Irish Soda Bread Scones

For some reason I had a craving for Irish Soda Bread today . . . I can't imagine why! I decided to alter the recipe a bit - because I am incapable of cooking or baking anything according to recipe. The results were a little more flaky and fluffy than traditional soda bread, and since I baked them in scone shape - maybe I should just give up on calling them soda bread at all. Anyhow, they were impressively delightful.

Here's my altered recipe - these were super easy, 20 minutes to prep and about 20 in the oven.

Irish Soda Bread Scones

Preheat oven to 400 

In a large bowl stir together:

1 1/2 cups flour (I used a combo of whole wheat pastry and white)

1/4 cup date sugar (or slightly less white sugar)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Cut in: 

3/4 stick COLD butter

Mix the butter chunks into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the consistency is like grainy sand

Add: 

1/3 cup currants or raisins

Zest from one orange

Stir in:

1/2 cup buttermilk 

(for this step I added 1 tsp vinegar to 1/2 cup whole milk and let sit for 10 minutes because I didn't have any buttermilk on hand)

1 tsp vanilla

**Do not overmix! Once the flour mixture is fully incorporated, turn the dough onto a floured surface. Roll the dough over once or twice and form into a long rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into squares and cut squares on the diagonal.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes - until golden.

Serve plain or with butter and marmalade!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Breakfast Smoothie

There's nothing like a bonus Monday off! I even tricked myself into thinking I had to go to work today and got my workout out of the way by 8 AM. This means I can enjoy a leisurely breakfast curled up on the couch before I attempt any more productivity.

My breakfast today? A smoothie . . . surprise surprise! It wasn't my most creative, but it was still pretty delicious.

Berry Banana Smoothie

1 banana

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1 scoop greens powder

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup organic milk

BLEND and enjoy!!

Coffee Time

One of my favorite weekend rituals is making fresh coffee in the french press. Coffee in a french press always tastes better than an auto-drip. It's the simplest method for making coffee and requires minimal effort.

There's something about the pretty little glass jar that makes all the difference. Making coffee in a french press couldn't be simpler - it certainly takes less time than it took for me to take all these photos.

For a one serving french press I use 2 heaping scoops of fresh coarse ground french roast (or another dark roast).

Add coffee to french press

Fill french press with boiling water

Set timer for 4 minutes

Press coffee and ... done!

I like to add half and half (I hate skim or low fat milk in my coffee - yuck) and NO sugar, but that's just my taste! Sometimes a little cinnamon is nice - especially if you choose to steam the milk. Enjoy!

Homemade Limeade

Limes are so pretty. They're like little green lemons with more flavor.

The other night I made a delightful limeade with these pretty little citrus fruits. I used 3 simply ingredients. Fresh limes, amber agave nectar, and water (well technically I also used ice, but I think that can go under the category of water). This recipe couldn't be any simpler.

For 2 servings:

3 Limes

3 TB Agave Nectar 

1 Qt. Water

Juice the limes 

Stir in the agave until it dissolves

Add water

Pour over ice!

Green Smoothie

Our big Christmas gift this year was a bright, shiny red Vitamix blender from my parents. There has barely been a day since Christmas that we haven't used it.

Today's concoction: a tropical green smoothie. The result? A fantastic color and pretty darn delicious.
You don't need a fancy blender for this but it blends it much faster.

Tropical Green Smoothie

Makes enough for 2 pint size cups

2 bananas

1 cup frozen mango

1/2 cup frozen peaches

1 cup rice milk

1/2 cup chopped fresh kale

1 heaping scoop greens powder (I use Garden of Life Super Green formula)

2 TB of maple syrup

1 tsp of vanilla

Blend until smooth and enjoy! 

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

A few weeks ago I discovered the very best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. Thanks America's Test Kitchen! I was pleasantly surprised with the results of the recipe - I've searched for a very long time for the perfect chocolate chip  cookie . . . chewy, moist, chocolate chip-y. Yum. The one thing that threw me off when I first read this recipe is that you have to melt the butter first, a strange step as opposed to the usual 'soft' butter, but worked perfectly, trust me. Here's the recipe - just remember, take them out before they look done.

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I used half whole wheat pastry, half white)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 

1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 325*

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated. The recipe suggests that you use a mixer for this. It's probably a good idea, but i used a fork and whisk and it worked just fine - it's up to you!

Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips. 

Divide the dough into small pieces. Roll into balls and place on baking tray, spacing about 2 1/2 inches apart. 

Bake for about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through baking time. Bake until cookies are slightly brown on the edges, while the centers are still soft. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets.

Hope you enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Always in search of the perfect, chewy, simple chocolate chip cookie recipe. I think I got pretty close last night, in my attempt to create a delicious addition for Thanksgiving tomorrow. They certainly came out pretty at least! Unfortunately, that chewyness is still just barely out of my grasp, these are soft and sweet but slightly more cake-y than I desired. I was quite happy with the results however: round, golden, and with molten chocolate abounding!