Every New Year’s Day one of my best friends picks a word as her focus for the year ahead. I marvel at her decision to do this—to think about and live by that word all year long.
It takes the same kind of self determination to go gluten-free and never look back. I’ve done that. I guess I can pick a word and see where it takes me. Maybe I need a vision board—like the ones some of my GF blogger friends are creating—hanging in my office to remind me to center myself on something more than the necessary day-to-day tasks that seem to fill the moments, hours, and days to overflowing.
Looking for the right word is not something I decided to do New Year’s Day morning. I’ve thought about this for weeks while hustling and bustling through preparations for holidays, getting up to speed on a new job, celebrating with family and friends, dealing with an aging mother and the passing of older relatives. Thinking about it on days I feel like talking myself off the ledge while I breathe deeply into a paper sack. And, even when I know that life is really very good—having coffee or dinner with friends, picking up my son from college, snuggling a little dog or enjoying a rare quiet moment.
Little snippets of sayings and songs passed through my head as I searched for a word. Don’t worry, be happy. Stop and smell the roses. Things like that. Happy? I thought of one of my favorite little books The Tao of Pooh (a must read! over and over and over.) Tao? Zen? Nothing was snapping.
And, then today I read this post over at Tickled Red and something clicked. I get this woman. I connect with her on some level—little sparks of connectivity like snyapses popping across the internet.
What she wrote spoke to me. A word in her post popped off the page—SAVOR. Yes. That’s the word.
Savor—to enjoy or appreciate completely.
Yes. That’s it. That’s the word for 2011. Savor.
I’m going to wrap my head around that word and see where it takes me.
Orange Oatmeal Scones
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. The rack should be in the center position.
Mix together and set aside:
½ teaspoon orange extract
½ cup coconut milk
½ cup orange juice
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
Place the following dry ingredients into a food processor fitted with a blade and then pulse a few times until all ingredients are mixed evenly.
1½ cups sorghum flour
1¼ cups gluten-free flour blend (Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour recommended)
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
Add and pulse about 12 times (in one second pulses):
½ cup cold Earth Balance Buttery Spread, cut into small chunks
The mixture should resemble coarse meal. (If you are doing this by hand put the dry ingredients in a big bowl and whisk until combined. Then, using two knives, a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut the Earth Balance into the dry mixture.)
Transfer from the food processor to a large bowl. Add and mix in:
2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
Using a spatula, stir in about half of the coconut/orange juice mixture. Add the remaining liquid a little at time until the dough begins to form. The dough should be a little soft and sticky but should hold together when formed and cut. (This ratio of liquid to dry ingredients worked perfectly for me but you can adjust the dough to reach the desired consistency by adding more coconut milk or flour, if needed.)
Lightly dust the counter top or pastry mat with sorghum or rice flour. Separate the dough into thirds. Form each third into a circle about 4 or 5 inches across and 1½ inches high. Cut each round in half and then half again to create 4 wedges.
Place on a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet and, if desired, sprinkle each scone with a pinch of turbinado sugar. Bake for about 15 minutes until the scones are lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack when cool enough to handle. Serve warm or at room temperature.
More wonderful scone recipes for you to savor:
Book of Yum—Amaranth Scones (Gluten, Egg, and Dairy Free)
Book of Yum—Cardamom Date Scones (Gluten, Soy and Dairy Free)
Nourishing Meals—Maple Raspberry Scones (Gluten, Egg, and Dairy Free)
Lexie’s Kitchen—Lexie’s Scones (Gluten, Egg, and Dairy Free)