Strawberry Rhubarb Scones

Happy Cinco de Mayo! It’s already Thursday, can you believe it? I must have been in a Royal Wedding daze or something. Where did this week go? What an eventful one it has been already! And I’m not talking about the news, people; This is not that kind of blog.

So on Monday, I had the bright idea to try to be a part-time vegan (no weekends, those are always eat out days). I decided going vegan was a good idea—even though the texture of tofu, the essential protein of veggies and vegans, sort of weirds me out. The idea sounds nice though doesn’t it? So that was Monday. I bought almond milk and tofu (I know!) and Earth Balance butter. Baby steps!

On Tuesday, I decided that I would try to be vegan two meals out of the day and never on the weekends. At this rate, I will be on Atkins by next week. I miss cheese! More importantly, Andrew the H suggested that we watch Glee on Tuesday night. Okay, so the truth is that I beg him every single week and nothing else happened to be on t.v. He reluctantly flipped to Glee and muttered “I guess we can watch it this week.” He acts like he is doing it for me, but I really think he secretly enjoys watching it.

On Wednesday, I went to the doctor for my annual check-up which is usually never ever exciting, and right out of the gate, the nurse tells me that I am actually 5′5.5″. Five foot five and a half?! That is approximately one half inch taller than I have ever been in my whole entire life. I am fully aware that it is unlikely a 28 year old can grow half an inch. But as someone who has lived life rounding up to five feet flat when asked her height, I was pretty thrilled by this growth spurt. At this rate, I will be 5′7″ in no time. A girl can dream can’t she? I was on a tall girl high for the rest of the afternoon.

I also decided that I would try to eat less meat and cheese instead of going all-out vegan. What the heck was I thinking anyway? Maybe it was all of the mexican food I ate this past weekend that triggered this moment of temporary insanity. Don’t get me wrong. I have the utmost respect for all the vegans out there. It is really, really hard! Vegan lessons learned this week: Almond milk is great in cereal and Earth Balance butter tastes really good, too.

And here we are, Cinco de Mayo, one of my favorite holidays. But really, who needs a reason to down ‘ritas, baskets of chips, and the queso, guac, salsa trio? Not me. Andrew the H suggests Mexican at least once a week even though we have been hard pressed to find a Texas-caliber mexican restaurant in this region. Some have come close, but each time we go back to Texas, we are reminded of all the tex-mex goodness we are missing out on. My jeans, as evident after this past mexican-filled food fest weekend, are not missing the tex-mex. Tiii-iight. But tight jeans are definitely not a good excuse to skip out on this holiday. Nope. Won’t do it. Thank goodness for muu muu dresses. Who wants to hang with me?!

But I digress. I promised a recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Scones last week made with my deliciously, easy three-ingredient Strawberry Rhubarb Jam. I’m sure that you are shocked that this recipe hails from Kim Boyce’s whole grain bible, Good to the Grain. I know, I’m obsessed. But it is so so good. Honestly, it may be hard to go back to eating baked goods made with all-purpose flour only. The flavor just seems so boring now. These scones are made with barley flour, a nutritional powerhouse. Barley is a wheat flour with a lot of protein and not much gluten. It has a distinctly sweet, creamy quality that is wonderful paired with fruit. Try it. Pretty please?

Side note: These don’t travel very well on airplanes. The idea was to eat them while watching the Royal Wedding. Because I am festive like that. Unfortunately, the scones, packed in a plastic bag in my purse, had another idea. When we arrived in Texas, my scones had turned into scone crumbs. Don’t worry, I still ate the crumbs at 6 a.m. as Kate and Will rode away in their carriage, but if you would like to arrive with intact scones, I would recommend tupperware or even a different treat that may be more suited to travel.

Strawberry Rhubarb Barley Scones
Adapted from Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole Grain Flours by Kim Boyce

{Makes 16 scones}

Notes: Resist the temptation to add more flour to the dough. It should be pretty sticky but manageable. A generously floured surface will help keep these scones together. As the scones bake, the jam thickens and caramelizes around the edges.

If you don’t have the time, energy, or desire to make your own jam for these, your favorite purchased jam will work perfectly. Try to choose a quality jam and serve with more jam on the side.

Dry Mix:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons barley flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons golden flax meal
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Wet Mix:
4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 egg

Finish:
1/2 cup Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar

Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Rub a baking sheet lightly with butter.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring back into the bowl any bits of grain or other ingredients that may remain in the sifter.

Cut the butter into 1/2-inch pieces and add them to the dry mixture. Working very quickly, use your hands to rub the butter between your fingers, breaking it into smaller bits. Continue rubbing until the butter is in sizes ranging from rice grains to flattened peas. The more quickly you do this, the more the butter wil stay solid which is important for the success of this recipe. Use a pastry cutter or two knifes if you feel more comfortable using that method.

In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg until thoroughly combined. Scrape the buttermilk and egg into the dry mixture and mix until barely combined.

Use a pastry scraper or spatula to transfer the dough onto a well floured surface. The dough may be too sticky to handle, if it is too sticky, dust it with flour and fold it together a few times. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Flour your hands and pat each peice of dough into a disk about 3/4 inch thick and round.

Cover two disks with jam. Top the jam spreaded disks with the other two disks and press down gently so that the dough settles into the jam. Brush each round with melted butter and sprinkle with the sugar. Use a sharp knife and cut each disk into 8 triangular wedges, like a pie! Carefully place the wedges on the baking sheet leaving a few inches between them.

Bake the scones for 22 to 26 minutes rotating the sheets halfway through. The scones are ready when their tops are golden brown and some of the jam has bubbled over onto the pan. To keep the scones from sticking, slide a thin spatula underneath them while they are still warm and move them to a baking rack. The scones are best eaten warm from the oven or later that same day.

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Happy Cinco de Mayo!