Biscuity Scones, Vegantine's Goodies and Superpowers!

Healthy Juicer update: If you have already entered the Juicer Giveaway, you can get an extra entry just by mentioning (and linking back to) the contest on your own blog. Just leave another comment on the giveaway post to give me a heads up.

Thank you so much for playing, it has been most fun! Check out a few of all the awesome entries:

Jane: I would have the power to form an invisible protective bubble around myself so i wouldn't feel the outside temperature, but rather, a nice warm 70 degrees. (Me too!)

Amanda: the ability to tap anyone with my magic wand and they would instantly want to go vegan! (Nice one!)

Kelly. G: I'd wish for the superpower to speak canine (in case of regional/breed differences, the American rat terrier dialect), mostly so I can ask my middle dog to stop eating his brother's and sister's poo. (LOL!)

MaryBe: ...I always thought it would be cool to have a tail! I am klutzy and always thought it would help my balance. (I could use this power too!)

Alicia: My super power would be the ability to make reading (books, blogs, whatever) give me the same results as sleeping. That way I wouldn't feel so tired the next day when I stay up until 1am reading blogs. (Wouldn't that be nice?)

Becks: I would like the ability to turn any cat I stroke back into a kitten (as they are all eternal kittens at heart) then they could live long, happy, lives - forever with their pet humans. (So sweet!)

So many entries, so many creative superpowers! Keep'em coming!

I've been experimenting with the baking powder Biscuity Scones recipe I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. The cooking time and method has been tricky but I finally found what works best for this recipe. You can add more sugar and some cinnamon, or some sunflower seeds, or whatever you think would work. After trying different variations, I actually prefer the basic version. But my taste buds are plain and unrefined like that.

Basic Baking Powder Biscuity Scones 1 cup whole wheat flour 2 tbsp dark brown sugar 2 tbsp ground flax seed 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 3 tbsp oil 1/2 cup soy milk 1- Preheat a cast iron skillet on low heat and spray with cooking spray. 2- Whisk together the dry ingredients. 3- Whisk together the oil and the soy milk. 4- Stir the liquids into the flour mix just until a dough forms. Add more milk by the tablespoon is necessary (though it shouldn't be too moist). Knead just three or four times. 5- Turn out the dough on a floured surface (I just use a flat, rimless plate) and flatten it forming a 1/2 inch thick circle. It shouldn't be too thick or the scones will be raw and doughy in the middle. 6- Use a sharp knife to cut the circle into 6 triangles. It helps to dip the knife in flour so the dough doesn't stick to it so much. 7- Place the scones in the sauté pan and cook covered for 10 minutes. You might have to remove the lid and wipe the steam down half way through. 8- Flip the scones over using a fork, small spatula or whatever works for you, and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. 9- Transfer the scones to a cooling rack to keep them from getting soggy. I like mine sliced in half and with some Earth Balance, along with some hot tea and a good book. Second-day Biscuity Scones are best reheated in the toaster because it gives them their outer crispiness back. They of course taste better when cooked in a cast iron skillet, but we don't bring one on the road so a non-stick frying pan is the next best thing for us.

Speaking of outer crispiness - affected by another case of the copycats, I made the Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burgers from Jes' blog (Cupcake Punk.) Jes is an award-winning cake master! :)

These burgers were tasty and full of good-for-you ingredients like quinoa, sweet potato, and black beans. We were out of bread crumbs so I used these corn flake crumbs, which means these burgers can be gluten-free. I coated them with the corn flake crumbs to make them crispy because we weren't going to have them in burger buns.

Valentine's Day is almost here and I wanted to make some heart shaped chocolates. It didn't go very well. They taste great, but the dipping in chocolate process wasn't as smooth as I imagined because the chocolate/coconut/cashew centers kept melting on me!

Next week I'll probably write up a whole post dedicated to Vegantine's Day foods and recipes. Hopefully that will go better.

In the meantime, here are a few more road pictures for you.

Pedestrian-turkey safety rule#1: always look both ways before crossing the road
(Theodore Roosevelt National Park)

Dr. McSteamy


Please somebody tell this silly goose that the whole "whassup" thing just isn't cool anymore.

Do I have something in my teeth?