The Manuscript and the Scones that Will Take Us Home

“I feel like I am forgetting something” I emailed my agent Judy on Thursday. I had just submitted the manuscript for my cookbook to my editor. It was time to celebrate, yet I felt as anxious as ever. “Yes, you forgot to celebrate!” she wrote back. I laughed.

So true.

After months of working on this manuscript as if it were my third child, I am done. I have created it, now it’s in someone else’s hands. Of course there will be revisions and edits, but the recipes are set, the images captured, and the stories told. And here is a small sample of the images you will find in it.

These props will finally have a home and some order.

C. will thank me.

I am looking forward to the promise of time off with my family back in the Basque Country. I am ready to relax, cook with my mom, drive along the coast while stopping for a pintxo or two, pick apples from my uncle’s orchard, and sit under ancient oak trees while the children play.

The last thing I baked this weekend were scones. Three batches of them to be exact; until my oven finally gave up. It has had enough. Almost like life telling me it is time to stop baking compulsively.

I got it. It’s time to stop.

We will take these with us on the plane. Full of black raspberries, red currants, quinoa, and oats.

I leave you with this recipe and soon I will be back from images from our trip. In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying your summer with your loved ones, cooking, and eating away.

See you soon!

Black Raspberry, Red Currant, Quinoa, and Oat Scones

adapted from Dorie Greenspan

makes 10 (2-inch) scones

1 1/3 cup (140 g) gluten-free oats

1 cup (140 g) superfine brown rice flour

1/3 cup (70 g) natural cane sugar

1/3 cup (45 g) quinoa flour

1/3 cup (40 g) tapioca flour

1 Tbs baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Zest of 1 lemon

10 Tbs (140 g) unsalted butter or non-hydrogenated shortening (I used shortening)

1/2 cup (125 ml) unsweetened almond milk ( you can use whole milk)

2 eggs, divided

1/2 cup black raspberries

1/3 cup red currants

Demerara sugar, to sprinkle on top

Put the butter or shortening in the freezer for 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the first 9 ingredients. Take the butter out of the freezer and grate it into the dry ingredients using a box grater. If you don’t have a box grater, then just cut it into small pieces (no need to freeze) and work it into the flour. Coat the grated butter with the flour and spread it throughout.

Whisk 1 egg and almond milk together and add it to the flour mixture. Fold using a spatula or your hands until flour moist. It will be lumpy and chunky. Just press it together with your hands. Add the black raspberries, red currants, and fold.

Transfer the dough to your work surface and knead a few times until it comes together. Pat to a disk that is about 3/4-inch thick and cut scones using a 2-inch cookie cutter. Place the scones on a baking sheet and brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with demerara sugar.

Bake at 400F (200C) for about 18 minutes or until golden. Let them cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before lifting them. Serve while warm. They can also be frozen for up to 1 month.