Chard-Potato Soup and Cheddar Scones

Fall is here!  Well, not here here but it feels like it!  I'll take that.  My long run yesterday was cool, breezy and comfortable.  I haven't been able to say those words for a long, long time - or at least three months or so.  Our weekend wrapped up one of the craziest weeks we have had around my house - my running schedule suffered, the housework suffered and, needless to say, I'm glad I'm looking at a few empty spots on the calendar over the next two weeks.  In order to properly celebrate the change in the air, I felt soup was the most appropriate meal.  Our weekly menu said fajitas but that can be any night.  On the first weeknight with air this cool it had to be soup!  And my CSA had a huge bunch of chard in it this week.  Not much else but I won't complain.  This chard was beautiful...it had to be about 2 feet long per leaf and at least 20 leaves in the bunch.  I meant it when I said huge!

I am sorry that there's not really a recipe to share with you here.  It's a taste and adapt kind of recipe and I am so frequently putting a dash of this or that in it, I lose track.  But I can share a picture...



It was super easy - veggie broth and cubed potatoes simmered with some savory herbs and spices and onion and then sliced carrots and heaps of chard added to it.  It was thick, hearty and still healthy.  That is until I added a cheddar scone to go with it.  Not nearly as healthy, but what a complement!



I used my basic scone recipe and used less sugar, more salt and no vanilla.  I added in cheddar to the mix and then added a bit on top.  Perfect!

Cheddar Scones

Ingredients:

• 1 c flour


• 3/4 c whole wheat flour


• 2 1/2 t baking powder


• 1 1/2 t salt


• 1 T sugar


• 5-6 T milk or cream


• 1 egg


• 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese plus a bit more for garnishing if desired


• 1/3 c butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400


2. Mix all dry ingredients into bowl


3. Cut butter in until mixture looks like crumbs


4. Add egg, cheese and milk and either use hands or sturdy spoon to mix well.  Add milk in until mixture comes clean away from bowl sides, but isn't sticky.


5. Form dough into a round and cut into wedges.


6. Put wedges on baking sheet and add cheddar cheese on top if desired


7. Bake for about 12 -14 minutes in preheated oven.


8. Let cool and serve.

Hope you're enjoying beautiful weather wherever you are.  I am going to be thankful for today and the time my hubby and I got to spend enjoying our dinner with the cool breezes blowing.

Enjoy,
Sheri

Vanilla Scones

Okay, so looking over my lack of activity on here reminds me that it is a busy time of the year!  But I decided that yesterday I was going to bake.  No questions.  No excuses.  Baking.  And, I did.  I've had it on my to-do list for awhile that I wanted to do one more gift for the daycare moms, and of course, I thought of scones.  I love the mini baby vanilla scones at Sbux and have been wanting to make them....then I saw this recipe on King Arthur for Vanilla Scones.  They call it a basic scone with ideas for add-ins, but I left them as is on the recipe and added a vanilla flavored glaze to replicate the baby scones, which are drenched in an awesome vanilla bean glaze.  Mine was not nearly as decadent. 

 

They turned out so tasty...even if I did leave them in the oven a twinge too long..I was thinking of full size scones and I made mini ones.  Oops.  The texture was perfect...flaky and dense all at the same time with almost a melt in your mouth texture.  The perfect baby scone!  I hope the daycare moms enjoyed their little gift before the holiday as much as I enjoyed making them for them!

Merry Christmas everyone.  I am planning a waffle bar brunch for Christmas morning with my family, my sister's family and my daughter's boyfriend.  I'm looking forward to creating a new tradition!