Spring is Here!

I know Spring officially began last month, but it hasn't really felt like it until this past week. Last Thursday the temperature got into the upper 60's! I knew it was going to be nice, so I stopped at Bi-Mart and stocked up on potting soil and fresh herbs and veggies to grow. That afternoon I waited until all of the clouds had cleared, then ventured out onto the deck to do some gardening. Last summer we went a little crazy with the plants. Mostly due to starting the tomatoes as seeds, thus taking forever to grow into full plants.... then we were stuck with a surplus of tomatoes! This year I decided to purchase the tomato plants that are around 7-8" tall. Here's what I'm growing:

Herbs: Rosemary, French Thyme, Tarragon, Sage, Chives, Basil, Dill, Cilantro, and Oregano.

Veggies: Jalapenos (these were so fun last summer!), Lettuce starts, Lettuce from seeds, Spinach from seeds, Radishes from seeds, two kinds of red Tomatoes (one of which was developed at Oregon State University!), and a small Yellow Pear Tomato plant.


Soon to come: Snow peas! Dale is going to construct a planter box that we can tie strings to for the peas grow on.

I love looking outside at my happy herbs! I was so excited this morning when I went out to water them and was surprised with radish leaves sprouting!! I planted the seeds exactly a week ago and they are already popping up! I'm going to have to spread them out once the leaves get a little bigger.

Just made some sun-dried tomato pesto. Tonight's menu: Sun dried tomato stuffed pork tenderloin, smashed potatoes with sour cream and chives, and sugar-snap peas with a sweet onion vinaigrette. I love Spring!

Jammin' Jammers!

This Christmas I received two gifts that opened a whole new door to the culinary art of baking: 1. The Grand Central Baking Book, from the famous Portland and Seattle Grand Central Bakeries and 2. A KitchenAid Standing Mixer. I have to mention that my mixer is on my mental list of items that I will carry out with me in case of a fire. Along with my external hard drive, Mastering the Art of French Cooking book, a few favorite serving bowls, and my teddy bear. Forget the fact that Julia Child's MTAOFC weighs almost as much as my KitchenAid mixer... But back to the baking. One of the first recipes that caught my eye was Grand Central Bakery Jammers. The photo was enough to win me over. Flakey scones with jam in the center? Yes please!

The first time I made these, I overworked the dough. The scones were too dense. Plus I didn’t have a biscuit cutter, so I fashioned one out of a clean 14.5oz tomato can. It worked, but it was a little larger than I wanted. The second time around my mom lent me her little set of biscuit cutters (which make it much more simple) and I had a mental talk with myself: Allison, don’t over-mix the dough!! I kept a close eye on the little guys as they puffed up. It’s fun to look through the oven window and see the jam bubbling away! Only one of the jammers overflowed (parchment paper is a must).


I found that these jammers are best right out of the oven. Well, wait two or three minutes so you don’t scald your tongue with the hot jam, but trust me: if possible, serve these right away. They make a wonderful breakfast treat… or afternoon treat… or even an evening treat if you must. Coffee/tea/milk must be equipped in-hand. The scones are soft, flakey and make you crazy thirsty. The next day they are still good (I reheat them in the microwave), but not nearly as wonderful as when they are right out of the oven.

*Note: The ingredients can be prepared the night before, so it’s easier to whip these up first thing in the morning ☺


Grand Central Bakery Jammers
From the Grand Central Baking Book, by Piper Davis and Ellen Jackson
Makes 10 to 12 jammers

4 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups (10 to 12 oz) buttermilk
About ¾ cup good quality preserves or jam

1. Dice the butter into ½-inch cubes. Use your hands or the paddle attachment of the stand mixer on low speed to blend the butter into the dry ingredients until the texture of the flour changes from silky to mealy. There should still be dime- to quarter-size pieces of butter remaining. If you’re preparing the dough the night before, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill overnight; otherwise proceed with the recipe.

2. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in 1 cup of the buttermilk in one addition. Gently mix dough just until it comes together; it will look rough. Scrape dough from the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add another ¼ cup buttermilk and mix again to incorporate any floury scraps. The majority of the dough will come together, on the paddle if you are using a stand mixer. Stop mixing while there are still visible chunks of butter and floury patches. The dough should come out of the bowl in 2 to 3 large, messy clumps, leaving only some small scraps and flour around the sides of the bowl. If the dough is visibly dry and crumbly, add up to ¼ cup more buttermilk, 1 Tbsp. at a time, mixing no more than one rotation after each addition (I only needed a few Tbsp. extra).


3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Use the heels and sides of your palms to gather the dough and gently pat it into an oblong shape 1 ½ to 2 inches thick. It won’t look smooth or particularly cohesive; that’s okay. Use a biscuit cutter to cut the jammers into circles at least 2 ½ -inches in diameter. Layer the leftover scraps on top of one another and gently pat them out to a thickness of 1 ½ to 2 inches and again cut into circles.

4. Use your thumb to make an indentation the size of a fifty-cent piece in the middle of each biscuit. While gently supporting the outside edge of the biscuit with your fingers, use your thumb to create a bulb-shaped hole that’s a bit wider at the bottom and that goes almost to the bottom of the biscuit (think pinch pot). Try to apply as little pressure as possible to the outside of the biscuit, to avoid smashing the layers, which are the key to flaky jammers. Fill each indentation with 1 Tbsp of jam and put the jammers on the prepared baking sheet with 1 ½ inches between them.


5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The jammers should be a deep golden brown.