Maple Walnut Scones

I'm giddy with excitement right now! The weatherman, with whom I've had a love/hate relationship with all winter, just announced 4 days of dry weather is on it's way! 4 whole days of glorious rain-free...clouds. But they are empty clouds, so I am satisfied. More than satisfied actually. This means that the garden will finally be uncovered, the compost tilled under, and some seeds will be sowed.

After attempting to buy groceries today, this is welcome news. Apparently, not everyone shares my enthusiasm for locally grown foods. When I asked the produce man where the asparagus was from, he said "To the right of the broccoli."

Uh...okay...So I proceeded to hunt for a tag, label or sticker with the asparagus' origin. Mexico. It was from Mexico, but currently residing near the broccoli/cauliflower border of aisle 4. Or thereabouts.

Yep, the garden is way past due. And this weekend, it's going in, even if I have to erect a tent to cover it!

I had to switch our meal plan around a little since my trip to town took a little longer than I thought it would. So tonight we had Sunshine & Sausage Casserole and Maple Walnut Scones. The scones were not on the original menu, but I got a new cookbook today and couldn't wait until next week to try these! Just to be sure that they were as good as I think they were, they'll be making their encore performance on Saturday.

Maple Walnut Scones

2-1/2 cups organic white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

4 t. baking powder

1 t. sea salt

10 Tb. unsalted butter

1 cup milk

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

Glaze (recipe follows)

Combine flours, walnuts, baking powder and salt. Cut butter into mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and maple syrup.

Knead 5 or 6 times. Roll out into a circle, about 1/2 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut into 12 wedges. Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 425 F. until golden brown, about 17 minutes. Drizzle with glaze.

Maple Glaze

Combine 1 Tb. melted, unsalted butter, 2 Tb. maple syrup, 1 Tb. heavy cream and 1 cup confectioner's sugar in a small bowl and whisk together until smooth. Stir in 1/4 t. maple syrup flavoring. Drizzle over warm scones.

*These recipes were adapted from the cookbooks, "Simply in Season" and "The Farmchicks in the Kitchen".