Thursday, October 22, 2009

Pumpkin Scones and Other Nice Things

It has been one of those weeks. It was the sort of week that leaves you a little depleted and bedraggled. Nothing utterly awful happened this week, just little things that built up over time.

My husband was sick, which meant that I was the only one between the two of us to take care of our son. The baby, on multiple occasions, fought his naps, even though he was extremely tired and cranky. I spent half the week searching for a place in Los Angeles to get a flu vaccination, only to discover that most pharmacies have run out of them already. Things around the house seem to be falling apart, such as the toilet, the light switch, and the internet connection.

But lest I begin to complain too much, there are many things that are currently making life more bearable, and at times, really great. Things like...
  • Making Thanksgiving plans. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and this year, we are hosting it for the first time. My whole family will all gather together for a weekend of food and festivities.
  • Ruby port and dark chocolate, consumed together. Yummm.
  • Lots of baby showers for expectant friends. More beautiful babies are about to arrive!
  • Emails from friends who write simply to say hi.
  • Pumpkin scones. A warm, spicy pumpkin scone eaten with coffee in front of a fireplace is quite possibly the best way to start a new week. The following recipe was adapted from three different recipes.
Pumpkin Scones
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all spices. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, cream, sugar and vanilla. Whisk together. Cut butter pieces into flour mixture, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir liquid mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. Transfer dough to floured surface. Pat into a 1-inch thick circle. Cut into 8 pieces, and place on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack.

3 comments:

  1. So did you figure out why baby was upset after his nap the other day? Was he still tired? Hungry? I want to know what I did wrong and learn from it! :)

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  2. i'm not big on pumpkin, but that looks mighty good!

    sorry to hear about the madness! don't forget to take a moment to breath though :)

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  3. I've only had a few scones I really fancied, but those look great! Especially warm from the oven.

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