Blueberry Scones

More trip inspired baking. This time it's blueberry scones, base on the the Simple Scones recipe from allrecipes.com. As usual, I made my own lazy modifications, using a food processor and greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

Makes 12 - 14 scones


Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen (1 stick)
1/2 cup dry blueberries (or raisins or currants)
1/2 cup fat free greek yogurt
1 large egg

Directions:
1. Adjust oven rack to lower - middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the food processor. Pulse until ingredients are mix together
3. cut frozen butter into chunks, and add to flour mix in food processor. Pulse until mixture resemble course meal.
4. add in blueberries, pulse until mixed
5. add in egg and yogurt. Mix until the dough comes together when press together (it might be stick in places). Turn onto a floured work surface and press the dough together until it forms a dough. The dough is quite sticky, just wet your hands to prevent sticking. Pat dough to 3/4 inch thick. Use a round cookie cutter to cut one scones. Or just form small round balls of dough and pat it down.
6. Bake until golden brown (around 15 to 17 minutes) 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet.

Result...buttery blueberry scones with Very Berry Preseves from Prevedelli Farms of Watsonville. Wish I had some clotted cream though.

I made the dough and froze them on mini muffin cup liners...here is hoping that I could just pop them frozen, right into the oven for fresh baked scones.

Kanelbullar - Swedish cinnamon roll

As usual, my trip inspired me to attempt a new recipe. This time, it's Kanelbullar, Swedish cinnamon roll that is very popular with the swedes, to have with their afternoon coffee. Every bakery, supermarket, even 7-11 sells them. They are a yeast dough pastry with cinnamon in side, sprinkle of pearl sugar on top. No where near as sweet as a Cinnamon bun.

I found a recipe for them at wikihow, and hurray, it uses a food processor... we all know how lazy I am when making any sort of dough. If I can use a food processor, I will! The ingredients are fairly simple, except for pearl sugar. I got a jar of "String of Pearls" sugar from Sur La Table, which gives it a sweet crunch.

Recipe can be found here. The only modification to the recipe I made, use brown sugar for the filling.

I think I over mix the dough, because it didn't rise as much as it should. I placed them onto mini muffin cups.

After a egg wash and sprinkle of pearl sugar:

I probably had my convection oven too high, and left it in a bit too long, but it's still tasty. I think I will use less butter in the filling next time, and maybe a tad more cinnamon. the 2 top ones are the end bits of the roll. The bottom one is the "good" cinnamon roll. The rest I put in the freezer to make another day. Hope they survive the freeze.

Back in the USA...in Manhattan

It's been a hectic few weeks, I am now back at my brother's place in Manhattan!
Surprisingly, everything fit in my backpack, despite it being 60% food!

I uploaded some pics to my facebook page, here are the links:

Switzerland
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126646&id=728786429&l=35a4d5460e

Sweden
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126648&id=728786429&l=34096fd331

France
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126654&id=728786429&l=26ddd2b77c

UK
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126765&id=728786429&l=8f0643f300

Mmmm Paris

I think all I did since I arrived in Paris was eat! Most of it baked goods and duck confit!

Things eaten of note:

- macarons from Laudrée and Pierre Hérmes
- petite financiers

- baguette traditionelle from Gosselin on Rue St Honorè

- pain au chocolate (ate a mini version too!)
- duck confit twice
- french onion soup

Also did shopping for stuff my mom and brother wanted from Paris. Walked a lot, but no doubt not enough to burn off the calories from all the food I ate.

I have been couch surfing in Paris. Staying first with Claire, who has lovely little flat in the 9th arr, with an amazing view of the city. I hung out with her and her friends in the Marais one evening.

Now I am staying with Florence in her big flat just across from Gare du Nord. We went to a Paris Couch surfer quiz night last night. It was the one year anniversary of the weekly event. It was really crowded all night, people spilling out on to the street until after midnight. Our team didn't win, but it was fun to meet and hear about all the different couchsurfing experiences and stories.

Parisian baguette

Typing on a french difficult!

The breakfast buffet @ the Nordic Sea Hotel in Stockholm is huge! Most of yesterday was spent going to airport, waiting for flight; 2 hr + flight, travelling from airport. Not the most exciting of days, the weather got cold and rainy in Stockholm just as I was leaving.

I found the first of my 2 couchsurfing host in Paris with no problem. Her cute flat is right near the Eiffel tower in a lovely posh neighborhood.

We had a lovely breakfast this morning perched on the roof of the building, overlooking the city... eating some cinnamon rolls from Stockholm that I bought.

It's fashion week in Paris, I was at the Louvre and I almost got ran over by a tiny little blond, her entourage, security and a bunch of photographers...got no clue who it was.

Most importantly, I ate the first of no doubt many baguettes today; €1.15 for the Bqguette traditionalle qt Gosellins. Yes, there are pictures, but I forgot , USB card reader, perhaps tomorrow.

One too many museums.

I think I lost count of the number of museums I have covered in Stockholm.

I went to Sdansk and Vasa museum yesterday. Ate some seriously whacked Stockholm street food. It's a bratwurst, with 3(!!!) scoops of mash potatoes, tomato, ketchup, onions, wrapped in a flat bread. I think I will need to see a cardiologist when I get home. I will upload the pictures later, Elisa got a great shot of me receiving it!

There was some weird NHL, detroit red wings thingee at the train station. Was not sure what that was about.

It was great catching with Elisa after all these years. This morning she headed south towards Copenhagen.

I had my little adventure going back to the airport to pick up my permanent residence card, which I did not even notice I dropped till the lovely people at the airport left a message for me! Apparently, giving a contact information on your flight booking IS important, because that is how they found me and my phone number!

Oh the way back to Stockholm, I encounter two other couchsurfers (coming in on a flight from Berlin), had a nice chat. Found out that the Detroit red wings are in town playing the NHL premier game against St. Louis, and it's a HUGE deal. Hmm that explain the people in Detroit red wing gear in the city. Tickets are over 100 euros!

Got back to the city by 11:30, proceeded to check out the treasury, royal apartment, state apartments and the post museum all before checking into my hotel.

I am no checked into a tiny but clean, nice functional room at the Nordic Sea Hotel.

Tomorrow, off to Paris!