Now this is a Scone.

Named "The Best Scone I Have Ever Had" by Cathy (Mom). 

It must have been the butter. . .or the shortening. . .or maybe it was the Half n' Half. 

I wanted to make scones this morning because my friend Jen was coming over for coffee. Jen and I used to be loyal patrons of just about every downtown Battle Creek coffee shop after our four day a week 7:15 AM Calculus class. Now we just get together for coffee whenever we can sans Calculus, which is a lot more fun. 

With less than a hour before Jen arrived I browsed Food Network for a five star "Easy" recipe. I found this recipe from Alton Brown, and it was great. My only modifications were using half n' half instead of cream and I added dried cherries and a handful of chocolate chips. Not the best idea for breakfast every morning, but a great brunch or breakfast treat for special occasions. 

P.S. Back 2 School tomorrow. :(

Scookies

What do you get when you cross a scone + a cookie = scookie, of course (not to be confused with Snooki). Alright, alright - I'm done with the lame jokes for today. 

The first morning of 2011 started out with Currant (Raisin) and Oat Scones from Martha's Everyday Food magazine. My Grandma received a subscription for this magazine for free last year with another subscription and has been passing them along to me ever since. It is a great little mag because most of the recipes can be easily modified to use less processed ingredients, whole grains, etc., and many of the recipes already utilize "clean" ingredients.  

It was indeed a "Healthy Start" as intended. The recipe is not available online yet but it called for half wheat/half all purpose flour, raisins, oats, a few tablespoons sugar, baking powder, an egg, a little bit of butter, and buttermilk. My modifications: currants subbed for raisins, 1/2% milk substituted for buttermilk , and the addition of half an orange worth of zest. 

They turned out a little flat. They look like cookies and unfortunately didn't taste like them, but for Scookies they were pretty great. In my limited experience with (coffee shop) scones they are generally so dry that they crumble when you look at them or heavy and sweet with icing (I don't get it). 

The end result was a moist, filling and tasty scone that I didn't regret eating before my mid-morning run. :D

Celebrating the New Year

Welcome 2011! Twenty-ten was a good year full of new experiences, places and faces. That being said it is always fun to start the new year with a "clean slate." I have only made one resolution (more like goal) for this year. . .

To run a half-marathon! The training has started, the race selected, and the cause still undetermined but I have two that I am mulling over and will make that decision soon. I am excited for the challenge, but slightly scared to be attempting it alone. I have been thinking about this goal for a month or so, going back and forth in my head and I have decided that there is no physical reason I can't do this and really only good can come out of it - mentally and physically. And if I am able, I should!


*Mind over matter, mind over matter, mind over matter.*


So, lets get back to what you came here to read about - food, duh. Last night my family and I rang in the new year with some great food and even better friends! We went over to our good friends The Morel's house and celebrated the new year Morel-Curtis-Smith-Shear/Tanoff-LD style.


Here are a few pictures of food and friends from the last night of 2010:

Val's Chex-Mix creation - white chocolate, cinnamon, orange - yum!

Mol, Val and a creeper. 

My (first) plate.

Mrs. Morel's Mulled Cider - must.get.recipe.

P.S. And how can I forget the delicious lunch I had at BC's newest restaurant - Malia. I had the Tortellini Carbonara, so so good. 

Alas, Real Food. . .

From holidays to finals to holidays, my diet has been less than ideal the past month or so. However I think last nights dinner was a step in the right direction. I made Vegetarian Time's Chickpea Tangine featured in their Healing Foods Cookbook special issue.

I loved this dish! I served it on top of some Near East Long Grain and Wild Rice which made the dish in my opinion. 


Cumin was in short supply in our pantry, so I fell a little bit short of a teaspoon - which ended up being alright. The dish had a great balance of sweet and spicy, and the parsley and Greek yogurt garnishes added a cool and refreshing touch. 


I loved the currants in this dish and so the only future change I may make to the dish is adding more currants (probably closer to 1/3 cup instead of 1/4). 

P.S. Finally catching up on Top Chef All Stars and Carla just won a trip to Italy! Hooray!

A Very Merry Christmas

'Twas a very merry Christmas this year. . .

. . .there was some of this. . .

. . .but mostly just a lot of that.

What was the best part of your holiday?

Food Philosophy 2011?

Once again, sorry for the blogging hiatus. Tonight is my last final and then I am all yours. But if you can't read something I write how about the next best thing, Mark Bittman.

Here is a great article he wrote in the new issue of Bon Appetit (should be noted - Barbara Fairchild's last issue). In 2011 I am hoping to strive for a similar approach to food that Mark outlines in his article.

Image Courtesy of Bon Appetit

Any food or healthy living goals for 2011?

Holiday Hustle and New Food Obsessions

It was another fun-filled sister weekend. Molly came for a visit and we enjoyed good food, coffee and grocery store adventures. She also drove me to Dexter to run in the Holiday Hustle sponsored by Running Fit. I just completed the Running 101 class at Running Fit, it was a great motivator and I really enjoyed having a small group to run with.

It was so nice and sisterly of Molly to stand out in the freezing cold weather with me pre-race and while I was running - at which point she got a free coffee thermos, hot chocolate and pictures of ice sculptures. I think we are even now.

This was my third 5K this year. I finished in 34:07, about two minutes faster than my last, and about four minutes faster than my first race. I was hoping to do a little bit better; but considering I had the flu last week and have had a sore throat ever since getting over the flu - I am pretty proud of myself! I think I am ready to tackle some longer distances. . .

Following the race we headed straight for the Whole Foods hot bar - my newest obsession! I can always count on there being some fabulous BBQ pulled pork (something even this mostly-veg-girl can't resist) and at least one sweet potato dish. We shopped around Whole Foods, ooo-ing and ahh-ing, and then headed to the slightly more affordable Trader Joe's for dessert.

TJ's lead me to my second newest food obsession - Joe Joe's, TJ's version of Oreos with all natural ingredients and vanilla beans in the filling! Yum!

Hope you had a great weekend! Any new foods in your life?