blueberry scones.

I am not a morning person. Over the years I have fallen in love with the idea of being one, but my body just will not give into it. I used to think this was merely due to the fact that I tend to go to bed very late at night, but I realized that even when I go through periods of falling asleep at a reasonable hour, I still cannot function prior to about ten in the morning. This got even worst after I had children, since now I am required to crawl out of our warm bed, carry the kids downstairs, prepare breakfast (albeit usually just a couple of toaster waffles and microwave veggie sausage), fill cups of milk, and do other various parental duties. In between all this, I am usually either stumbling around with an angry look on my face or falling in and out of consciousness while sitting up on the sofa. Coffee can usually help all of this, but truth be told, it usually takes me about two hours after waking up to gather the energy to make some myself.

This all being said, every once in awhile something unusual happens. The kids will wake me up and I will hop out of bed with a smile and an odd amount of fuel. I have absolutely no idea what brings these rare days on, but I truly appreciate them. The other morning, I had such a day- I awoke feeling refreshed and ready to start my day. After getting some blogging done and spending some time playing with the boys, I decided that I wanted something more than a bowl of cereal for breakfast. We have had a lot of blueberries around here lately since London is obsessed with them, so I chose to go with some fresh blueberry scones, courtesy of the Rose Bakery cookbook. They came out perfect- tart from the orange zest and sweet from the coating of brown sugar on top. I enjoyed mine with a cup of steaming hot black tea and a pile of dried cranberries on the side.

Now, if only these mornings could occur more frequently, then I'd be happy.



Blueberry Scones: recipe from Breakfast, Lunch, Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 handful of wheatgerm, whole wheat flour, or cornmeal (optional)
2 very heaped tablespoons baking powder
2 heaped tablespoons of superfine sugar
1 teaspoon salt
grated zest of 1 lemon or 1 orange
scant 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus extra for greasing
2 handfuls blueberries
2 eggs
about 1 1/4 cups whole, semi-skimmed, or soy milk
1 tablespoon demerara (light brown) sugar
cream fraiche, to serve

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease a baking tray with butter.

Sift the all-purpose flour into a bowl and add the wheatgerm or whole wheat flour or cornmeal, if using. Mix in the baking powder, superfine sugar and salt, then add the butter and rub in with your fingers until the mixture resembles fresh breadcrumbs. Mix in the lemon or orange zest. Add the blueberries and mix well.

Beat one of the eggs in a measuring cup, then add enough milk to reach the 1 1/4 cup level.

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, pour in the liquid, and use a fork to work in the dry ingredients. Finish by hand but without overworking the mixture- just lightly bring everything together to form a softish but firm dough If it is too dry add a little more milk, and if it's too sticky add some more flour. It must not be sticky at all.

On a lightly floured surface, pat or roll the dough into a solid shape about 1 1/4 inches thick. Using a 2-inch cutter, cut the dough into rounds and place them on the greased baking tray so that they almost touch. Beat the remaining egg and use to glaze the tops of the scones.

Sprinkle with the demerara sugar and bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.

The scones will stick together, so take them gently apart when they have cooled a little.

Serve warm with creme fraiche.