PANTRY « A Woman Sconed

Produce-ing out of the box

By rahoward, on September 13th, 2020

Even reclusive people — homebound due to a pandemic — can go stir-crazy.

I’ll admit, as a recluse, I was likely not as opposed (though still as discombobulated, mentally) by the imposed exile to which we had surrendered in March. I’m fortunate I can work from home (and am rarely bored here), and . . . → Read More: Produce-ing out of the box

Scone of the Month: Sweetening with fresh corn

By rahoward, on August 22nd, 2020

Come August, I almost always get a bout of “cornostalgia.” Never heard of it? I hadn’t either, since I just came up with the term that has me dreaming of rusty tassels, rustling long green leaves, shimmering gleams of blonde cornsilk covering kernels in shades of cream to gold.

I wanna make things . . . → Read More: Scone of the Month: Sweetening with fresh corn

Cookie of the Month: Marveling at madeleines

By rahoward, on August 21st, 2020

My first bite of madeleine, a yummy little shell-shaped pound cake/cookie, did not release a flood of remembrances, as it did Marcel Proust in his writing about the bakery treat in “In Search of Lost Time” (1913):

“…my mother, seeing that I was cold, offered me some tea, a thing I did not . . . → Read More: Cookie of the Month: Marveling at madeleines

Going ‘green’ with an invisible ingredient

By rahoward, on August 18th, 2020

I’d read the recipes, been intrigued by the videos and even heard out the positive proclamations by a co-worker, but there was still no real way I could be sure that any avocado, of any kind, could be turned into chocolate pudding.

A chocolate-y paste maybe, but certainly nothing to match the chocolate . . . → Read More: Going ‘green’ with an invisible ingredient

Waiting out a summer pudding

By rahoward, on August 8th, 2020

Summer pudding has long been on my “to-make” list. A well-known dessert among the British, I don’t know that too many are aware of it here, although it has been featured on cooking shows and in magazines. I’ve seen just enough about this simple, but unique dessert that I knew I wanted to . . . → Read More: Waiting out a summer pudding

Scone of the Month: Toasting coconut, raspberries, white chocolate

By rahoward, on July 19th, 2020

Three tastes had been on my mind when I made scones in July — coconut, raspberries and white chocolate. These had, in fact, been on my radar since wintertime, when contemplating scone flavors. This trio of tart berry, soft sweet chocolate and nutty shreds of coconut seemed idyllic together in a scone.

Cookie of the Month: Shooting for the stars

By rahoward, on July 1st, 2020

The Fourth of July has always had even my reclusive nature upended, getting into the spirit of potlucks and family or community gatherings. For the last several years, I’ve trotted out some dessert recipes with Independence Day flair and ventured out of my house for a neighborhood potluck, resplendently held in the beautiful . . . → Read More: Cookie of the Month: Shooting for the stars

Scone of the Month: Topping blueberries with streusel

By rahoward, on June 28th, 2020

Give me coffeecake — or anything streusel — if I’m given a choice of cakes. Granted, I don’t usually make coffeecake as my birthday cake (it’s not “festive” enough), but if there was only one cake I could have, that would be it.

Buttery vanilla cake, laced with layers of cinnamon-y filling . . . → Read More: Scone of the Month: Topping blueberries with streusel

Cookie of the Month: Calming up shortbread

By rahoward, on June 13th, 2020

Shortbread is pretty much my favorite cookie. Just a few ingredients (usually a basic blend of butter, sugar flour and salt), it’s easy to make and despite its simplicity, rewards with rich flavor and isn’t too terribly sweet. It’s virtually fail-proof, too. I’d say over-baking is the biggest risk to good shortbread, which . . . → Read More: Cookie of the Month: Calming up shortbread

Scone of the Month: Dreaming of (straw)berries and cream

By rahoward, on May 24th, 2020

Sometimes I make scones for special occasions. Sometimes the scones — and their accompaniments — are special occasions. The month of May, as well as a good dose of “Downton Abbey,” had kept teatime heavily on my mind and on my radar, although I’m never very far from scones and related recipes.

Sometimes . . . → Read More: Scone of the Month: Dreaming of (straw)berries and cream

“People ask me: "Why do you write about food, and eating, and drinking? Why don't you write about the struggle for power and security, and about love, the way the others do?" . . . The easiest answer is to say that, like most other humans, I am hungry.”
--M.F.K. Fisher

"It was in a yellow limestone church in Stockdale, Kansas, a crossroads town, that I sat dreaming during summer Sunday sermons, not of heaven or hell, but of the good dinner to come."
--Clementine Paddleford