Black Raspberry and Mint Scones…Gluten Free of Course!

Seven years ago this city girl moved to the country.  While it will always be my dream to live in Manhattan (walking distance to everything that is awesome) I am quite happy in our little town only 5 minutes to the big city of KW.  Hahaha!  Ok not so big but big enough to have everything including great schools for our kids.  While I often complain about having to drive everywhere, that I am an unpaid taxi service, I do recognize some of the benefits to living out here.  Best (and worst) one being the half acre yard full of summer yummies!  Herb garden of course but best of all: wild black raspberries and tons of them.  Enough to stuff our faces when they are in full swing during the month of july but also enough to stock the freezer for baking once the weather starts to cool down.

So when I woke this morning to a freezing cold house, because I left the windows open all night, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to fire up the oven.

Black Raspberry Bush: The bushes this summer were twice the size of last year!  Ensuring we had a beautiful crop to keep us happy until next summer.  Love, love love my black raspberry crop.

Black raspberries are a smaller, darker version of the better known red raspberry.  They are chalked full of antioxidants,  vitamins A, vitamin C and calcium.  Add in the anthocyanins, which give black raspberries their rich dark colour, and aid in the fight against free radical damage making these berries a welcome addition to any garden.  These nutrients are just the tip of the iceberg: recent studies are demonstrating the antiviral, antibacterial and anticarcinogenic properties of ellagic acid which this black beauty has in high supply! Want to know more about black raspberries and your health?  Check out this fact page 

Now, what goes better with black raspberries than fresh mint?!!  Mint leaves add an unexpected depth and richness to these scones that help to balance the sweet berries.  Perfect for afternoon tea, grabbing on the go or a nibble with that early morning coffee.  Mint has so much to offer the body from its tummy soothing, digestive aiding properties to the many nutrients and antioxidants these tasty leaves provide;  I look for excuses to add them into our diet everyday.

Gluten free flour blend, coconut milk, butter, fresh mint and black raspberries ready to be made into scones.

Black Raspberry and Mint Scones Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Cups all purpose Gluten Free Flour Blend (of choice)
• 1/4 cup organic sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional)
• 1/2 cup cold butter
• 3/4 cup coconut milk (or milk of choice)
• 1/2 cup plain coconut yogurt (or yogurt of choice)  *I like Coconut Grove 🙂
• 1 cup fresh or frozen black raspberries
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F

Combine GF flour, sugar, soda, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum in a large bowl or food processor.  Cut in cold butter until crumbly.  The xanthan gum will help to hold the scones together providing the stickiness that GF flour lacks.  However many people react to xanthan gum if you decide to leave it out just know that the scones will a bit more crumbly.  🙂

Whisk together milk and yogurt then slowly add to dry ingredients until just combined.  Once combined fold in berries and finely chopped mint.  Note: overmixing here will make the scones purple and crush the berries so be careful when folding if you want to have little bursts of colourful berries.

Warning the dough will be sticky!  Drop by large spoonful onto baking sheet in 12 evenly

Scone Mold: This and others available on amazon http://amzn.to/2cnBCnT

sized scones.  Leave about 2 inches between dough balls as they will spread.  Or if you prefer to have perfectly sized scones use a scone mold.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until lightly golden brown and cooked through.  The moisture of the berries will make cooking times vary.  Fresh berries will take less time than frozen.

Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

I love to hear from you!  If you make these or any of my other recipes let me know!  Send in pictures, leave feedback, tell me how you make it yours.

 

Natural Jenn’s Gluten Free Flour Blend

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup white rice four
• 1 cup tapioca starch
• 1 cup buckwheat flour (wheat free)

Sift flours together until well combined and store in an airtight container until ready to use!  I use this blend in all my pre-celiac recipes to replace wheat flour.  I do not add the guar or xanthan gum to my flour blend as not all recipes require it.  If you are used to this addition add 1/2 teaspoon for every 1 cup of flour.  For a softer flour you can leave out the buckwheat, I use it for the high fiber content

 

Yoga Classes

I am happy to announce that Fall registration is now open for Yoga Classes at the Wilmot Contre.  I will once again be teaching 2 classes.  Monday mornings is the assisted yoga classes for seniors and Wednesday morning will be yoga for everybody.

Review – The Food Forest, Peterborough Ontario

I have been asked many times how do I eat when we are out.  As a family we do not generally sit around.  Always jumping at an opportunity to get out and go!  So this is a fair question.  Celiac disease has definitely limited the places I can eat so I always keep food on the ready.  For day trips I make sure to have a couple different fruits, a container of chopped vegies and my go to is the Breton Gluten Free Black Pepper and White Bean crackers.  This is enough to keep me fueled for an entire day if we don’t find something safe to eat.

Red, White and Green The Delightful Radish | Radish Pesto Recipe!

Why you should eat your radishes and some delish recipes that you may not of thought of!

I was a weird kid.  Yeah I have no problem saying that.  While others were asking for candy, ice cream and cakes; I was searching for rhubarb (raw), radishes, kohlrabi and other stinky or sharp vegies.  I loved (love) raw vegetables, almost all of them.  It’s quite funny really because I was an extremely picky eater as a child.

While radishes may not be an “odd” item to find in the markets, your CSA or a salad it is often overlooked when it comes to everyday dishes.  So today lets delve into the why and yum factor of this curious, spicy little vegetable.

Asian Spicy Greens and Gluten Free Grilled Cheese with a Twist!

At the end of the last blog I said “up next what to do with those weird ingredients you find in your CSA”.  Well I thought instead of one post I would spread it out over a few; seeing as the shares change almost weekly.  Now if you have no idea what I’m talking about… the CSA is short for Community Shared Agriculture.  This is where a local farm will charge one price for the season and every week you get a “share” of the crops.  The better the farm does the more you get and vice versa, when there is drought and produce is scarce the shares are smaller.  This is a great way to support your community.  Check local listings or your local market to find a farm near you. 

Review of Corona Del Mar Paleo Tea by Newport Skinny Tea

As I have said in the past I LOVE tea!  Can’t get enough; hot, iced, room temperature…that lonely cup lost and forgotten I will find it and allow it to reach its full potential 🙂

Detoxify

Late winter, early spring every source of media start pumping out news about the latest spring cleanse and fad detox plan.  Yes by all means once a year do a full on detox but NOT for the reason we see it plastered all over magazine covers (a flat belly).  No; instead do it for you!  For all the reasons the body needs a good clean out.

British Style, Indian Vegetable Curry | Gluten Free

Recently my husband and I took a flight to Prince Edward Island  (Canada).   While there I did something I never do, ate at the same place 3 times! Usually we seek out ethnically diverse, unusual and inspired or inspiring food.  However April in PEI, means not so much choice! 

Yoga and Diabetes

I was asked to give a lecture on Yoga and Diabetes so I thought I would share a condensed version here!

Approximately 25 million people in the United States are living with diabetes; researchers across the country and abroad are searching for feasible methods of control.  In 2011 3.4 million people died due to complications caused by high blood sugar levels. It’s time to take control!