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.

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Spring & Its Tutti Frutti Crumble

It was about two months ago when I received a phone call from Loren, my uncle in law. Loren and Jan live in Wenatchee, Washington where they are surrounded by cherry and apple orchards. "I am going to send you a few cherry blossom branches" he said. "Cherry blossom branches? But how?".

A few days later a package arrived in the mail. Tightly wrapped and with very specific instructions, there were four cherry branches. "Cut the ends and place them in water. They will bloom in a few days".

And indeed they did. Tiny little white flowers that reminded me of the blossoming trees back home.



This little gesture planted a seed in my mind. I got excited about the idea of being able to see these trees in person. "We should take a trip while my parents are here and visit cherry blossoms. It would be a wonderful family vacation before they leave" I suggested to C.

I knew the kids would love it.

I really wanted to go visit Loren and Jan in Wenatchee, but a trip to Washington state was just not practical considering it takes a whole day to get there and back. "How about Washington DC?". And so we found the National Cherry Blossom Festival.



We spent last weekend there. at "George Washington CD" as J calls it.

I welcomed the wintery cold.

Beautiful flowering trees all around the Tidal Basin. Dad and I walked around the entire basin by ourselves. He had his arm around my shoulder just as he used to do when we were kids. I cherished every second of it.



Then back home, I dreamt of the wild poppies that grew in the field next to our school and blossoming apple trees.

I received my copy of Heidi's "Super Natural Cooking". I had been waiting so anxiously since I had pre-ordered it months ago. Beautiful as I expected and filled with recipes I want to cook and eat.

"Look at that crumble" I said to my mom as we were flipping through the book. Heidi's tutti frutti crumble filled with berries, oats and poppy seeds. I made a gluten and dairy free version on Saturday for our last dinner with my parents. It was delicious, light and the perfect way to put an end to a wonderful visit. I miss them already.



And then, I have to thank all of you for your kind words and excitement over the workshop in France this upcoming October. Stephanie is working on some additional details as we speak (she is in France at the moment!), and then, we will post a brief notice a few days prior to opening registration to the public.

Thank you and stay tuned!

Tutti Frutti Crumble

adapted from Heidi Swanson's "Super Natural Everyday"

1/2 cup superfine brown rice flour
1/4 cup oat flour
1 Tbs potato starch
2 Tbs poppy seeds
1/2 cup gluten-free oats
1/2 cup natural cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup melted coconut oil (do not microwave it, melt it over water bath)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until it comes together. Divide the dough into three parts and form patties. Freeze them for 10 minutes.

1 1/2 cups diced strawberries
1 1/2 cups diced rhubarb
1 1/2 cups golden raspberries
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/3 cup natural cane sugar
1/4 cup Beaujolais

Toss the first five ingredients together in a bowl. Let the fruit macerate for 10 minutes. Add the wine and gently mix.

Transfer the filling to a 10" pie plate or divide it amongst individual ramekins. remove the crumble patties from the freezer and break them over the fruit leaving some chunkier pieces.

Bake at 375F until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes.

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The colors of Summer: Gluten-Free Raspberry and Oat Scones

When I think of summer, I think of bright, deep berry colors. I think of raspberries, currants, blackberries. I think of vintage enamel dishes with macerated berries and their juices melting in sugar. I think of open windows, blue glass jars, the ocean.

Often times, people ask me what is my inspiration to cook, bake, style and photograph. I look no further than nature. Nature really is the best color wheel when composing a shot. The array of colors in seasonal produce really is what marks an image in my head even before I grab my camera.



My dear friend Erica visited this week. It had been almost a year since I had seen her and it was so fun to let our little girls play together. I asked her what she had been doing since she arrived in town. "Sleep", she said. Then it reminded me of the lazy summer days before I had children and spending time under a tree with a good book and good music. That rarely ever happens anymore.... But I dream of it.



During my trip to Seattle, my sister in law Lisa and I stopped at Flying Apron Bakery where we both ate the most delicious gluten and dairy free, heart-shaped blueberry oat scone. We sat out side in the quaint downtown Fremont and enjoyed every morsel without saying much.

It had been a while since I had made any scones and after that, I decided I had to make some when I returned home.



