Glazed Orange Scones

This is one of our favorite breakfast recipes. Maggie calls them "stones." The original recipe is from "Vegan With a Vengeance" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I checked it out from the teeny, conservative Newton County library, and I've always wondered how they ended up with a copy. Not that it's not a good cookbook, but it's very punk-subculture oriented. Since Neosho isn't big on punks (at least not that kind of punk) or vegans, I think the book probably sees a lot of shelf time.

I've taken a few liberties with the recipe, since I don't keep soy milk or margarine on hand, but if those were left in, this would be a vegan recipe. It's always very popular with the kids and everyone else. We usually run out of the glaze before we run out of scones, so if you're making these for junkies, double the recipe for the glaze. If you're trying to cut down on sugar, just make sure every scone gets a nice drizzle, instead of letting the kids do it themselves.


Glazed Orange Scones

3 cups AP flour (I use 2 cups AP and I cup white wheat flour or sometimes cornmeal)
1/3 cup sugar
2 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
Fresh zest from 1 1/2 oranges

Combine the dry ingredients above and stir to mix.

In a 2-cup or larger measuring cup, combine:
1 1/4 cups soymilk with 1 T vinegar (I use buttermilk)
1/3 cup oil

Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and stir to combine. Divide in half. Knead each half briefly, then pat into a 6-8 inch disk that's about 3/4" thick. Cut into sixths, like a pie. Repeat with other half of dough. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until as golden-brown as you like scones.

While they bake, make the glaze. I melt the butter and mix it all in the cup I used for the liquid mixture above. I like the hint of tangy buttermilk in the glaze, and I like not washing an extra dish.

Orange Glaze

2 T melted margarine (I use butter)
Zest from the other orange half
2 T fresh orange juice (It's always easier to zest first, then juice)
1 cup powdered sugar, or enough to make a nice drizzly glaze that doesn't just run everywhere.

Now for the scone-appreciation shots:

What I did today:

Decided not to send Hollis back to school yet.

Managed to get Olivia on the bus for the first time this week. Remembered the note about Achievement Days, even.

Took a nap that was longer than it should have been, since it was only eight AM.

Finally sent back the longest-rented Netflix movies ever.

Skulked over to City Hall to pay the water bill that was unfunny-late (Toby took one for the team here).

Dropped Toby at my parents' so that he could play some golf with my Dad.

Got to Prairie Hens Day an hour late, but had a great time and some lovely chocolate scones made by Vea.

Visited with Mom before she had to go to work.

Went home when Toby and Dad got back from golf.

Cleaned, trashed, and de-cluttered our sewing room upstairs. Believe me that these are AFTER pictures. I know. But check out the pile of stuff we're unloading. Granola box, get thee behind me! And the floor, which has not been in evidence for many a long while.

Made a quick pot of chili out of the beans that we've been cooking since we got home today. Made cornbread to go with.

Posted on my blog while the chili cooled off.

Made plans to become prone very soon.

Just Unspeakable...

It's that kind of week already when it's not even noon Monday and I've done something so frighteningly blush-worthy that I'm hoping I've met my quota. Hollis has been really sick for about three days, with intermittent mega-high temperatures and other weird symptoms we couldn't quite place. Was it stomach flu, or maybe the Fifth's disease the school keeps sending notes home about? Sunday morning, we realized it was respiratory in nature, and we thought he had pneumonia for the third time. We started doing all the home treatments that worked for him in the past, and during the day he looked a little better. Then in the evening, things got worse, so we finally drove him to the Emergency Room. After a breathing treatment and some meds, he is feeling and acting so much better.

The psychological pain began this morning. We were awake nearly all night, checking on him, and not sleeping. We finally dragged ourselves around this morning to get Livvie to school, then aimlessly started figuring out the day. We had to pay some bills, get the rest of Hollis' medicine, and take library books back. Toby would go and I would stay home so Hollis didn't have to get out, and maybe I could sew some bodices. While we were both in the shower, I remembered that we had scheduled a Parents As Teachers appointment for later in the day. I figured I'd call and cancel, since the house was trashed from our weekend of sick-watch. I'm talking jelly-on-the-carpet trashed. Underwear-in-the-entryway trashed. Someone-peed-the-couch-and-it-hasn't-been-washed-yet trashed. Piles-of-crusty-dishes-all-over trashed. Is the picture sufficiently grim? Can anyone guess where this is going?

As we turned the shower off, I realized that Maggie, Hollis, and Ivy were talking animatedly to SOMEONE in the living room. Refer to the paragraph above, please. Toby asked me hopefully if it sounded like my mom, and no, it didn't sound like my mom. I wrapped up in a towel, sprinted to the bedroom and dressed. Then I threw some clothes into the bathroom where Toby was still hiding. If we're lucky, she just thought I was showering, while Toby hung out and kept me company, fully dressed. That happens all the time, right?

