Grandma Johnson's Scones

I don't have a Grandma Johnson but these scones are really good. I usually put chocolate chips in half of them. We just eat them plain, no need for butter or jam.

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 
  

1. In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and baking soda, and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
3. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in the butter. Stir the sour cream mixture and egg into the flour mixture until just moistened. Mix in the raisins.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll or pat dough into a 3/4 inch thick round. Cut into 12 wedges, and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom.

Naan Bread

I made Betsy's Butter chicken and decided that I needed some bread to go with it. I have been wanting to make this bread for quite a while. It isn't the greatest picture but the bread was delicious. I would do it again. This is what I did. I found this recipe at allrecipes.com

1 TB yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tb. milk
1 egg
2 tsp. salt
4 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup butter, melted

In my mixer bowl I dissolved the yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Punch down dough and pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls and place on a tray. Cover and let rise until doubled about 1/2 an hour.

Roll the balls of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil pre heated grill. Place dough on grill and cook for 2-3 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter and cook until browned. Remove from grill and continue until all the balls have been cooked. I have to tell you that I had a hard time getting the bar b que at the right temperature but it was worth the work. They were so yummy. I am going to try to make them in my pannini maker next time and I wonder if a George Foreman would also work. Anyway, experiment and enjoy.

Corn Cakes with tomato and avocado salsa

I got this recipe from http://www.ezrapoundcake.com and it was super yummy. The only thing I would change is to add some sugar to the corn cake recipe. I just used frozen corn instead of fresh and it still tasted delicious.

2 cups of corn

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal (If you can only find cornmeal mix, skip the baking powder.)

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Canola oil, for frying

Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salsa (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a brown paper bag.

Cut the corn from the cobs into a large bowl, and scrape the stripped cobs with the back of the knife (or a spoon) to release the juices into the bowl.

Place 2 cups of the corn kernels into a food processor, and pulse several times, until the corn is slightly pureed but still chunky. Scrape into the bowl with the remaining corn kernels.

Add flour, cornmeal, onion, basil, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper to the corn. Stir to mix.

Add the eggs, buttermilk and butter, and stir just to combine. (Do not overmix.)

Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add just enough canola oil to barely cover the bottom, and heat until sizzling hot.

One heaping tablespoon at a time, scoop the batter into the skillet. Cooking in batches of 4 to 5 to avoid overcrowding, fry the cakes 1 to 2 minutes per side, until golden brown.

Drain on the lined baking sheet, and place in the oven to keep warm while cooking the remaining corn cakes. Serve warm topped with a heap of Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salsa.

Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salsa

Makes about 2 cups

1 large tomato, cored and chopped

1 scallion, trimmed and minced

1/2 jalapeno pepper, cored, seeded and diced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1 garlic clove, minced

Juice of 1/2 lime

1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

Place all of the ingredients (except the avocado) in a bowl, and stir to mix. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to serve, for up to 2 days.

Just before serving, add the avocado, and mix gently.

Zucchini Blueberry Streusel Bread

I don’t even have a garden and I still have zucchini coming out my ears! I love it! We have been eating zucchini everything. I LOVE zucchini fries, I enjoyed baked zucchini with mozzarella, I eat enough zucchini bread to gain at few pounds at least, I pan fry it with garlic as a simple side dish and this year my zucchini obsession lead me to make zucchini soup (which was actually pretty yummy!)

And just when I thought I could eat no more zucchini I found this recipe for blueberry zucchini bread and I knew I had to try it. I changed a few things and it turned out INCREDIBLE!  The zucchini makes the bread moist, the blueberries add incredible nuggets of flavor and the streusel tops it off perfectly. I have eaten an entire loaf myself! YUMMY!

Zucchini Blueberry Streusel Bread

3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3 tsp. vanilla extract
1  3/4 cups white sugar
3 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 pint fresh blueberries (I used frozen and it turned out great!)

Topping
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. oatmeal
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. cold butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil,applesauce, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini.

Combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon and mix lightly into batter. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.

To make streusel combine all dry ingredients and mix. Cut in butter until mixture resembles small crumbs. Sprinkle over batter in pans.

Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

I have had this recipe for years, it is one of my favorite summer time snacks. It is effortless to make and stays deliciously fresh for days! (well minus the avocado) Enjoy the last few days of sunny weather, grab some chips and dig in!

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

2 15oz. cans of black beans
1 avocado, diced
1/3 c. lime juice
1 sm. Red pepper, diced
1/4 c. olive oil
2 med. Tomatoes, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
6 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp. sea salt
1 hot chili pepper, minced (optional)
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
½ c. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 ½ c. corn

Combine lime juice, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside

Combine all other ingredients and pour sauce over until well coated.  If making ahead, do not add avocado until ready to serve.