Makes 8 large triangular scones or any number of smaller flower ones 😉
Vermont. It’s a state I love. It’s also a state I was in, in July…
Not surprisingly, this post is overdue. What was surprising was why. Usually, it’s my busy days that melt away even as I am as present as I have ever been. And I have been busy. Lots of new and exciting and challenging changes are underway for each member of my family and so there have been many things to take my time.
Yet, what has kept me from writing is something I’ve been afraid to admit. I hope this doesn’t come across as anything but my own feeling: lately I’ve been a bit bored by food blogs. I know. How could this be? I write a food blog. But it’s true and because of this, I haven’t been able to write…for fear of also being boring.
But those blueberries. For the love of everything holy, those blueberries we picked near lake Champlain at Charlotte farm, they’re still on my mind. The scones we made with what was left of them were out of this world scones. (Most of the blueberries were eaten raw here and there and everywhere.)
But why were they? I’ve thought about it a lot. This is what I’ve come up with.
It isn’t the fact that I know blueberries are the darlings of the antioxidant world. It isn’t solely that they are an excellent source of vitamin C or that they can actually lower high blood sugar in adult-onset diabetes¹. It isn’t even that blueberries contain a boat load of phytochemicals, some (ellagic acid), “which interfere with the metabolic pathways that feed certain cancers”². Well, that’s kind of amazing. But…
It IS the fact that it was a sun-drenched day and my daughters with their rosy cheeks were diligently picking blueberry after blueberry under that sun. It IS the fact that we laughed and imagined all the things we’d make with them, in our kitchen and in the bakery my almost 5 year old insists she’ll own someday. It IS most definitely the fact that we ate berries right off the bushes and the entire universe burst onto our tongues, infinite flavor, filled with the intensity of the sun and the rain from days before. So THAT’S what blue tastes like! It IS that we sensed an immediacy to eat them, to cook with them, to preserve them, to not let one berry go to waste because we’d spent that time harvesting our stash. It IS the fact that those berries held memories for us, of a sunny afternoon, together, in the dense blueberry bushes thinking of nothing else.
To be wholly nourished we must have experiences with our food. We must at least slow down to make sure we notice them, whether we’re plucking berries off the bush or chatting with the farmer or putting a packet of berries in our shopping cart. It’s the journey we take together and it’s those foods and how we eat them that become an intrinsic part of our being. Just like our memories do.
Now, get ready for deliciousness.
Vermont Blueberry Scones
You’ll need:
1 C sprouted spelt flour*
1 C sprouted whole wheat flour*
3 T coconut sugar
2 t baking powder
½ t sea salt
1 t lemon zest, finely grated
¼ C + 2 T unsalted butter, cut into ¼” cubes
1 ½ C fresh (or frozen) blueberries, (preferably from Vermont)
⅔ C scant coconut milk (You could opt for full fat dairy milk here, and be delighted by it, but we’ve got allergies in our household so we always go with non-dairy milk.)
1 large egg, beaten and mixed with 1T water or coconut cream or heavy cream
*My MIL happened to have sprouted flours (I love her), but you could very easily just use spelt and whole wheat or other flours. I’ll experiment with GF flours also.
To make:
Heat oven to 390°F/200°C
In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, up to the butter.
Add the butter and incorporate using a pastry blender or your fingers. If using your fingers, crumble the butter until they resemble gorgeous little peas of butter.
Add the blueberries and milk and mix gently until all incorporated. You can then get your hands in there to make sure there are no flour spots. Just be gentle to try and not burst too many blueberries (if they’re fresh).
Place dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten out to a round disk about ¾” – 1” thick. Using a sharp knife, cut 8 wedges. Or, using cookie cutters, go get creative.
Brush the tops with the egg/water or cream mixture.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Serve warm with some butter, jam or if you’re going traditional, some clotted cream. Whatever your choice, you will enjoy this little slice of heaven.