Gluten-Free Blueberry Scones

As I sit here in a cafe's sidewalk seating section with the warm sun beaming at my back, birds happily chirping, people walking along in shorts and skirts, and my iced coffee dripping with condensation, I can’t help but ignore the fact that apparently it’s the first day of fall. I’m sorry, what?

Per usual the season has flown by too quickly. I spent my last few weeks of summer completely wrapped up in my amazing new job (filed directly under a-great-problem-to-have) and I let this space wander. Now all of a sudden it’s fall and I’ve got a pile of summer recipes that are just too summery to post.

However, this year more than ever I’ve realized that summer “ain’t over ‘til it’s over” (R.I.P Yogi <3) and that means I’ve been bringing home blueberries by the quartful  from the farmers' market and will continue to do so until I can’t anymore. That also translates to --- I have too many blueberries in my fridge to be useful right now. But it also means, I have absolutely ZERO qualms telling you to make these blueberry scones right this second while blueberries are still in their prime.

These scones are perfectly moist and crumbly at the same time a.k.a. perfect scone texture. They’re bursting with berries and are gluten free, but full of flavor. If I had turbinado sugar on hand, I would have sprinkled that on top for a crisp, shattering top, but instead I lightly drizzled them with a glaze that also did the job. Either way, you will get a perfect scone. Along with the perfect way to savor the very last drops of summer.

At the very least, you can take comfort in the fact it’s no longer too hot to turn on the oven, so you really have no excuse.

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Blueberry Scones

adapted from this Smitten Kitchen recipe and this Food52 recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup white rice flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk, cold

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1 cup blueberries

1 egg beaten or few tablespoons heavy cream for washing the tops of the scones

Optional topping:

Glaze

2 tablespoons of heavy cream

¼ cup organic powdered sugar

or

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicon mat.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In another large vessel mix together buttermilk, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla.

Next cut the cold butter into the flour mixture and using your fingers mush the butter into the flour. The mixture should become like wet sand. At most the butter should be about the size of peas. Quickly add the blueberries to this mixture and gently toss until they are evenly distributed.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and with a fork gently fold the wet into the dry. Mix until the batter just comes together.

Dump the dough onto a well floured surface and form gently into a disk and pat down until it’s about one inch thick.

Using a large knife or bench scraper cut the disk into eight equal sized wedges.

Transfer wedges to the prepared sheet pan and space at least 1 inch apart. Brush the tops with beaten egg or heavy cream.

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops are a golden brown.

For the optional glaze: whisk cream and powdered sugar together until a smooth glaze comes together. Let the scones cool just slightly before drizzling glaze over the tops. Or before baking, sprinkle tops with raw turbinado sugar.

Yield: 8 scones

What I Really Eat: Migas Style Breakfast Tacos

"What I really eat" are my Iron Chef meals. My pantry meals. Shit, my fridge is empty meals. The things that come out of necessity and lack of time. The ingredient list will usually be small and the execution usually simple. Something that is less of a recipe and more of a guideline. If something exceptionally awesome comes out of my Sunday night scramble, it will get posted as a “What I Really Eat” and probably be accompanied with a not-my-best photo.

Having not encountered much Tex-Mex growing up, I didn’t learn the genius of migas until I was watching the special features section for the movie Sin City. I was a bonafide film nerd growing up (I even went to film school!) so it was normal for me to pour over the special features of any movie I came across. Here is where Robert Rodriguez solidified himself as both a favorite director and a serious crush factor. He makes movies? He cooks? And eggs for dinner at that? Sold. I’m sold.

(I highly suggest watching his other cooking school videos. As he wisely says "not knowing how to cook is like not knowing how to f...just watch the videos.)

My love of migas has now totally and completely been cemented since I began visiting friends in Austin, Texas. One night while everyone else was drunkenly digging into some deliciously sloppy nachos, I was happily inhaling migas breakfast tacos at one in the morning.

These should work for all your come-home-a-bit-tipsy midnight snack needs, breakfast for dinner indulgences, and are just as appropriate for the time of day when eggs are usually consumed. They would make an awesome assemble-your-own brunch item. I’ve even packed them up for “not a sad desk lunch". Eaten cold from the fridge with my fingers? Guilty.

These of course would be much more simple without all the frying of various carb sources, but it’s the crunch of the tortillas that gets me every.single.time. More power to you if you make your own tortillas, recipe is in the video link. I’ve done it before and it is for sure worth it. When I’m just looking to stuff my face though, some organic sprouted corn tortillas I found at Whole Foods have been doing the trick just fine. If you do watch the video, I did adapt the recipe to essentially combine the two different tacos he makes. Believe you me, when tomatoes are in season again, those are going right on in.

