edible sound bites

Lately I've been spending a lot of time trying to come up with the perfect red fife scone recipe. I've had a couple of request's for them and have since been trying a few test recipes out. With Mother's Day just around the corner I also thought it would be nice to make them special for my mom. Scones have always been a special treat on my mom's side of the family. There also one of her favourite things, so I figured they would be perfect.

Being British and all you wouldn't expect anything less would you? hehehe.

These would be perfect for brunch, breakfast, or even with a cup of evening tea.

You might already have noticed how I like to do a lot of baking with red fife flour. It's a whole grain Canadian heritage flour that's healthy, high in protein and tastes great.

The red fife gives these scones a nice light texture with the perfect crispy outer crust that could rival any coffee shop bought scone. If you're one of those people that don't like the dry scone variety, then these are for you.

Red Fife Cinnamon Scones (makes 6 individual scones)

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups red fife flour
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 1 large egg

For the topping:

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar or sucanat
• 2 tsp milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Scatter butter over the flour mixture and continue to blend (or cut in with a pastry cutter) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together milk and egg. Add to the flour/butter mix and stir gently to combine just until there is no more dry flour visible.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press and form into 6 individual scones or a 6 inch circle. 
5. Mix together topping ingredients, stirring with a fork. Then sprinkle over the dough. 
6. Transfer to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the tops and bottoms are lightly browned. Cool slightly and serve with butter. 

{Notes} 

• Depending on the heat of your oven you may want to cook the scones closer to the 20 minute mark, which is what I did having a rather hot oven.

If you like scones, here is my grandmother's classic english recipe Grandma's Currant Scones.

Happy Mother's Day!

Spring has sprung! Well...sort of...that's what it feels like these last few days. Last week was another story. I think it snowed a little bit every day...just to anger me. For now the sun is shining, snow removal is in the works (yes you heard me right) and it's 5*C, woohoo! I'm itching to get back on my bike and hit some trails. Le sigh. At least Spring is making promises.  Let's just pretend it's not supposed to snow tomorrow mmmmk?

Good. First I have some news to share. I've finally created a facebook fan page for edible sound bites. If you'd like to follow me you can find the link to the side of the page under the Subscribe & Follow heading. Please follow, I'd love to hear your feedback if your a fan! 

The second bit of news is a little more exciting; I've been choosing from a select few to appear in the next FOODIE iPad Cookbook App. My recipe for Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter will be featured along with 40 other recipes. I'm not sure how much info I can giveaway, but the FOODIE cookbook app has previously been featured in USA Today, Mashable, and Consumer Reports. I'm super excited! I will definitely post a link when I have one.  

Now let's get to the next post in my gluten free Great Grain's series. If you aren't caught up yet here are my previous posts on Buckwheat and Millet. 

Say hello to Amaranth.

Amaranth Notes

This tiny little seed is one highly nutritious gluten free grain. While it may look like millet or quinoa, I assure you it's not. Amaranth is actually quite smaller in size and whiter in colour. We're talking teeny tiny! It has a slightly sticky texture when cooked the traditional way in liquid, is nutrient rich, and high in fiber. It also has a high concentration of lysine, an essential amino acid (one of the building blocks of protein). For a bit of historical fun, it dates back 8,000 years to when it was used by the ancient Aztecs as food staple.

Personally it's one of my fave gluten free grains. I love the texture, taste and versatility of it. Even more so I love it's nutrition. You've gotta love slow digesting carbs for stable energy and blood sugar.

Nutrition Facts

Here is the nutrition profile for 1 cup of cooked amaranth (1/4 cup dry):

With high amounts of protein, fiber, calcium, lysine, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin B2 and folic acid you can't go wrong. It actually contains more protein than any other gluten free grains and more protein than wheat. In fact, the protein content of amaranth is similar to the proteins found in cow's milk. It's a complete protein, meaning it contains all essential amino acids, including lysine, which is lacking in most other grains. Bottom line - amaranth is an excellent plant source of high quality proteins that are well absorbed when eaten. Take that quinoa! Just kidding, I still love you quinoa.

With a low glycemic index, amaranth is also slightly lower in carbohydrates than other gluten free grains.

Where To Buy Buckwheat

Like other gluten free/ specialty grains it's not easily found in grocery stores. I find it in the healthy food store or of course Whole Foods and specialty grocery stores like Nature's Emporium. Here the link to buy online from one of my favourites Bob's Red Mill; buy organic amaranth online.

Preparing and Cooking

Just prior to cooking, rinse and strain your amaranth throughly in cold water until the water runs clear to remove any dirt. To cook, boil 1 cup of amaranth in 2 1/2 cups of liquid such as water, vegetable or chicken stock, or milk of any kind (cow's, coconut, almond etc). Reduce heat and simmer for 18-20 minutes until tender. Fluff with a fork a serve. Take care not to over cook it as it can become "gummy" in texture.

Keep amaranth stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, out of direct light. When stored in the fridge it will keep for 3 to 6 months.

Uses

Get grinding and make some flour! Amaranth makes a sweet, spicy, earthy, nutty flavoured flour best used in waffles, pancakes, cookies, muffins and quick breads. Just don't use amaranth flour exclusively in gluten free baking because your end result will be too dense. You'll need to blend it with a variety of gluten free flours, especially for baking yeast breads and cookies, pancakes should be okay though. 

By nature, amaranth absorbs water very easily making it a good thickener for soups with added nutrition.

It can be cooked as a cereal and used as a replacement for oatmeal. Sprouted and placed in salads. Toasted is another great way to use amaranth. Just toast and add to yogurt, smoothies, trail mix etc. 

My personal favourite is popping the tiny seeds like popcorn... Post to come!

Happy Easter everyone!!! Have a great weekend.

This recipe is too good for words, so I thought I would let the pictures do the talking this time.

Cacao Coconut Cluster Granola (Makes about 2 1/2 cups of granola)

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Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp toasted unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup toasted unsweetened coconut flakes
• 2 1/4 cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup raw buckwheat groats
• 3 tbsp millet
• 1/4 tsp of cinnamon
• 1-2 tsp cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup raw cacao nibs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300*F. Place the shredded coconut + coconut flakes on a baking sheet lined with parchement paper and toast in the oven for 8 minutes, stirring halfway through. Watch carefully that the coconut doesn't burn. Let cool and transfer to a bowl for later. Keep the parchement on the baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the rolled oats, raw buckwheat groats, millet, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and sea salt.
3. To the dry ingredients add the vanilla, maple syrup and coconut oil and stir until all the ingredients are well coated
4. Transfer the mixture to a the baking seet and spread into a thin even layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes stirring every 10 minutes to ensure even browning. Remove from oven and stir in toasted coconut and cacao nibs.
5. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature.