Food Love Family

Easy Yummy Scones

I am in love with scones. I have been for quite some time. Every time I make them I fall in love just a little bit more. They are one of the most satisfying baked goods to make from scratch. A far cry from what we have become accustomed to eating at cafes and coffee shops, the homemade scone made with butter, is a treat to be revered. And it is easy. Shhhhh. I shouldn't even tell you how easy it is to make scones. But I am sharing my secret with you. Because I really love scones.

This batch was lemon. But you can make almost any kind of scone that you can dream up or make something traditional like currant. Raspberry is one of my favorites. But you know how much I love lemons. So I had to make you Lemon Scones.

Secrets to this being so easy? It is a one bowl recipe. It takes very little time or baking skill. It takes few ingredients. So easy that my 5 year old has been making these since before she was 2. And now she has the recipe memorized. She recites it to me. Because as I age I tend to forget it. This works out well for me.

Easy Yummy Lemon Scones

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in center
In a large bowl, mix 2 cups AP flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt
To this, add 4 Tablespoons sugar and blend to combine
Cut in 1 stick of cold butter with a pastry blender or two knives until pea-sized pieces of butter are mixed throughout
Add zest of 1 large lemon (or other mix-in as desired, such as currants, berries, or chocolate chips)
Make a well in center and add 1 egg and 1/2 cup milk or cream
Combine dough until mixed thoroughly
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and pat with floured hands into a circle that is about 1 inch thick
Cut into 6 or 8 wedges, depending on desired size of scone
Place on parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet
Brush tops of scones with cream and sprinkle with sugar
Bake for approx 15 minutes until lightly browned on top
Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool
Serve with butter, lemon curd, or jam. Eat and enjoy!

Baking with lemons is so easy, especially when you have a handy tool for zesting. Save the zested lemon for juicing but be sure to store in fridge to prevent it from drying out. Never waste a lemon. They are so versatile and what I consider a "perfect food".

Enjoy!
~Kimberley

Time Flies

This week we celebrate the 5th birthday of our first daughter, Georgia May. These phone pics are from when she was 2 and we were baking. I was also holding our new baby, Olivia Skye, while taking these. Literally juggling the two of them to keep everyone happy.

It is overwhelming to look at photos from the past 5 years and to see them grow and laugh and play. Georgia was practically born baking and we have photos of her receiving that apron, some oven mitts, and baking supplies when she was 18 months old. Already, at that age, I had her on a chair in the kitchen with me, cooking and baking.

I remember that she was making these cookies for Grandpa. We always baked for visits with Grandpa.

Yesterday we had guests over to our house for dinner and they remarked on how I let the girls into the kitchen with me to help bake and cook dessert. We have 2 step stools and Georgia and Olivia pulled them up to the counter and helped make the strawberry shortcake we served. I remembered that not everyone does that. In fact, I don't remember my Mom letting me cook with her. I always did it on my own. But bringing my girls into the kitchen from a young age has served many purposes and has helped to build a foundation of kitchen skills, food knowledge, and appreciation for the food we enjoy.

It is perhaps the best thing I have done as a parent so far.

And as we approach celebrating 5 years since having our first child and becoming parents, I think it is a good time to reflect on all that we have done right. Of course we have made mistakes. But I think that when we focus on what we are doing well, and keep doing it, it diminishes those mistakes or all the things I am completely unaware of that I am doing as a parent and will find out later.

Five years has gone by fast. And we have faced many challenges along the way. But I wouldn't change it for anything. My daughters are two great people and I feel so honored to be their mother.

~Kimberley

Easy Healthy Beautiful Food Choices

Photo from Food Inc

How often have you vowed to eat healthier?

How often have you rewarded or punished yourself with food?

I think most of us have the self-awareness to realize we do this and we want to make changes. We want to eat better. But where do we start?

I actually think that the first place to start is to change how we think about food and its purpose in our lives. The connection of food to self- image has somehow turned us on ourselves and created this inner battle.

Have you seen the video that's gone viral about beauty? It's pretty amazing and got me thinking about how often we criticize ourselves and then punish ourselves with food or by withholding food. And how often others connect our beauty to the food we eat.

In talking to my toddlers about food, I often use science to make food fun. We talk about the vitamins and elements in food and what that does in our bodies. We talk about where the food comes from and how it was produced. We talk about what we love about food and love about cooking and baking. I believe these kinds of discussions create a foundation for a healthy relationship to food. We are treating it with reverence and respect but we are also building the connection about the science of food and our bodies. We don't talk about dieting, carbs, reducing anything. When there is something that we want them to learn to enjoy in moderation, we say just that. "Too much of anything will make you sick."

Photo from Martha Stewart Living

When we order the non-fat latte or feel guilty for enjoying the cinnamon bun, some of us are making the direct connection of the food we eat and our self-image. But do we need to? Could we enjoy food on an emotional level that is nurturing, comforting, uplifting, refreshing, and satisfying? Is it possible to love eating food, love how we look, and let go of any guilt or shame we feel when we indulge in potato chips or chocolate cake?

I believe its possible. And I am declaring that this is my mission this year. As I embark on my year of turning 40, I have set fitness goals for myself. But I think that I need to take one step back and start with how I think about food and my body. I will start today with one easy choice: I love my morning coffee. I know that coffee has health benefits. But I put sugar in my coffee. So every time I put it in I feel a twinge of "I would be a better, thinner person if I didn't put sugar in my coffee every morning." But would I enjoy my coffee? No. So let it go, Kimberley. Is this how I want to start my day? Feeling guilty about my favorite beverage? I don't think so.

Photo by Kimberley's Kitchen

As I start to discover other easy healthy choices that we can make to improve our relationship with food and ourselves I will share them here. And I know that you have lots of ideas too so please share in the comments for others to see.

I think that as individuals, when we are kind to ourselves, we make the biggest difference in the world. Let's enjoy our food and believe we are beautiful. Because we are all beautiful.

~Kimberley

Simple Whole Food

Simple Whole Food. Is there anything faster or easier? In a time when two or three of the generations think that convenience and fast food is cheaper and easier than cooking real food, it's not a simple question.

Growing Up
I grew up with parents that cooked whole, real food. I grew up shopping at the markets, catching fish, picking vegetables from the garden, picking berries at the farm. I learned about whole food and cooking because it is all I lived. But as I got older, I discovered that not everyone grew up that way. Now as a parent, and seeing what is in the lunch bags at schools, not much has changed. Or it has and it has become much worse.

Real Snacks
At the grocery checkout the other day, as the cashier scanned my canteloupe, she said, "now this will be about 6 dollars. Are you sure you want it?" I appreciated her concern because sometimes produce can be more expensive than you expect it and she probably had several canteloupes turned back that day. I said to her that I don't cut corners on fruits and vegetables that my children enjoy. She smiled. I told her that in fact, $6 was a good deal for how many snacks I would get out of that one melon. Probably about 12 snack servings. So, at 50 cents each, I think its a great deal.

The next day I saw a lunch bag of one of the other children at the daycare. It had a package of "fruit" snacks, which is really candy. You know the ones. This is not food. It is candy. Out of curiosity, when I was back at the grocery store I checked the price on a box of those "snacks". Four freakin' ninety-nine. Even, let's say, it was on sale for $3.99, that is very expensive for what I think is 8 packages of candy. Candy would be cheaper! And no, just because it is made with some fruit juice does not make it fruit or healthy.

The Naked Chef
This is but one example. Of course. And there are so many more. When Jamie Oliver started the Naked Chef years ago, the first episode I watched was him making pasta in the time it took to make a box of mac and cheese. It was such a great example of how it was cheaper and faster to make real pasta. I still remember this because I often make a meal in the time it takes to boil pasta or quinoa or couscous.

The Perfect Egg
So, how do we continue to move forward toward more of us eating simple whole food? I propose we start with the egg. I apologize if you are vegetarian (although I doubt too many read my blog since I talk about bacon so much). There is nothing more beautiful or perfect than an egg. A real egg. From a chicken that was raised humanely, kindly, nurtured to bring us this amazing food. The egg is perfect, it is protein, it is versatile, it is easy. And it is cheap.

