Meteorologists are predicting a serious monsoon moisture event this weekend for the little piece of Chihuahuan desert where I live.
There are texted and emailed flood warnings and the Saturday farmers market has been cancelled.
I decided to weed whack the unruly shaggy pathways through the garden ahead of the promised rain. Oops! the meteorologists’ timing was out. A short, intense rain storm stopped mowing play half way through, so I went downtown and took a nice long soak in a hotsprings.
It’s obvious from this picture of another time and place, that I have been enjoying taking the waters for a very long time now.
Curious which one I am? If it isn’t obvious, here’s a clue: I’m the youngest of this pool full of siblings and cousins and thus earn the centre of attention spot on the lap of eldest sister. I don’t wear yellow much these days, but there’s a strong possibility that the swimming costume was a hand me down. Comes with territory of youngest in the family. I didn’t just get my siblings’ cast offs; I got to wear my cousins’ old clothes too.
Then I was hungry so I baked a quick batch of scones made savory with a dash of sesame oil, rosemary, thyme, sage, caraway seed and nutritional yeast.
Spread with a vegan cheese spread which I make using almonds, garlic and spices, they were delicious. Aced the flaky crumbly thing with this batch. I am not always successful with scones and sometimes produce hard, compacted little pucks.
Today my savory scones were enjoyed with a tall glass of chilled rooibos hibiscus tea. It’s my summer tea of choice: cool, refreshing and caffeine free so I can drink it all afternoon. Hotsprings soaking requires rehydration.
More frequently eaten with (strawberry) jam and cream, washed down with a good pot of hot Darjeeling (or other black tea) as part of a cream tea, these, not those dry triangles on coffee shop counters, are what I know as scones. They would be available in any Tea Room worth the name, in the old country, in the yellow swimsuit era.
The recipe produces what people in the USA call biscuits (and the Scottish call drop scones) and typically eat for breakfast smothered in gravy: a whitish grey flour based sauce which, since I’ve never in my life eaten it, I have on good authority is often very salty and can be made from mushroom soup concentrate.