Classic British Scones with Currants

This week is all about classic British food! Which, of course, is my favorite thing ever in the whole world. The most classic English tea-time cake I could find, British-style scones, and crumpets!! Do you even know what crumpets are?? They're so fun, I can't wait to show you!

My house is being ripped to pieces all around me while two lovely gentlemen replace our bay window and install French doors in the back. They. Are. GORGEOUS. When they're all done, I'll show you the final reveal! Until then, Scones!! Which, of course, make everything better. :)

I've eaten scones for as long as I can remember. They're one of my favorite things to bake! It wasn't until a few years ago that I truly learned the difference between British and American scones. American scones are more dense, lots sweeter, usually have some kind of sugar or glaze on top, and can be kinda awful if done wrong, turning them into sugary doorstops. British scones are lighter, softer, barely sweet, and much simpler. You don't usually find tons of chocolate chips and fruits packed into them. British scones are made much simpler because they're designed to be spread with butter, clotted cream, and jam. Now, I'm not bashing American scones! I love them!! And I love my add-ins!! Both favorites! The first time I ever tried a truly British scone was at a tiny Scottish restaurant on the way to Virginia Beach. We wanted fish and chips, (which were awesome) but started with scones, clotted cream, and jam. It was also the first time I ever tasted clotted cream, and oh MAN, that stuff is heaven!! I was head over heels in love. Forget the fish and chips, I wanted four more orders of scones and jam!

It's about time I make some for myself, right?? And you guys!

Weekly Menu June 10 and Lots of Garden Stuff!

 Source: Pinterest

This week we have:

Victoria Sponge (Sandwich) Cake

Classic Currant Scones

Homemade Crumpets

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Blackberries and Cream Oats with Honey

Okay, I'm obsessed. Again. My blogging life tends to jump from one obsession to the next, whether it be a certain food, a blog, or a style. I started this blog because I was hooked on The English Kitchen (still my favorite blog ever), got the whole "weekly menu" idea from StoneGable, and found a new photography style after being inspired by Alexandra's Kitchen. (Still working on that one...) We all have a few of those blogs that just encompass EVERYTHING we want to be as bloggers, and these are a few of mine! My newest obsession is Pinch of Yum. This blog has everything. Awesome comfort food, incredible healthy food, and gorgeous pictures. I almost hate her, just a little, her pictures are so flipping perfect. Not really. No hating here. But still... how do I get that good!? Lucky for me, and other rookies out there, she's written a fantastic food photography e-book that I can't wait to put to use! I need a few more props, and napkins... Anyway. This is the recipe that got me hooked. 

I also get obsessed with food. I have been known to eat the same thing every day for weeks. Guacamole phase, omelet phase, buffalo chicken phase, egg and cheese bagel phase, bruschetta phase, I've had them all and more. Some healthier than others, obviously. And my biggest dietary stumbling block is lunch. Breakfast is easy, smoothies are a cinch and totally yummy. Dinner is easy to make healthy. But lunch... Nothing ever sounds good! Except junk food, these days. Until I found this oatmeal. "But oatmeal is for breakfast!!" you say?? Not for me! A smoothie for breakfast, this bowl of awesomeness for lunch, and there goes two-thirds of my daily food devoted to healthiness. I think I've already lost a few pounds... :)

Weekly Menu June 3

Source: sunrays-and-stardust

This week we have:

Blackberries and Cream Oats with Honey

Pineapple Cookies with Orange Glaze

Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake

For today, June 3...

Big and Soft M&M Cookies

 Besides my carpet (yay!!) and sleep (always), my favorite thing right now is my yard. We kinda live out there. We finally planted our teeny garden today; it's almost June, so we should be done with snow at this point, right??

Three tomato plants, two rows of carrots and two rows of green beans. If I can keep them alive, we'll expand next year. This is my test. We're soaking in these gorgeous spring-slash-summer evenings, because any day now it's going to get hot and dry, and the wonder of having a backyard has yet to wear off. A space big enough to exercise the Beast, with a frisbee or a ball, and actually wear her out without having to put on shoes, is pretty awesome. Because yes, I am lazy. Therefore, so is she. And she could stand to lose a few pounds. Me too, but that's what smoothies and my treadmill are for. Backyards are for lilacs and breezes and fetch and frisbee!

Turns out the boys are pretty good at frisbee! They sure picked it up faster than I ever did. (PS- The yard will be even nicer when we get rid of that cement slab. Yuck.)

 Action shoooooooot!!!

Joe takes frisbee, as with all activities involving hand eye coordination, very seriously. He even got some air on that one!! And after playing that hard, I think two cookies for dessert is totally justified, don't you?

Chicken Casserole with Lemon, Garlic, and White Wine

So, hi, I'm exhausted. The last few days have been craziness!! In one day I: took Stephen to school, then drove down to Colorado Springs to check out some apartment options for my sister, who is also moving here this summer, looked at five complexes in two hours, drove back (oh, that's an hour and a half each way, for those not familiar with the area), got a call from the missionaries asking what time they should be over for dinner (which of course I had forgotten about), picked Stephen up for school, went grocery shopping, cleaned up the remaining post-carpet-installation debris, cooked dinner, sat still for a few minutes while the missionaries ate and just breathed, tied my poor flattened peonies up in hopes they will revive, made four pans of cheesecake rolls for the Geologist's office, and collapsed in bed somewhere before midnight. Add to the mix that Colorado is trying to turn me into a sloth with the worst allergies I've ever had, and I pretty much just want to sleep all day. And night. When I do get a chance to take a nap, I wake up an hour or two later completely befuddled, thinking I slept the whole day away. But hey, at least...

I HAVE CARPET!!!

I love love love LOVE it! It's so soft, and pretty, and perfect! Bracken might be the only one who loves it more than me. It just ties everything together perfectly, I love how the rooms feel now. More comfy, more homey; it was the missing link.

Oh, and these lilacs were the missing link on my table :). They're from the bush across the fence in the back, the neighbors don't mind if I adopt it. 

Anyone else being slowly sloth-ified (Yes, that's a word. Because I said so.) by seasonal allergies? Or had a long, packed, overwhelming week? Or just want a dinner that takes hardly any prep at all? This recipe is for you. Honestly, it should just be for everybody.