Blueberry Scones

The cucumbers are growing at record speed!  I believe Richard said during the entire month of June and part of July........the garden is not doing good.   I would just shake my head and say.........u-hu.  Every year he starts stressing and so far every year has proved stress was for nothing.  Cucumbers are being picked every three days.  Today I picked and there is enough to make sweet pickle relish.  Once the lawn is mowed we will go out to buy red and green peppers for the late afternoon relish making.  The next picking of cukes will be for mustard relish.  I have never made it, mom always did so why not dig out Della's recipe and give it a try.  After all I am a mustard person, ketchup never.  I still have one more batch of dill pickles to do (new recipe using grape leaves), they are suppose to keep the pickles extra crispy.  We shall see and will report the findings around October, if we can wait that long.  If enough jars are left I will make a few bread and butter pickles.  I'm the only one that likes them so they are way down on the priority list.

You can be thin & wrinkly, or you can have another bowl of banana pudding and fluff that stuff out! 

No luck at the Amish for fresh vegetables.  Their sign said open Thursday and Friday.  Tomorrow we are off to Rochester with friends.  Their DIL takes her baked goods to a Farmer's Market on Tuesdays.  I'm excited to see what goodies will be offered.  I love Farmer's Markets, the vendors are always friendly and more than happy to talk about their goods for sale.  Just in case I am taking my cooler.  Rochester is surrounded by lakes and is on Lake Ontario.  When farm lands are near the big lakes they have rich soil and produce earlier crops than we do even though we are farther south.  The Finger Lakes is surrounded by rich farm lands.  From grapes, apples, pears, all kinds of berries and vegetables the fresh produce stands are plentiful.  In the fall the drive around one or more of the lakes is amazing with the smell of grapes.  The views are are worth the drive not to mention the roadside stands with fresh baked grape pies and other pastries made with grapes.  It's always fun to stop at the many wineries for samples.  Pleasant Valley Winery is one of my favorites.  They give a nice tour and tell the history of the Taylor Winery.  The castle like building, furniture, wine equipment and wine cellars are very interesting.  At the end of the tour they offer their specialty wines for tasting.  Watkins Glen is a nice stop for lunch.  We like the Wildflower Cafe.  It has organic meats and vegetables.  The salad I had with Niagara Grape Vinaigrette was the best salad I have had. The chili was also good with fresh made corn chips.  Dick liked the custom brewed beer from the Rooster Fish Brewing Co. that the Wildflower serves.  Wow!  From Amish in Ulysses to beer in Watkins Glen, my mind can spin.

Happy our blueberries are still giving us a pint every few days.  With the ones I picked this morning I made blueberry scones for supper.  If you have never made scones they are easy and delicious.  Panera makes really good scones but they put a lot of frosting on, I'm not complaining because I love sweet.  I sprinkled a little white sugar on before baking.  Butter on a warm scone is good too.

Blueberries picked this morning ♡

Scones with the fresh blueberries ♡

BLUEBERRY BUTTERMILK SCONES

~ Yields 8 ~

· 2 Cups Unbleached Flour

· 1/4 Cup Sugar , plus 1 Tablespoon for sprinkling

· Zest of one Lemon

· 1 3/4  Teaspoon Baking Powder

· 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

· 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

· 6 Tablespoons Cold Unsalted Butter ~ cut into 1/2 inch squares

· 3/4 Cup Buttermilk

· 1 Cup Blueberries

· 1 Egg ~ lightly beaten

Equipment: Large Bowl, Baking Sheet, Parchment Paper, Pastry Brush, Cooling Rack

Note ~ If using fresh berries, place them in the freezer for as long as possible, this will help the berries maintain their shape when mixing the dough.

Preheat oven to 425F and make sure that your rack is positioned in the center of your oven.

Line your baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and set aside.

Place flour, 1/4 cup sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into you medium bowl and mix until all ingredients are combined.

Add the cubed butter and cut into flour mixture with a pastry cutter, or you can easily rub the butter between your fingers until the butter breaks up into small pieces. Alternatively, you can use a food processor with a metal blade attachment. Simply add in the butter and pulse a few times at 1-second intervals until the butter is cut into smaller pieces. ~ If using a food processor, return mixture to your large bowl once butter is cut.

Add the blueberries and toss a few times in the flour and butter mixture, then pour in the buttermilk. With 2 forks, begin to fluff the mixture until the dough begins to come together in thick clumps.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and press the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches in diameter and about 1 inch thick.

Cut dough into 8 equal wedges and place onto prepared baking sheet.

Brush the tops of the scones with a little bit of the whisked egg and sprinkle with a pinch of sugar.

Place in the oven and bake for about 14-17 minutes, or until firm and golden. Be sure to rotate your rack halfway through the baking time.

Transfer to a rack and let for for a few minutes and enjoy!