So here's to the Parents As Teachers lady. Who was classy enough to not blink, and gave our kids a lesson on emotions. I believe we covered embarassment quite nicely. Now I need to give my kids a lesson on how to come get Mom and Dad instead of just opening the door and letting people in the house.

Things that also make me happy.

You know, aside from the strange see-through baby picture. My spankin-new blue low-top Chuck Taylors. And the fact that I can't take a picture of my feet without belly in it.

Fifth Pregnancy, First Ultrasound

Yesterday, I had the battery of blood tests required by the state of Arkansas for home birth moms. Then we saw the Certified Nurse Midwife who works with Candy for a checkup. She was really nice and especially understanding about my raging case of white-coat high blood pressure. It was just fine by the end of the visit, so no problems there.

She was doing the list of routine checks, listening to the baby's heartbeat and so forth. When she got to measuring fundal height, she started asking me if I was sure about my due date. I'm pretty sure about that. I was supposed to be about one centimeter for each week of pregnancy, or about 25 1/2, but it was more like 29. So that means either wrong due date, huge baby, too much fluid, or twins. So we consulted Candy and she recommended an ultrasound to see what was going on in there.

Now, I've never had an ultrasound before. We've had all our babies with midwives and it's never been necessary, and I've always liked to be surprised at the birth by which gender the baby is. But, come on, if I have to have a diagnostic ultrasound my natural impatience for information takes control. It was a really neat thing to have a peek at this kid three months early. It was also mega-expensive, since we have no health insurance and pay out of pocket (or is it nose?) for our medical care.

First, there are no complications. The baby is just the right size, there's only one in there, and fluid levels are good, too. It just so happens that this baby likes to stretch itself out from top to bottom and throw off the numbers. Figures.

Second, we are having another little BOY! I think Hollis smiled his face off last night when we told him. Now we know what color to paint the nursery, and whether to buy pink or blue clothing. That's a laugh on both fronts, since he will sleep in our room (mostly in our bed), and we have boxes of clothing kept from when Hollis was a baby.

We do have other children...

We've been very good about taking pictures of Maggie and Ivy lately, what with having a beautiful smart camera in use during the workday when they're with us all day. And they're usually adorably (more or less) underfoot, so it is natural to turn the lens to them. Liv and Hollis, being in school, have been in pictures far less often. So today was such a lovely day, we went over to my parents' house and took about 150 pictures.

There is Olivia up a tree. I don't think she was on the ground for more than a tiny handful of shots. I just love the extremely Liv expression on her face.
Hollis in the glow of fading daylight, hanging from the swingset. Complete with scratch on his lip.
Miss Maggie and some daffodils. I think they're technically crocus, but whatever.
Little Ivy loves to swing as high and fast as possible, and she belly-laughs the whole time she's not commanding someone to push her.

If we have very few pictures of the school-age kids, we have next to none of Toby or myself. I usually feel under-dressed, under-makeupped, or overly pregnant. That's a nearly six-months-pregnant me. I hope you're happy.

We have even fewer pictures of us together, since usually Toby is behind the camera, but Livvie took this one. Apparently the wheelbarrow handle is sniffing Toby's pants...

Nerds Unite and Bake!

Oh, my gosh, I just found out it's National Pi Day. What better way to celebrate than to make a pie? I must get me to the kitchen! More pics to follow.

Sisters

Livvie is a beautiful little blue-eyed blond girl. Her favorite things are dragons and, let's face it, Game Boy. Whenever I ask her about who she played with at recess, she rattles off a list of boys' names. She always says she has girl friends, but they don't play the "good games" at recess. I'm assuming these games are the ones that regularly tear up or grass-stain the knees of her jeans. They play soccer a lot, and my girl says she's a killer goalie.

Maggie, on the other hand, is a very girly girl. She loves dresses that spin out gracefully when she dances. She loves playing with baby dolls and her little kitchen that Toby made for her birthday. She spent the night with my sister a few days ago, and came home in a red t-shirt and matching red stripy pants. Laural had put her hair up in pigtails, with a red ribbon in them, and had painted all Mag's finger-and-toe-nails red. She was very proud of herself. I mean both Laural and Maggie.

When we were growing up, Laural was interested in cheerleading from junior high up. I was in band and quiz bowl. Her favorite toys were Barbie Dolls and Cabbage Patch Kids. Mine: always, always a book, and maybe horse toys. She spent (and still spends) a lot of time and effort to make herself look good. I'm doing better at wearing makeup consistently, but some days, I forget to wash it off and have that cheeky goth smudged mascara look, because I don't look at my face in the mirror all the next day.

We got along pretty well, except for when a certain childhood friend of mine was around. I've selfishly enjoyed her living with Mom and Dad again, because we can hang out a couple times a week. Last night, Laural and I and Mom and cousins Shannon and Trisha met for dinner in Joplin and had a really good time. I'm looking forward to when my kids realize that they grew up with their best friends in the same house.