4th of July Weekend

I hope everyone had an enjoyable 4th of July weekend!

On Saturday, Craig and I drove to the Hatcher’s Pass area, which is about 1.5 hours north of Anchorage, where we did some hiking.

In order to get there, we drove on a not-so-well-maintained gravel road.

It was very foggy so we weren’t able to see very far, but it was still fun.

We did not meet anyone else on the trail, so we had the place to ourselves. The building in the background is from an old mine that used to be in this area.

Obviously it wasn’t too warm — or hasn’t been too warm–seeing there were still patches of snow.

When we got down to a lower elevation–below the fog–it was quite pretty.

We hiked for about 2 hours and then drove to my in-law’s cabin.

We spent some time hanging out with them. I pretty much stayed by the fire the whole time because it wasn’t that warm.

After dinner Craig and I took a walked and then played our new favorite game. . . cribbage!!

Sunday was a laid-back day, and since I did not take any pictures, there isn’t much to document. Sorry.

This morning I started my day with a bowl of Cherrios and organic milk. I actually don’t buy a lot of organic products–unless they are on sale, but I do prefer the taste of organic milk, which is why I continue to buy it.

I also had a blueberry scone. I’ve tried a few different scone recipes, but I continue to go back to this recipe because they are so good! The combination of the blueberries inside with the lemon zest glaze on top makes them very delicious. The recipe is from the Food Network. You can find the original recipe here.

Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

Ingredients:

* 2 cups all-purpose flour (I will often use 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat flour.)

* 1 tablespoon baking powder

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 2 tablespoons sugar

* 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into chunks

* 1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones

* 1 cup fresh blueberries (This last time I used app. 3/4 cup dried blueberries.)

Lemon Glaze

(I only make half of what the recipe says on the website, which are the measurements below. It is more than enough.)

* 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

* 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

* 1/2 lemon, zest finely grated

* 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough.

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. (I often make more than 8 scones–otherwise they are quite large.) Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.

Technically you should make this simple lemon glaze in a double boiler (i.e. over a pot of simmering water with a heatproof bowl set on top) but it’s even simpler to zap it in the microwave. Mix the lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon zest and butter. Nuke it for 30 seconds on high. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving.

Question:

What did you do for the 4th of July weekend?