You may have noticed a distinct lack of baking here since New Year's Eve... but there is a reason. This seems to happen every January but yet again my jeans have shrunk. Okay, I'll be honest... I was doing a Pilates class on January 2nd and happened to glance in the mirror lining the wall of the exercise studio and had a rude awakening when I realised the lumpy woman looking back at me was actually me. Admittedly leggings and a vest are not a good look on a woman in her mid fifties (and I apologise for leaving you with that image) but I was still pretty shocked at what I saw. So there has been no baking in this house over the past couple of weeks in an attempt to regain svelt like proportions (Indulge me here... don't shatter my dreams).
But I've had withdrawal symptoms, so today I got out my pinny and the rolling pin and made some savoury cheese scones to go with our roasted butternut squash soup. I think I may have overdone the chilli in the soup but I'm sure I read somewhere that chilli raises the metabolism so that was okay.
Should you wish to indulge in some relatively guilt free baking (or preferably eating) this is my recipe.
Spicy Cheese Scones
100g white SR flour
75g wholewheat bread flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
25g butter
50g strong cheddar or a similar strong cheese, finely grated
1 teaspoon English mustard
1 large egg
2-3 tablespoons milk
Approx 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese (or cheddar), grated
Heat the oven to 220 deg C. Mix together the flours, salt, baking powder and chilli in a large bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients and then stir in the cheddar. In a jug, mix the mustard (you could just use mustard powder but I didn't have any) to a paste with a little of the milk and then beat in the egg and the rest of the milk. Stir into the dry ingredients until you have a soft dough. Roll out to about 2 cm thick and cut out circles with a 5 cm cookie cutter. Re-roll and cut until you have used all the dough. I managed to get eight scones. Place on a baking sheet, brush the tops with a little more milk and sprinkle with the parmesan. Bake for approx 12 minutes until well risen and brown.
Best eaten whilst still warm... and without any extra butter!
You may also noticed a lack of stitching on this so called "textile blog" but I have ideas and just need to get out of the kitchen and put them into action!
I think 'Shrinking-Jeans Syndrome' has hit this part of Kent too AND I seem to have rather a lumpy woman in my mirror, hmmmmm :(
ReplyDeleteThose cheese scones look delicious - guess what we'll be having tomorrow?!
Thank you,
xx
That looks so delicious. The scones look perfect! I may have to try that recipe. Cheese scones are one of my favourites.
ReplyDeleteOooo yummy! It's funny that you've had a 'shrinking clothes' problem too! ;)
ReplyDeletexx
I don't have the tight jeans syndrome but the other day, whilst walking in town, I waved at a little old woman who couldn't walk properly, thinking that I knew her from somewhere. I was quite shocked to note that I was looking at my own reflection...
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be some sort of epidemic because my jeans have shrunk a bit too ~ very strange indeed!,,
DeleteChilli, you say?? :)
V xxx
Do you think chilli and line chocolate counts ?
DeleteThose look yummy,must give it a try. I felt like that about a year ago and have been trying hard to exercise more and eat less cakes. Good luck. :)
ReplyDeleteI love cheese scones and ate our last one a couple of days ago. I like to make them with buttermilk and your post has reminded me that there is some in the fridge which needs using.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a good time of year for dieting. Of course, eating sensibly is OK but there's nothing wrong with being cuddly!
Jeans are but a distant memory....
ReplyDeleteOoooh I love cheese scones but I can't have them. The soup looks very nice too.
ReplyDeleteI love cheese scones too, so much so, that I even made them once!
ReplyDeleteYum, my mouth is watering, but I don't think I shall be having soup in the heat we are experiencing out here! Funny, I have the shrinking jeans syndrome too - thank goodness all the Christmas pud and cake are gone, so no more temptations. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteGina, those mirrors can tell tales...but do not always have to be believed.
ReplyDeleteYou're such an active person, I wouldn't worry if I were such an active person, about any holiday gains.
Your scone recipe looks delish...as does the photo of scones and soup.
When I next have enough time to consider more baking (cookie season has passed/or resting) I will give them a try.
xo
I don't have the shrinking jeans problem, but I do have the stranger in the mirror/shop window thing, I don't know who she is, especially when she appears with frizzy grey hair .
ReplyDeleteJust love those scones, may have to give them a go, with a tiny bit of chilli, don't like it too much.
It won't do you any harm to have the odd treat.... I had a big mug of white chocolate in a cafe on Friday... boy was that nice wrapping my hands around it after a very heavy day's work!
ReplyDeleteI appear to have been baking a very substantial muffin top here. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteI tried the scones and they were yummy!!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
ReplyDeleteROFL - know how you feel Gina, I'm in the same boat and Im having a go at Michael Moseley's 5:2 fasting diet (eek). mind you those scones look to die for so I've made a note of the recipe lol.
ReplyDeleteWell I exercised more today and then finished my cross country skiing sessions with a visit to the bakery! I wonder if I just blew the calories I had burnt off!
ReplyDeleteIf it is any consolation to you Gina, I could eat scones when I had gall stones and had to keep my fat intake down to less than 10%. They were one of the few desserts I could eat at the time. Not cheese ones though. Is that a good enough excuse to make more scones? Another is that in the process I did lose quite a bit of weight
After a Christmas being Fed by Mother I'm now with Carol Q! I've done two days and survived - I'm not any smaller, but I am back where I was in December so it's a start!
ReplyDelete