An Early Scone Season: Cranberry Almond Scones

Sunday was a beautiful dry and breezy day.  The evening was cool and delightful. So what the heck, I thought, let's brave it and not turn the air conditioner on tonight.  I am somewhat addicted to the white noise of my air conditioner.  I think my pup Sweetpea is too.  It blocks out all the random street (and air) noises that are a part of suburban living.  I usually hate the air conditioner-to-open-window transition period.  The drone of airplanes and distant trains, the sound of the newspaper delivery person's car and the "FLOP" of the paper hitting the sidewalk, not to mention the scream of a motorcycle at 2:00AM tearing down the Southern State Parkway, all drive me crazy.  Oh, and how can I forget the birds? I thought birds woke up at dawn. Not in my neighborhood!  At 3:00AM they're having a party.  If I manage to sleep through any of these annoyances, Sweetpea does not.

Much to my AMAZEMENT, it was an eerily quite night. I had a wonderful night's sleep. It was so quiet I don't even think Sweetpea woke up until the newspaper was delivered....not bad. I can't help but wonder, what happened to the birds?  And the strangest thing of all....I was cold!  Yes, it was downright chilly!  I pried myself from under the covers and headed to the kitchen  It was 53degrees outside.  I don't know what the temperature was inside the house, but since we had left several windows open, there was a definite nip in the air.  

A perfect reason to light the oven I thought.  I checked out the pantry and my eyes focused on a sack of oat flour that I picked up at the King Arthur Baker's Center in Vermont a few weeks ago.  I had some buttermilk that I wanted to use up as well.

 and then I remembered my new fluted cutters from King Arthur's...

SCONES!   ...It's a perfect morning for scones. 

Millions of Peaches...Peaches for Me! Peach Chutney

Peaches, peaches and more peaches!  I thought this year I would make some peach preserves.  I've changed my mind however, since I made plenty of blueberry and strawberry jam earlier this summer, and I'm planning on making a truckload of apple butter this fall. I decided to change things up a bit and make some peach chutney instead.  Peach chutney?  Why peach chutney you ask?  Because I like peach chutney! It can turn a plain piece of chicken or pork chop into something special.  Sometimes I'll grill a spice rubbed pork tenderloin, slice and serve with chutney for a quick mid-week dinner. I LOVE peach chutney on a turkey burger.  As a matter of fact, I substitute my peach chutney for Major Grey's chutney when I make these http://www.oprah.com/food/Mar-a-Lago-Turkey-Burger.  Yes, you can buy chutney in the gourmet section of the grocery store, but you will pay dearly for it.  Trader Joe's has a decent chutney, but for some reason they don't always have it in stock. Homemade is so much better. It's one of those things that you don't think you need, but if you have it on hand, an interesting meal is just minutes away. I made a smallish batch, and it should last me the year. If you haven't done any canning, you can refer to my entry http://kitchencatharsis.blogspot.com/2010/08/jam-session.html.
So let's get down to business and make some chutney.

Isn't That Just Peachy: Peach Blueberry Cake

When I started this blog, I fully intended to write at least one entry a week.  I've been negligent.  It's not that I haven't been cooking; far from it.  I've just been enjoying summer too much.  I have a ton of pictures and quite a few recipes that I planned on blogging about.  I've written the blogs in my head.  I usually do that when I have trouble sleeping, which is quite often.  I have to restrain myself from getting out of bed in the middle of the night and jumping on the computer.  I've learned that can be counterproductive to my sleep cycle. So my big dilemma is, where do I start?  Since I am smelling the aroma of freshly baked peach blueberry cake, I guess I will start there.

Blueberry Jam Session

Blueberries are still showing up at the farmer's market.  If you love blueberries, you should consider putting up some blueberry jam.  I did.  Now I have little jars of summer sitting in my pantry, ready to open on a bleak winter's day.  But you had better hurry....blueberries won't be around much longer.

                                            

                                   

If you haven't done any canning, you should do a little reading first.  This is a good site, loaded with information http://www.pickyourown.org/water_bath_canning_directions.php . Don't let canning frighten you.  Generally speaking, be sure you read through your recipe and plan to do your canning on a day when you do not feel rushed and you can give it your full attention. There are no safe shortcuts when it comes to canning.  Blueberry jam is a great place to start.  It is practically foolproof.  The addition of lime to this jam makes it something special.

Manhattan Clam Chowder Rules!

It has been my experience that one either thinks of oneself as a Manhattan clam chowder person or a New England clam chowder person.  It is rare to meet someone with equal admiration for both.  Sure, a curious mind may be drawn to "taste the other side", but one's allegiance usually brings them right back.
But how is it determined?   I was thinking it is much like the nature vs. nurture debate.  Are we born  "tabula rasa" and our experiences determine what we become?  Or are we genetically predisposed, a product of our ancestors?  Or....is taste, just a matter of taste....????
I grew up on Long Island, 20 miles from Manhattan.  Both my parents were raised in NYC.   My mom always made Manhattan clam chowder. I don't know of anything else.   My mom did not always write her recipes down.  This is pretty darn close to her recipe.