Savor {Orange Oatmeal Scones}

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.

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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)

Nutty Fruity Granola Bars (Gluten-free, Vegan)

Gluten-free & vegan Nutty Fruity Granola Bars. Photo taken by Reed Kiely.

I’ve been on a bit of a quest.

As work picks up and takes me away from my beloved kitchen more and more—leaving earlier and returning later—I find the need for quick, nutritious breakfasts and snacks.

Nuts, gluten-free crackers, and fruit are tucked in my bag. Salads are a lunch staple. In fact, my coworkers think I eat nothing but salads!

It’s time to add to my repertoire of “grab and go” items and granola bars seemed like a good option. Besides the ease—and the fact they’re chock full of nuts, oats, dried fruits and seeds—they’re not hard to make and they taste good.

At least that’s what my husband thinks. And my neighbor. And me. I hope you do, too.

More granola and granola bar recipes from some of my favorite blogs:

granola bars are for grabbing - glutenfree girl and the chef

Famous Flax ‘n Oat Bars - Alisa Cooks

Gluten Free Recipe for Granola - I Am Gluten Free

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Granola - Gluten-Free Easily

Please post a link to your granola or granola bar recipes in the comments below!

Photo taken by Reed Kiely.

This recipe inspired by Alton Brown & Ina Garten.

Nutty Fruity Granola Bars

These Nutty Fruity Granola Bars are chewy and crunchy all at once. Wrap them individually in wax paper for an on-the-go snack, lunch box extra, or even to take on a hike or camping trip. You can easily switch out the ingredients to make your own version—try dried cherries, blueberries and golden raisins or pecans instead of almonds. The possibilities are endless.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix together and set aside:

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup dried figs, cut into a small dice

½ cup dried apricots, cut into a small dice

Measure out and pour onto a parchment lined cookie sheet:

2 cups gluten-free rolled oats

1 cup sliced almonds

½ cup pepitas or sunflower seeds or a combination of the two

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Toast in the oven for 10-12 minutes stirring from time to time. Make sure not to over-toast-–using the coconut as a guide. It should be just browned not dark brown. Remove the toasted oat mixture.

Reduce the oven to 300 degrees.

Meanwhile combine in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves:

½ cup maple or agave syrup or combination of the two (or alternately honey)

3 tablespoons coconut oil

¼ cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon salt

Mix together:

Warm toasted oat mixture

¼ cup chia seeds (optional)

¼ cup flax seeds (optional)

Dried fruit mix

Add in and stir to combine:

Warm liquid mixture you made previously

Spoon the mixed granola into a parchment lined baking dish—about 8x11.5 inches. Spread it out, place another piece of parchment on top and press down with your hands to compress the granola evenly into the pan.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan. I mean absolutely, positively, completely cool—a few hours. Cut into bars. These will keep in an airtight container for about a week—if you don’t eat them all first.

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