Coconut-Lime Scones

Coconut-Lime Scones

This recipe began from this basic recipe for Coconut-Lime Scones from the Eat This Poem blog. If you haven’t checked out this blog yet you really should. The authoress, Nicole, dishes up both poetry and food, feeding every part of her readers’ souls. I’ve often thought of doing something similar with my blog, but I just haven’t decided how I want to do that yet. I love her method of grating cold (frozen) butter. I’d never heard of that before, but I think it’s BRILLIANT. Two weekends ago some friends from Flagstaff came down to visit us in the desert. On Saturday morning we made a massive brunch at our house and we all ate in the backyard. It was a ton of fun. I made chipotle pumpkin pancakes (recipe pending, as it still needs some tweaking) and these scones and Jake and Brad baked a whole pan of sausages for the guys. We had coffee and oj and (once 11am rolled around) beer. Of course, one of our favorite things to do when our friends come to visit is to make a massive pitcher of mojitos and set up croquet in the shared courtyard of our duplex complex. Yes, that’s right. An afternoon visit to us (particularly one where no one is planning on driving anywhere for hours afterward) usually begins and ends with cases of beer, rum and cokes and pitchers of mojitos. And croquet. Lots of croquet. Pictures of our friends and Emo, everyone’s favorite dog, are below the recipe. It was a great day for a game in the yard, as you will see.

Coconut-Lime Scones
6 tablespoons cold butter
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lime juice
Zest of 2 limes
1 egg
3/4 cup coconut milk, plus more for brushing

1. Grate the butter on a box grater and keep it in the freezer until you’re ready for it.
2. Whisk together the flours, sugar, coconut, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the egg, coconut milk, lime juice and lime zest in a small bowl.
3. Add the grated butter to the dry ingredients, and mix it until it resembles crumbs. Pour in the wet ingredients, and stir until the dough just holds together.
4. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 400F.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Flour a cutting board and form the dough into one 1 to 1 1/2-inch thick round, or two if you want your scones smaller.
7. Cut the round or rounds into triangles, then place each triangle on the baking sheet.
8. Brush reserved coconut milk on top, and sprinkle with extra sugar.
9. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown.
10. Serve either warm or at room temperature. If you are really fancy, find some lime curd (either by making it yourself or picking some up at Safeway) to increase the sugar content and the creamy citrus flavors.

My guy is always the most handsome ever. 🙂

Ki lines up a shot on a perfect day for croquet in the desert.

Rory is obviously amused.

Adam takes a shot; beer in hand.

Brad is always super classy.

These guys may all be cool, but Emo is always the star of the show.

Mulligatawny Soup

Mulligatawny Soup

Found this lovely recipe in Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard’s “How it All Vegan” cookbook. Just a reminder to everyone that there are links on the cookbook page that direct you right to the book’s Amazon.com page to buy it. All of the cookbooks I own were bought after an intense amount of scrutiny on my part and I recommend owning all of them if you’re looking for a good cookbook. So I took off on my little green bike after teaching a shorter class today and headed to Safeway to purchase bell peppers and tomatoes for the following recipe. The main reason we chose this recipe is because we have a big ol’ head of cauliflower sitting in the fridge that it just BEGGING to be used. Every time I open the door it looks at me and says: “Come on, Erin. I’m so bored in here. I’d rather be in your tummy.” Well cauliflower, I aim to please. This soup is delicious AND a really lovely, colorful recipe to set on a table in front of guests. I definitely recommend it. Next time I make this I will change 3 things: 1) I will add a tiny bit of salt to the soup, 2) I will use diced canned tomatoes to give the soup a bit more juice, 3) I will use coconut milk rather than shredded coconut because it will give a little more juice to the soup, which is really heavy on pieces of food and not as much on juices.

Mulligatawny Soup
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons soy sauce
6 cups vegetable stock
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 large potatoes, cut into cubes
1/2 cup rice
1 small red pepper, diced
1 small green pepper, diced
1 small tomato, diced
1 cup cauliflower, sliced
3/4 cup grated coconut
3 teaspoons lemon juice
3 teaspoons cilantro

1. In a large soup pot, saute the onions and celery in oil on medium heat till onions are translucent.
2. Add the cayenne, turmeric, coriander, curry, soy sauce, veggie stock, carrots, potatoes, and rice.
3. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
4. Add the peppers, tomato, cauliflower, coconut, lemon juice, and cilantro.
5. Stir together and simmer 5-10 minutes until vegetables are tender.
6. You can either blend all or half of the soup in a food processor or mash it up a bit with a potato masher (as I do) before returning to the heat for 3 minutes and then serving.