Girdle Date Scones

Need to whip up a quick dessert or morning tea but don't want to turn on the oven? Here's my variation on an old classic:

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tbsp butter
milk (or buttermilk) to mix*
chopped dates

Sift dry ingredients. Rub in butter and add dates. Add sufficient milk to make a fairly soft dough. Roll out fairly thin, make into a round and cut into eight or so segments. Cook on a hot greased girdle (I use my le creuset frying pan) five minutes of each side. Serve with lashings of golden syrup.

*I distinctly recall the first time I made scones when we were living in Bertram Street. The directions said "milk to mix" and I poured in too much resulting in a gluggy mess that not even Cindy, the dog, would eat.

Pancakes

I was horrified on Saturday night when Leona said that she'd had pancakes for brunch on Saturday... I probably would have been ok has she got one of those pancake mixes, but she'd purchased pre-made pancakes. Apparently the look on my face was priceless.

(As opposed to the pancakes which I suspect were a small fortune.)

The following recipe is one I perfected during my summers at Cafe Luna in Hahei... and super easy to make bigger quantities, if you can do your 1 x tables.

1C Flour
1C Milk
1 Egg
1t baking Powder
1T Sugar
1 pinch of salt

Whisk; leave about 1/2 an hour to bind; pour into pan; turn etc

Makes about 6 which is good for two people. Serve with real butter and golden syrup.

You can also add things like vanilla, some plain yoghurt, spices, whatever to give the pancakes different flavours.

L will have to come back and defend herself next weekend once she's tested the recipe.