The weather has finally changed here. I'm fairly certain that winter is over and I can therefore retire my fleece cycling tights to the basement... for a while, anyway. I can also confidently set out of the house without 14 layers at the ready, though I do always arm myself with a rain jacket no matter the season.
I've been waiting for this change since I got here. I arrived here in the east in the winter. I in fact arrived during the coldest part of winter, a time of grey skies and short days. This timing was partially by design: I figured if I got here during the "bad" weather, it would be quite wonderful to experience the seasons and the warming up that comes with spring. Spring on the east coast brings joy and beauty and sunshine. Things bloom, people are out and about. Everything wakes from its winter slumber.
I came from a place of constant sunshine. You never have to worry about rain in Phoenix. Never. If it rains, you just move your plans back an hour because the rain will be gone by then. I got out of my weather-checking habit years ago. Rogue storms or clouds or cold and wet weather days are just that: rogue. You can be confident in their fleeting nature.
I came from a place where it's truly cold for about two weeks in January. The rest of the year it is warm. Sometimes too warm. Even on "cold" (cold is, after all, a relative term) days, the sun provides a warmth not found in many places, a warmth that makes cycling or running in 35 degrees much more bearable than in places without constant, reliable sunshine. At least with the sun out, you won't ever be too cold.
In August in Phoenix, the sun oppresses. It burns your eyeballs. If feels like it might melt a hole in anything stupid enough to be outside, including the pavement. At least when it's cloudy, you don't have to deal with that oppressive sun. Rare cloudy days provide welcome respite from the orb of hydrogen in the desert. I found them pretty, refreshing, a pleasant change from the norm.
At least in places with normal summers, you don't feel like you're walking into an oven every time you go outside. You don't have to complete all outdoor activities by eight o'clock in the morning or risk heat stroke.
Such were my thoughts every August and September in Phoenix, when it feels like the heat should be dissipating but it is only getting worse, when the days are shorter but hotter, when the air is thick and brown. Such were my thoughts in the land of constant sunshine and no rain.
So, yes the weather has changed here, finally, as I've been waiting for it to do. And it is sticky and hot and unpleasant for sleeping. Cooking is practically out of the question. Baking is okay because you then have a nice, free sauna in your kitchen. You can sweat out all your toxins and any other moisture that might be left in your body. You see, it's not hot enough often enough here for every indoor area to be air conditioned within an inch of its life. So you have to actually deal with the heat. Oh, and then there is the humidity, capable of reducing even the most hearty Phoenix-hot-weather-veteran to tears. Or internal tantrums complete with the (internal) utterance, "How is it sooo hot?"
At least when it was cold it wasn't hot.
======
In the spirit of embracing the moment and doing what I would be doing if things were just a tiny bit different from how they are (and therefore perfect, the state always and permanently just out of reach - or is it?), I baked in my hot kitchen last night. I waited until evening because it was a bit cooler, and because I had by then reached a certain level of bemused acceptance of the heat and my own resistance to my present environs, whatever they may be. I bake, therefore, I am in the moment, wherever that moment may be, and whatever the temperature or sky or anything else may be doing right then. I am engaged, I am happy, and making food is always nurturing to the mind and body. That is a constant you can count on. No matter that sometimes you have to rush to cut in the butter before it melts.
Chocolate Cherry Almond Scones
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup arrowroot (or cornstarch)
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup sugar
1 scant tablespoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and diced (keep it in the fridge until right before you use it)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon or more to taste almond extract (OPTIONAL)
1/4 to 1/2 cup dried cherries
1/4 to 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I like Ghirardelli)
Preheat your oven to 425 and position a rack in the center.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Blend together the flours, sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt.
Make sure all clumps are gone.
Cut in the butter as you would for biscuits, using 2 forks, a pastry blender or your fingers. If you use your hands, you can use a quick rolling motion to break up the butter and integrate it into the flour mixture. In any case, you do NOT want to form a paste. I have included a little video just in case you have never done this before. In the video, they are using a pastry blender, but the same result is possible with fingers, forks, or knives.
Cutting in butter - demonstration
Once your mixture looks like bread crumbs, add in the eggs, milk, and almost extract and mix it all together using a wooden spoon or spatula. Mix just until everything is blended - if you still have some small clumps of butter, that's okay. You do not want to overmix. Fold in the cherries and chocolate chips.
Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, scoop rounds of dough onto your prepared baking sheet and flatten them slightly. They should be about 2 inches in diameter. If you want smaller or larger scones, adjust the baking times accordingly.
