making this one again soon. Maybe I’ll use cherry pie filling the next time.

Blueberry Cheesecake Pie

Pastry for 2 crust pie- recipe- The crust recipe I used is at the bottom of the page

Cheesecake filling:
1 (15 oz.) carton ricotta cheese, full fat preferred
½ c. sugar
2 eggs
Zest of half an orange
Combine cheese and sugar and mix until smooth. Stir in eggs and zest and set aside.

Blueberry filling:
1½c. blueberry pie filling- I used homemade
Roll out half of the crust and place in 8 or 9-inch pie pan. You can roll out the top crust ahead of time, or even cut into strips for a lattice top. Cover remaining crust to keep it from drying out. Spoon cheese mixture into prepared crust. Spoon the blueberry pie filling over the cheese mixture. Top with the second crust or place strips on in a lattice design. If using a whole crust cut in decorative slits for ventilation. Moisten then crimp edges and shape decoratively or use a fork to seal. Place pie in lower half of hot oven. Bake in a preheated 425-degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and bake an additional 40-50 minutes or until crust is brown and juices begin to bubble through the slits. It edges start to brown too quickly, cover them with foil. Cool, then chill,  before serving.

Flaky Pie Crust

2 c. flour
1 t. salt
3/4 c. shortening, chilled – I used chilled coconut oil-  you can also use butter or lard
1 T. cider vinegar
4-5 T. cold water

Combine flour and salt and cut in shortening. Toss in vinegar and water 1 tablespoon at a time until dough holds together. Use a fork to toss the ingredients together and as soon as the mixture holds together stop adding water. Makes 2. Chill well before using.

Fresh from the oven. Cool, then chill, before serving.

I was happy to be on New Day Cleveland yesterday. I always have such a nice time. Thanks to Natalie and the whole crew for making me feel welcome.

Scavenger Stir Fry

When I got a call from my Godson last night, asking if he could stop in for a visit,  I was delighted. He lives in another town and we don’t see each other that often. He wasn’t going to get here until 9 pm, so I wasn’t sure if he would want dinner. I decided to cook some rice and then I could make a stir fry, if needed. As it turned out, he did come hungry. When people ask me about favorite meals, I must admit I often go to a stir fry. I usually have a decent array of veggies and all I needed to do was figure out a protein to add. It really turned into a scavenger hunt for ingredients. What I found was onions, cabbage, pea pods and a red sweet pepper for the veggies. For the protein, I really didn’t have much, but I remembered I had some ham. Great, something easy to add that was already cooked. For extra crunch, I also added a generous handful of cashews. Dinner was ready in no time at all, and it was well received. When making a stir fry add the vegetables that require longer cooking first.

Scavenger Stir Fry

oil

 1 onion, sliced

2 c. shredded cabbage

8 oz. fresh pea pods

1 sweet red pepper, seeded and chopped

2 c. cubed ham

handful of cashews- 2 handfuls if you have small hands

vegetarian oyster sauce

 soy sauce

sesame oil

Heat oil in skillet or wok and add the onions, stirring often until they are wilted. Add the cabbage and stir fry a few more minutes. Add pea pods and peppers and stir fry until veggies are tender crisp. Add ham, cashews and seasonings, to taste. Heat through and serve over rice or hot cooked pasta. Serves 2-3.

Asparagus Irene

Naming a recipe can be tricky. Sometimes I just list the ingredients in the dish- like chicken with pineapple and honey. That works, but feels a little like cheating to me. I started out calling this Asparagus with Eggs, which was fine. As I started writing out the description I was thinking about my Mom and how she loved asparagus. She always wanted the bigger ones- she said they had more flavor. I remember her showing me how to break the bottom of the stalks off and how she would cook them until they were just done- not mushy. She wouldn’t consider eating canned asparagus- only fresh- so the season was short. It was something to be savored while it lasted. Most times we just placed the stalks on a plate, topped them with a pat of butter and a sprinkle of salt. One time, though, she made a white sauce and poured it over the asparagus. It was bliss. So in her memory- I named the dish after her.

For this version I used a white sauce, but topped the asparagus with 2 poached eggs first. It was a lovely dish and made for a great dinner. Here is the recipe.

Asparagus Irene

1 lb. fresh asparagus, washed and stems trimmed

white sauce- recipe follows

fresh lemon, cut in wedges

2 eggs

vinegar- for the poaching water

salt and pepper to taste

Put the asparagus in a steamer and cook for about 5 minutes- or until almost done. Set aside. Make white sauce, but add some lemon juice to it. I just kept squeezing lemon wedges in until it tasted right to me. Set sauce aside. Boil some water in a shallow pan and add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water. Drop the two eggs in and simmer, covered until the whites are opaque and the yolks are still runny. While the eggs are cooking return the asparagus to the heat and cook until just tender. Place asparagus on a serving dish. Sprinkle with a little salt. Gently place the eggs on top of the asparagus. Spoon some of the white sauce over the eggs. You will have more sauce than you need. Save it for another use. Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley, if you like. Finish with some salt and fresh ground pepper. Serves 2.

Basic White Sauce (Bechamel)

The start of many a classic dish.

2 T. butter or oil
2 T. flour
1 1/4 c. warmed milk
salt and pepper to taste

In saucepan melt butter or heat oil and add flour, stirring until smooth. Slowly whisk in milk, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Turn heat down and continue to cook, stirring constantly for a couple minutes longer. Season to taste. If you are going to store the sauce for later use place a layer of wax paper on top, store in a container with a lid or pour a little milk over the top to prevent a skin from forming. Makes about 1 c.

Lemon: Add zest of a lemon, 2 T. lemon juice and 2 T. butter just before serving.