I'm Dreaming of This

There it is...My dream....isn't it adorable? It is here in San Luis Obispo. I can't stop driving by it. We (John) is going to TRY and see if we can come just a LITLE bit close to this here at Farmhouse. He is going to put on the little shed roof and we are going to plant a Virgina Creeper to grow over it. I have it bad for that vine-covered cottage thing. When we moved here 2 years ago the garden was a concrete driveway..the downstairs, well, I can't even talk about it, it was that bad. We pretty much have the inside done...( 2 years of living in a remodel with 2 cats and a blind dog, thank you.)Now for the outside. We need to plant some trees. Turning the whole thing into a vegetable garden was just too much.
We are going to get some liquid amber trees and plant, plant, plant. I don't know how close we can come to this dream..but we'll try. Wish us luck. We're gonna need it.

Eggnog Scones...The Recipe

I love collecting old books...these are a few I have gathered along the way...now...wondering to do with some of that leftover eggnog...well, make eggnog scones. These are perfect for Thanksgiving morning. You can make them the day before and freeze them...then in the morning just put on a pot of coffee or some tea and pop them in the oven to nibble on while you cook and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The colder they are before you bake them the better.

Eggnog Scones
Farmhouse Kitchen

Recipe adapated from King Arthur Flour

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Ingredients:

Dough:
2 3/4 cups unbleached flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup cold eggnog

Topping:
1 Tablespoon eggnog
2 Tablespoons sparkling white sugar or cinnamon sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients. Work in butter till crumbly.
In a seperate bowl mix together egg, vanilla, and eggnog.
Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix together till moist and holds together.This dough is easy to work with.

On a parchment lined baking sheet place dough and pat into a 10 inch circle. Score it in wedges like you were cutting a pie. (Mine never scores very well.)

Brush with eggnog and sprinkle with sugar.

For best texture and highest rise place scones in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered while oven is heating. Bake at preheated 425 degrees for 20 mintues or till golden brown. I had to really watch the last of the cooking. Make sure a toothpick comes out clean before you remove from the oven. Scones are best served warm with jam or butter. They can easliy be reheated.