Sunday, June 14, 2009

Scrumptious Scones and Berries



Scones and Berries

4 c flour
1 c + 2 T sugar
2 T baking powder
1 t salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
2 c +2 T heavy cream
4 pints berries

1. Combine flour, 3/4 sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Cut in butter until mix is a course meal. (A potato masher works really well. Make sure your butter is room temp. Don't melt it!)
2. Blend 2 c heavy cream into mix. Place onto clean work surface. (Better off a floured surface. Or put down parchment paper-- easy cleanup.)
3. Press dough with palm of hand until 1" thick. Use large biscuit or cookie cutter to cut scones out. Place scones on baking sheet. (Or form plum-sized balls and place them on the baking sheet. Then press down with the palm of your hand until 1" thick and about 4" around. Make sure they are placed a couple inches apart.)
4. Refrigerate scones on baking sheet for 1 hour. (I covered the baking sheet with Saran wrap before refrigerating.)
5. Combine berries and 1/4 c sugar and let sit for 30 minutes. (I smashed some of the berries into the mixture. It's fun and tasty.)
6. Preheat oven to 400. (And do the baking dance.)
7. Remove scones from refrigerator.
8. Whisk together egg + 2 T heavy cream. Brush egg wash on scones and sprinkle with sugar.
9. Bake scones for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 350. Continue baking for 25 minutes until golden brown. (Lovely, lovely golden brown)
10. Cool scones on baking rack. (Smell the yumminess.)
11. Serve scones with berries in a fancy compote dish or paper plate. (No chance of soggy-ing the plate, they won't be there long.)

- Martha Stewart Living
featuring commentary by Silly Bee's Chickadee



Click on the image below to print out your very own recipe card!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

She's Got a Ticket to Ride!

We had a blast at Disney World! About an hour after we arrived, a giant tropical depression crushed my character hunting plan, but it didn't dampen our spirits. I have a bunch of pictures to share, but I'll try to group them into themes as I post them.

Today's theme is Disney rides. They were AWESOME! The whole ride experience, from the props in the waiting lines, to the ride operators' scripts, was amazing. I was totally impressed. I highly recommend all of them, although, the Dinosaur ride is a bit scary for the littles, as you will see below.

A few of the indoor rides have cameras to take your picture while you're on the ride. These are some of those. Our travel companion's friend gave us hints as to where the cameras were hidden within the ride, so we had some fun with them. Enjoy!



This fabulous ride, Expedition Everest, is in the Animal Kingdom and not to be missed! The pre-ride area is in the Yeti Museum which has all kinds of artifacts from Yeti sightings. It's really cool. The ride is so fast, that you can forget to look around, but try to. Disney's ride tunnels are so beautifully designed that you don't want to miss anything!




Dinosaur, also in Animal Kingdom, is just like riding through the scariest scenes in Jurassic Park. There are tons of animatronic dinosaurs lurking about and plenty of darkness to keep your heart racing. This picture makes me happy and a bit sad at the same time. Note the family in the middle, these two little boys were TERRIFIED! I felt so bad for them and didn't actually realize it until the end of the ride when we purchased our ride picture. I would be scared too if my dad was eaten by a big meanie green dinosaur like theirs was.





This last picture is from the Buzz Lightyear ride in the Magic Kingdom. It's more of a game/ride than a thrill ride. You sit in little cars that twist and turn as they travel through a maze of space scenes. There are two ray guns in the car that you can use to shoot targets and rack up space ranger points. At the end of the ride, you can look up your score on a tally board to see if you are a lowly Star Cadet, a tubular Galactic Hero or one of the ranks between. Very fun.