I don’t believe in Cinco de Mayo, but I do believe in tacos. Here’s my contribution to the “holiday”.

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Migas Style Breakfast Tacos

adapted from Robert Rodriguez’s 10 Minute Cooking School

Ingredients:

¼ cup olive oil for frying

2 smallish yukon gold potatoes, diced

2 corn tortillas, cut into ½ inch squares

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, diced

1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed and minced

6 eggs

splash of heavy cream or whole milk

salt and pepper

6 additional corn tortillas for serving

sliced avocado

hot sauce to taste

Directions:

In a medium sized skillet heat up approximately a ¼ cup of olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot enough add diced potatoes to oil. Fry up until golden brown on all sides and soft when pierced with a fork. Remove from oil and set on a paper towel lined plate to drain, sprinkle with salt to taste.

Add cut up tortillas to the same oil, watch these carefully they will brown up quickly. Fry until completely golden brown. Turn off heat and add to paper towel lined plate to drain. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

In a different skillet or the same with oil cleaned out, heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium high heat. Once melted add onion and jalapeno to the pan. While the vegetables are cooking, beat the 6 eggs with the splash of heavy cream and salt and pepper until combined.

When onion and pepper are getting soft and starting to caramelize, crank up the heat to high and add the remaining tablespoon of butter. Swirl to coat pan. When butter is melted and starting to brown, add the eggs to the hot pan. Let eggs begin to set on the bottom and then quickly add the potatoes and fried tortillas to the eggs. Start to pull the eggs away from the sides of the pan as you would scrambled eggs. Continue to cook eggs until the desired consistency. Remove from heat and plate.

Here’s where you do you. To serve, if you want lightly warm a tortilla then scoop a bit of the eggs into it. Top with avocado and hot sauce to taste. Proceed to stuff face.

Serves 4 to 6

Leek Frittata

When I have no idea what to do with something or have too much of something I always turn to a frittata.

I had three huge leeks from my CSA that I had a.) no idea what to do with and b.) had too many eggs because I get a dozen a week from the CSA as well.

Boom. Done. Frittata.

Frittatas freeze really well so I’ll cut it up and throw it into plastic bags and chuck it into the freezer. Makes for a quick and easy meal when you don’t feel like cooking or have no time to pack a lunch for work. My issue is usually the latter. Love my everyday morning scramble, keeps me on my toes.

I’ve learned my lesson with the broiler one too many a time, as evidenced here. So unless I am literally sitting next to my oven (well, er, laying down, because my broiler is at the bottom, which only makes things more ridiculous) and watching the food broil, it’s always too late. So while this method I use here for the frittata takes longer, it’s completely fool proof. Me being the fool.

P.s. Easy trick for cleaning your leeks, that I think I learned from like Rachel Ray or something, prep up your leeks and then place them in a bowl full of water and sorta swish ‘em around. Let them sit for a few minutes. All the sand and grit will sink down to the bottom of the bowl. See above. Scoop out your leeks and dry.

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Leek Frittata

Ingredients:

3 pieces uncured/nitrite-nitrate free canadian bacon (approximately 1 cup of cooked meat -- diced bacon or ham could work here flawlessly)

1 tablespoon of grassfed butter (plus a bit extra if needed)

3 leeks, white and pale green parts only, washed thoroughly, halved and sliced

7 eggs

¼ cup grassfed heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

⅓ cup shredded white cheddar cheese + extra for sprinkling on top if desired

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, fry up the three pieces of canadian bacon until golden and crisp. Take cooked meat and dice. Set aside.

Using rendered fat from the bacon, saute the leeks over a medium heat. If it doesn’t seem like there’s enough fat, use an extra bit of butter or other cooking fat. Cook leeks until they are soft and start to develop some caramelization.

While the leeks are cooking, beat together the eggs, heavy cream, and the salt and pepper. Add in the diced bacon and shredded cheddar and stir.

When the leeks are ready, remove them from the skillet and place in a separate bowl from the eggs to allow to cool just slightly. Meanwhile, turn the heat off of the skillet but add 1 tablespoon of butter right away to the hot pan so it begins to melt. Swirl the melted butter around to coat the entire pan.

Add the leeks to the egg mixture and stir to incorporate.

Add the mix to the butter coated skillet, sprinkle extra cheddar on top if desired, and throw into the oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until frittata is puffed and starting to turn golden brown.

Serves 6