Thursday again and time to link up with Susi over a Boca Frau. I think she's been peeking through my window because again this week we are on the same wave length. Both of us are doing scones. Maybe the Diamond Jubilee is to blame. Gettin' all fancy like.

     This week a healthy recipe, because I promised. Everyone seems to be getting fit and toned for summer so I give you this recipe to help along, courtesy of my friend Erin. It can be made gluten free and vegan.

Multigrain Scones

Ingredients

1 egg (or EnerG egg replacer)
1/4 cup maple syrup
5 tablespoons grape seed oil
1/8 teaspoon lemon zest
3/4 cup oats
1 1/2 cups spelt flour (or combination of rice, buckwheat etc.)
2 tablespoons millet
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 and 1/2 cups frozen berries
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup milk alternative (almond, soy, rice etc.)

Topping (optional):

3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2 Lightly oil a cookie sheet or use a nonstick pan.
3 In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients including the lemon zest.
4 Mix the egg (or egg replacer), maple syrup, and oil together.
5 Slowly add the dry ingredients into the "egg", sugar and oil and mix into a thick dough. Add the "milk" and mix well.
6 Scoop up tablespoonfuls of the dough and drop onto the baking sheet leaving 2-inches of space between.
7 You should have enough for 8-10 scones.
8 Bake for 15-25 minutes, just until the crust is barely golden and the dough is dry.
9 Remove from the oven (and optionally, drizzle with lemon topping).
10 Let cool for 10 minutes.

Notes

You can use ground flaxseed to replace the egg. Whip 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water until you get a gelatinous texture similiar to egg whites. Great source of your omega acids and an excellent source of fibre as well.

You can use any vegetable oil instead of the grapeseed, same as if you were making muffins.

Use gluten free baking flour and oats to make this a gluten free treat. If you are just avoiding wheat, spelt flour is a great baking flour. Has kind of a nutty finish but a great texture similiar to wheat flour. Many people who are wheat rather than gluten sensitive are fine with spelt.

     A scone to have with your tea or coffee that you can feel good about. Enjoy.

Unfortunately, this is what's currently on my counter

I guess I can always wear a wetsuit to the beach

They're slimming right?

Lemon Squares

     I love the taste of lemon. Whether it is the wedges with my oysters, (or garnishing my rye and ginger) or the decadent, silky smoothness of lemon meringue pie, I just can't get enough. The bright, sharp tang of lemon always makes me think of summer.

     I have been on the hunt for the ultimate lemon square recipe for a while. My aunt Jean has a kick ass recipe. Sorry this isn't it. I got the chocolate marshmallow brownies from her but not the lemon squares just yet. I have my own recipe, no bad but meh.... This is from a co worker. Of course when I made it it didn't turn out like hers but, still a keeper. I just need to fiddle with it a little more to perfect it.

    Getting recipes from some one who makes it all the time can be a bit of a crap shoot. They know their oven, what they use, how they prepare it so often recipes lack a few of the specifics that can make or break your efforts. This is no exception.

    The first time I made this, it was lemon fruit leather you could roll off the crust it was so over cooked. That fruit leather was still pretty tasty so I tried again, then a third time. That's the charm right? I still haven't quite perfected it but here goes, as I got it, with my notes to follow.

Lemon Squares

Ingredients

2 cups of sifted flour

1 cup of icing sugar

1 cup of butter melted

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/4 cup of flour

a little over a half a cup of fresh lemon juice

zest for decorating

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease a baking pan

In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups flour and the icing sugar.

Blend in melted butter.

Press into bottom of the prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light.

Combine sugar, baking powder and 1/4 cup of flour.

Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs.

Finally, stir in the lemon juice.

Pour over baked crust and return to oven.

Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until bars are set.

Allow to cool completely before cutting.

     Now for my notes.

A baking pan-I used an 8x11 1/2 and am wondering if next time I would try a 9x13. The crust was a tad thick for my liking, but only just so...

1 cup of butter melted- I used butter and butter and margarine, half and half. No one could tell the difference. You could probably get away with a good soy margarine on its own.

Beat eggs until light.-I took that to mean texture, ie fluffy. I'm thinking it just means colour, as in just beat the eggs don't whip them. I'll explain a bit further on.

1 teaspoon of baking powder- I'm not sure what the baking powder does in the lemon custard. I think it is a sub for cream of tartar to stabilize it. You could use 1/4 teaspoon of that instead. Again I'll explain a little further down the line.

a little over a half a cup of fresh lemon juice- I used 3/4 of a cup, but I really like it tart. I also reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup and added 1 tablespoon of zest to the custard for added lemony goodness. All of the above can be adjusted for your own personal taste.

Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until bars are set. My oven runs hot, 30 minutes was way too long. The custard also browned and it shouldn't. I reduced my heat to 325 degrees and it didn't colour any further, so...

1 The oven is too hot-cook the custard at 325 degrees

2 The eggs are frothy, or over beaten. A thin layer of froth on the custard is what browned so if I hadn't whipped them there would have been no froth.

3 Swap the baking powder for 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar. Baking powder can cause browning, can't remember why, I believe it is the baking soda in it. No soda, no browning.