This raspberry and oat scone recipe is an adaptation of one of Dorie Greenspan's recipes. I used a combination of brown rice, sorghum and tapioca flours in lieu of wheat flour and also, gluten-free oats. It worked great. They are hearty, yet soft and chewy from the oats. The raspberries add a touch of sour and freshness that I love, better than the blueberry version in my opinion.



So when I was getting ready to photograph the scones, I really wanted to capture more than the food itself. I wanted to capture the season through color and light. There lies my inspiration.



Gluten-Free Raspberry and Oat Scones

adapted from Dorie Greenspan

150 grams (1 cup) superfine brown rice flour
50 grams (1/3 cup) sorghum flour
40 grams (1/3 cup) tapioca flour
150 grams(1 1/3 cup) gluten-free oats
75 grams (1/3 cup) cane sugar
20 grams (1 Tbs) baking powder
3 grams (1/2 tsp) baking soda
2 grams (1/2 tsp) xanthan gum
5 grams (1/2 tsp) salt
Zest of 1 lemon
140 grams (10 Tbs) cold butter or non-hydrogenated shortening
1 egg
110 grams (1/2 cup) cold buttermilk (I used coconut milk with 1 tsp lemon juice)
75 grams (3/4 cup) raspberries, fresh or frozen

Put the butter 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 the egg and buttermilk together and add it to the flour and butter 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 raspberries and fold.

Pat to a disk that is about 1/2" thick and cut using a cookie cutter or knife. Place the scones on a baking sheet and brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake at 400F (200C) for about 18 minutes or until golden.

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{Sunday Lunch} Fava and Quinoa Salad and a Plum, Oat and Rosemary Crisp

Weekend meals in our house are a bit of a hodgepodge of sorts. I play around with food, C. likes to experiment with the smoker, I bake all sorts of sweets... So I would say we graze all day long and maybe have one decent, sit down meal, which is usually breakfast.

I grew up in a family where all our activities revolved around our meal times. Lunch was always served at 1:30pm during the week and 2:30pm on the weekends. Even to this day, if I call my parents at that time and they are not home, my internal alarm immediately goes off wondering if something has happened. There is something very comforting about that and that's perhaps why I crave routine so much.



I think it's clear I love to cook, especially I love to cook for my family. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to work from home and to have a flexible schedule so I can always fit our dinnertime together. I am very passionate about what I feed my children, but above all, I love the task itself. I love peeling, sauteeing, dressing, roasting, dicing, icing... I love the action that happens in the kitchen. The smells and sounds that come out of it.

But weekends are different... On weekends, I like to feel no obligation to have lunch on the table at a certain time or to have to rush home to prepare dinner. I just want to play around and have fun.



So early this morning, when I had barely finished cleaning our breakfast dishes, I got back in the kitchen and started cooking our lunch. C. took our little boy out for some errands and M. napped peacefully. I sat at the dining room table and started patiently peeling the bag of fava beans I got at the market yesterday. Brought back memories of my dad snapping and cutting flat green beans for my mom. Put me in a trance.

I quickly blanched the favas in salted, boiling water and made a salad with red quinoa, the fava beans, shallots and a soft boiled egg. All dressed very simply with salt, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and some mini purple basil leaves.



For dessert, we had a gluten-free plum, oat and rosemary crisp. I know it might seem odd to add rosemary to a crisp, but believe me, it worked. The lemon zest and the rosemary complimented the sweet and slightly acidic fruit very, very well. Even J. agreed. I snapped these photos in a pinch while the skies were threatening rain. I can see the grayness in them. I like it.

And tell me, what did you cook this weekend?

Gluten-Free Plum, Oat and Rosemary Crisp

3 lbs sliced plums
2/3 cups palm sugar or cane sugar
3 Tbs plus 1 tsp cornstarch
1 vanilla bean, scraped
Juice of 1 lemon
pinch of salt

1/2 cup superfine brown rice flour
1/4 cup gluten-free oat flour
1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup palm sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbs finely chopped rosemary
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup melted butter

Toss together the sliced plums, cornstarch, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla bean and salt. Transfer to a 10" round baking dish.

In a bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, sugar, sea salt, rosemary and lemon zest. Add the melted butter and fold with a spatula until all the dry ingredients are moist with the butter. Crumble it on top of the fruit.

Bake at 350F until golden and filling starts to bubble. About 45 minutes. If the topping starts to get too dark, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper.

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