The cost of the dozen organic, local eggs pictured above that I buy at a small, local butcher? I pay $4 a dozen. That is less than 35 cents an egg. Now, there are cheaper eggs. But they come filled with crap, from abused, mutilated chickens, with an enormous carbon footprint. But these eggs are less than 35 cents each. So for a serving of 2, 68 cents gets me a meal. How quickly do eggs cook? 5 minutes for soft boil, poached or fried. Pretty fast. Can you think of anything better? ( I can. Having my own chickens. Which I will do one day!)

So why not start with simple changes to real food. Buy the better eggs. Make that one change to your shopping and the small extra cost will be worth it. And then next month, make another small simple change. And slowly, in a year, you will be buying and eating more whole real food. Isn't that easy?

~Kimberley

Love & Loss

I'm back. Back to blogging. I took a hiatus but I am here. I missed you.

This photo was taken on a trip to visit my parents with my children. This was the last time they saw their one and only beloved Grandpa. It was a wonderful visit with beautiful memories. I feel so lucky that we had this time together. And that I took photos so that when they are older we can share the stories.

My Dad treasured his grandchildren. In that way that you always hope that your parents will love your children. He had a special bond with each of them.

Above is Olivia, his youngest grandchild. Olivia embodies all that was wonderful about my Dad. She is kind, patient, loving, funny, smart and has something so special about her that you can't quite put your finger on it. My Dad had a bond with her that was indescribable. They simply knew each other. She loved him from day one. I feel as though she is in my life because I was going to lose my Dad. She is my connection to him.

As hard as it has been to lose my Dad, one thought I had while we spent days at the hospital was "thank goodness it is happening to my Dad and not his grandchildren." He wouldn't have been able to handle that. As strong as he was. He loved his grandchildren so much.

And they will always love him.

We miss you, Dad.

~K

Giving from My Kitchen {Guest Post}

Guest Post from Emily - visit her blog here

I love being creative in the kitchen. I find it therapeutic. Unfortunately I no longer have the metabolism of a 13 year old so I can't eat all that I make. No, I can eat it all, I just shouldn't. In order to bake as much as I want to I give a lot of things away as gifts. From granola to jellies here are a few of the things I've done in the past, but didn't really get around to this year. Hopefully they will inspire you.

CookiesWhether it's Espresso Shortbread or Vanilla Bean Icebox Cookies, a pretty bag or tin of cookies made with quality ingredients, (local unsalted butter, organic vanilla, free range eggs), is always appreciated. I find that the classic, old fashion cookies have great keeping quality so they work really well. Depending on the recipient I'll even tuck in a copy of the recipe.
See my previous post for a few recipes that are great for giving.

BiscottiOne year I made custom flavours for family, everything from classic chocolate almond to spiced fruit and nut to blueberry white chocolate. I use a simple basic recipe and then jazz it up with different flavour. I like to package these using paper coffee bags or in some cellophane.

SpicesI love making my own spice mixes. I keep a basic Tex-Mex one on hand that I use for tacos, chili and anything else that needs a kick. Hubby also is super at making different rubs of meat. Simply whip up a big batch of your favourite spice mix fill up some pretty jars and label. Include a few ideas for how to use it!

PreservesSince I can remember I've been involved in making jam. Strawberry season rolled around and I got the task of standing on a chair by the sink hulling the strawberries while mom and dad did the slicing and boiling. Then it was raspberries, apricots and blackberries. As I got older I graduated to using the food mill. Each summer and fall I look forward to socking up the pantry with jam. This year I only got a few batches made, the week before baby arrived, I made Strawberry Vanilla Bean jam and in August apricot. I`ve still got Roasted Garlic Jelly on the list. Hopefully next year I`ll get ahead of myself and get enough made to give away!
Because there is quite a bit of science involved in canning, and no one wants to get Botulism or other nasties that can appear in improperly canned goods, it`s important to use highly tested recipes. I find that the Bernardin website has a great selection of recipes and good instructions for beginners too!