Bake for about 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. When they're done, the scones will be dark golden on the edges and will feel springy to the touch.
Allow to cool and then freeze or enjoy!
~S
I've been waiting for this change since I got here. I arrived here in the east in the winter. I in fact arrived during the coldest part of winter, a time of grey skies and short days. This timing was partially by design: I figured if I got here during the "bad" weather, it would be quite wonderful to experience the seasons and the warming up that comes with spring. Spring on the east coast brings joy and beauty and sunshine. Things bloom, people are out and about. Everything wakes from its winter slumber.
I came from a place of constant sunshine. You never have to worry about rain in Phoenix. Never. If it rains, you just move your plans back an hour because the rain will be gone by then. I got out of my weather-checking habit years ago. Rogue storms or clouds or cold and wet weather days are just that: rogue. You can be confident in their fleeting nature.
I came from a place where it's truly cold for about two weeks in January. The rest of the year it is warm. Sometimes too warm. Even on "cold" (cold is, after all, a relative term) days, the sun provides a warmth not found in many places, a warmth that makes cycling or running in 35 degrees much more bearable than in places without constant, reliable sunshine. At least with the sun out, you won't ever be too cold.
In August in Phoenix, the sun oppresses. It burns your eyeballs. If feels like it might melt a hole in anything stupid enough to be outside, including the pavement. At least when it's cloudy, you don't have to deal with that oppressive sun. Rare cloudy days provide welcome respite from the orb of hydrogen in the desert. I found them pretty, refreshing, a pleasant change from the norm.
At least in places with normal summers, you don't feel like you're walking into an oven every time you go outside. You don't have to complete all outdoor activities by eight o'clock in the morning or risk heat stroke.
Such were my thoughts every August and September in Phoenix, when it feels like the heat should be dissipating but it is only getting worse, when the days are shorter but hotter, when the air is thick and brown. Such were my thoughts in the land of constant sunshine and no rain.
So, yes the weather has changed here, finally, as I've been waiting for it to do. And it is sticky and hot and unpleasant for sleeping. Cooking is practically out of the question. Baking is okay because you then have a nice, free sauna in your kitchen. You can sweat out all your toxins and any other moisture that might be left in your body. You see, it's not hot enough often enough here for every indoor area to be air conditioned within an inch of its life. So you have to actually deal with the heat. Oh, and then there is the humidity, capable of reducing even the most hearty Phoenix-hot-weather-veteran to tears. Or internal tantrums complete with the (internal) utterance, "How is it sooo hot?"
At least when it was cold it wasn't hot.
======
In the spirit of embracing the moment and doing what I would be doing if things were just a tiny bit different from how they are (and therefore perfect, the state always and permanently just out of reach - or is it?), I baked in my hot kitchen last night. I waited until evening because it was a bit cooler, and because I had by then reached a certain level of bemused acceptance of the heat and my own resistance to my present environs, whatever they may be. I bake, therefore, I am in the moment, wherever that moment may be, and whatever the temperature or sky or anything else may be doing right then. I am engaged, I am happy, and making food is always nurturing to the mind and body. That is a constant you can count on. No matter that sometimes you have to rush to cut in the butter before it melts.
Chocolate Cherry Almond Scones
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup arrowroot (or cornstarch)
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup sugar
1 scant tablespoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and diced (keep it in the fridge until right before you use it)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon or more to taste almond extract (OPTIONAL)
1/4 to 1/2 cup dried cherries
1/4 to 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I like Ghirardelli)
Preheat your oven to 425 and position a rack in the center.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Blend together the flours, sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt.
Make sure all clumps are gone.
Cut in the butter as you would for biscuits, using 2 forks, a pastry blender or your fingers. If you use your hands, you can use a quick rolling motion to break up the butter and integrate it into the flour mixture. In any case, you do NOT want to form a paste. I have included a little video just in case you have never done this before. In the video, they are using a pastry blender, but the same result is possible with fingers, forks, or knives.
Cutting in butter - demonstration
Once your mixture looks like bread crumbs, add in the eggs, milk, and almost extract and mix it all together using a wooden spoon or spatula. Mix just until everything is blended - if you still have some small clumps of butter, that's okay. You do not want to overmix. Fold in the cherries and chocolate chips.
Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, scoop rounds of dough onto your prepared baking sheet and flatten them slightly. They should be about 2 inches in diameter. If you want smaller or larger scones, adjust the baking times accordingly.
Bake for about 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. When they're done, the scones will be dark golden on the edges and will feel springy to the touch.
Allow to cool and then freeze or enjoy!
~S
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