Spring Planting & Summer Gardening & Fresh Peach Scones

Spring planting & Summer gardening

Unfortunately for those of us who still live in New England, Spring planting season barely heats up by the first days of summer. I feel particularly jealous of other bloggers who post armloads of fresh produce in May. Flats of Ball jars start appearing at the end of aisles in the grocery stores; meanwhile, I still consider turning the heat on overnight.

 

Lucky for us, Summer has finally arrived and my babies are finally in the ground, thriving or dying depending on their reaction to the current monsoon season we have had

 

Happy Sun Gold Tomatoes

 

Monster Celery!

 

 

Cute baby suga’ pumpkins

 

 

Fresh Peach Scones

Do you know who makes very good scones? Panera.

If you’re feeling like a decadent breakfast (which you may be more days than not, when you work across the street from one), give them a try.

Or give these a try!

You can really use this scone recipe with any fresh fruit you may have - strawberries are another favorite, or blueberries, mixed berries, the possibilities… jalapeno cheddar! I’ve got to remember to try that...

 

Start with two very ripe peaches. (Wine not necessary but strongly encouraged)

 

 

Blanch these peaches - thinking boiling a whole pot of water to get the skins off isn’t worth it? Think again! For the five minutes of extra work, the skins will slide right off. And it will be SO satisfying

 

 

Dice

Whisk dry ingredients. Add peaches and cream

Mix to combine with as few movements as humanly possible. (I probably could have combined a little more than I did)

Shape your dough into a square on the counter

 

Slice with a sharp knife on the diagonal to create 8 triangles. If I was making these again, I would then cut them in half again to create 16 mini-scones for easier eating (and more scones).

Other shapes to consider - squares or circles using a biscuit cutter or the top of a 3” water glass.

Place on lined cookie sheet

Bake 15 minutes

Aren’t they beautiful?

Ingredients:

2 ¼ c. flour

1 TBS baking powder

¼ cup sugar**

½ tsp salt

6 TBS chilled butter

1 cup fresh diced peaches (~ 2 ripe peaches)

1 cup cream

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Blanch peaches by placing them in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and dunk in ice water bath
3. Slide the skins off and finely (or not so finely) dice
4. Whisk dry ingredients
5. Grate chilled butter into mixture, or use a paddle attachment on stand mixture. Blend until crumbly
6. Add peaches and cream. Mix only until just fully combined with as few motions as possible. Be gentle
7. Set on floured counter and form a square
8. Cut out or slice into desired shapes
9. Bake 15 minutes or until bottoms are browned and tops are firm

**If you like sweet scones, increase sugar to ½ c.