     The picture is a variation, Strawberry Lemon Squares. My strawberries are coming in so I added them on top of the cooked crust and poured the custard over top. Delicious, strawberry lemonade in a bar. You could also add blueberries.

     Because of the extra moisture in the berries, cook a bit longer. With the berries in, I did use the full 30 minutes. The edges should be firm but the centre should still jiggle when you take it out of the oven. It will set as it cools.

     I have a good Key Lime Square recipe but I would like to try this recipe with grapefruit juice or blood orange. I think it would work and I love the taste of citrus. We'll see.

     Although it has given me a bit of trouble, this is still a great recipe. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Don't forget to drop by and see what Susi has in the oven. Enjoy.

Flower Power

     My first link up with Susi at Boca Frau for her new meme I'm Baking. A new recipe every other Thursday. Sounds good to me.

     I had a bit of a hard time coming up with an idea. Not because I didn't have a recipe or ten floating around, I just didn't have a favourite that called to me. And it's finally Spring. The nice weather has been calling me outside into my garden, not a lot of baking going on. Let's see.

    The chocolate chip butterscotch oatmeal cookies? A newly developed recipe, turned out beautifully but I hate the way it tastes. It sounded so good in my head, the reality, not so much. Scratch that one.

     It's spring, I know exactly what I'm going to write about. Flowers. That's right, I just finished a batch or three of these little beauties. A huge hit as always, so here are a few hints on bringing Spring to the table.

Single serving Pavlova, decorated with violets and fresh mint

     There are hundreds of edible flowers. First up around here are violets, then lilacs, a summer of roses, followed by lavender later on. Throw in some pansies, geraniums, peonies, nasturtiums and glads and my summer decorating is pretty much complete.

My violets have spread everywhere

I have hundreds

     The easiest way to use flowers is fresh, picked and placed. They definitely up the appeal of just about any dish.

     To preserve them a little longer, sugar them. Take your fresh picked flowers, paint them with some lightly beaten egg whites and sprinkle generously with caster sugar. Gently tap off any excess sugar. Let dry completely and they can be stored for as long as a couple of months.

Imagine those glads decorating a chocolate cake

     Make scented sugars. Lavender, lilac and roses make incredible sugars. Lavender, because it is so strong, mix a couple of tablespoons of flowers with a cup of sugar. Pulse a couple of times in a food processor or grind together with a mortar and pestle and let sit for a week or so until the sugar absorbs the scent. Sift out the now dried flowers, or not, as you prefer, and it's ready to use.

The neighbour's lilacs are looking pretty tempting

     Lilacs and roses, 1-2 cups of petals or florets to a cup of sugar and same process as above.

     Make syrups. Infuse a simple syrup, 1 cup water, 1 cup white sugar. The amounts of flowers to syrup are roughly the same as for making sugars. Place the flowers and water in a pot. Bring to a boil. Add sugar stirring until it is all dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes, covered. Remove from heat and let steep anywhere from an hour to overnight. Strain the flowers out. I do it twice, once through cheesecloth then through a coffee filter. Place in jars and refrigerate. It should stay good for a week or two. The great thing is you can also can it.

Incredibly fragrant antique roses

Midnight Blue

     Bring your strained syrup to a boil. Ladle into prepared jars and water bath process for 10 minutes.
Remove and let cool checking the seal. If sealed properly, they will last for 6 months to a year.

     You can also make jellies and vinegars but I think that is enough for now.

     Now for the warnings and disclaimers.

     Check and double check the flowers you have are edible. There are many that are extremely toxic. They can cause organ damage or prove fatal. When in doubt, don't. It isn't worth the risk.

     Only use flowers you are sure haven't been prayed with pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. Do not use that beautiful bouquet you got from the florist. Flowers that are safe to eat are labelled as such. I try and only use ones I have grown myself or from other people's gardens I know.

     People with pollen allergies will react badly to eating flowers. You can minimise that by trimming out the stamens, or just using the petals.

     When sugaring, there is a risk of Salmonella when working with raw egg whites, about 1/30,000. Use powdered egg whites if you can find them. Meringue powder is not powdered egg whites and tastes awful.

    For the syrups, the procedures are how I do it. By all that I know, it is safe to can but I couldn't find any reliable information to back that up. I've never had a problem but....  don't take my word for it. Be smart, get informed and make your own choice.

This years crop of regal geraniums

These beautiful blossoms will be used up all summer

     Hopefully, I haven't scared you off of trying some of these out. Cakes, cupcakes, salads, entrees decorated with fresh flowers are beautiful. Desserts sprinkled with floral sugars are amazing. Drinks and desserts made with the syrups are incredible.

     My favourite pairings, vanilla with lavender, rose or lilac. Lemon with rose or lavender. Chocolate with lilac or rose. Rose scented lemonade, with a generous splash of vodka of course, perfect for the patio on those lazy, hot summer days. Chocolate, lilac scented buttercream frosting, a little slice of heaven.

     Not baking exactly but a baking booster post. I'll end with a question. With grilling season starting, what is your best burger recipe? I know, still not baking but I do love my burgers and my BBQ rules all summer long.

     Don't forget to check out what eveyone else is baking this week. Enjoy.