December 3, 2012

and then mud

Saturday was glorious and snowy and sunny. The perfect sledding day, which we took advantage of (golf courses, as it turns out, make excellent sledding hills) after a long lazy morning of knitting and sewing and warm apricot vanilla ricotta scones.

But then yesterday it rained most of the evening and all the snow washed away, leaving mud. And a hint of this dreaded thing to come called Mud Season. I think our driveway will be more treacherous in the mud than it is in the snow. We may need mud tires after our snow tires come off.

So today it is muddy and brown outside, and almost warm. Or at least not at all cold. But on the up side I've started making homemade yogurt again after not having my yogurt maker all last year and then forgetting about it in the first six months of living here. And bean soup cooking in the crock pot making the house smell cozy and delicious. And I think there might be more scones after school. Why not.

Vanilla Apricot Ricotta Scones

2 cups of flour
1 Tablespoon of baking powder
pinch of salt
1/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons chilled butter, chopped in small pieces
8-10 dried apricots
1 Tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup ricotta
1/3 cup milk
hot water

First, chop the apricots into raisin sized pieces and put them in a mug or small bowl with that vanilla and enough hot water to more than cover. Let it sit while you get the dough going.

Whisk together the dry ingredients and then mix in the butter until the flour has a grainy consistency. Add the ricotta and milk and stir gently until the dough starts to pull together. Strain out the apricots and add them to the mix, stirring gently until the apricots are evenly distributed.

Knead the dough lightly in the bottom of the bowl and then turn out the ball onto your pan. Flatten the ball to a thickness of about 3/4 of an inch. Cut the circle into eight wedges and then pull them away from each other a bit so that the sides aren't quite touching. Sprinkle with sugar and cook in a preheated 425 degree oven for 17 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned.