WildGarlic of Trill

[ismo]

By morning, most of the snow was gone, perhaps sublimated away into the mist that was rising from the ground as the sun came up. The Duchess took Mother to the ortho clinic this morning so they could check on the healing of her fractures. The Duchess had been very worried about the trip, but she emailed in the afternoon to say everything went well and they didn't have any bad episodes like last time. The doctor said that Mother's shoulder is not all the way healed, but it's good enough that she can stop wearing a sling and use the arm in a weight-bearing way. That means the PTs can start working with her to see if she can get back to using a walker. The Duchess saw that the rehab has started serving Mother a special, extra-high calorie beverage--not just Ensure any more. So apparently they've finally taken note that her not eating is an issue.

We saw our niece, the Duchess's daughter, Dr. Nurse, briefly when we stopped by to give her a birthday card and a gift card to the local garden store. She originally invited us to come in for tea, but when we got there, she was sitting on the porch looking worried. She said the furnace wasn't working, and it smelled like gas, so she didn't want to ask us in. I really wanted to just kidnap her and take her back to our place, but Mr. Dr. Nurse was on his way home from work, and they were going out for a birthday dinner, so I didn't. I hope the gas company responded quickly to their call! I did remind her that they always have a place to stay with us, so they shouldn't sleep there tonight if it still smells like gas! I haven't heard from her, so I assume it's fixed now. I know she'd called her dad, and I'm sure he gave her the best advice.

I had some delicious lemon curd left over from the cake-baking, and I had been meaning to make scones to eat it with. Finally today I just jumped in and made them. This recipe is very good, but the dough is crumbly, and it was extra crumbly today, for some random reason. When it gets like that, it's hard to cut in neat wedges, and sometimes you have to just smush it into shape with your fingers. As one does. I'm saying this because I'm going to put the recipe in the comments in case someone wants to try it. Lemon curd makes it a heavenly treat. Jam works too. I put half a dozen scones in a box, and some lemon curd in a little jar, and gave those to Dr. Nurse too, so at least she had something to snack on while waiting for the gas company to arrive.

The Sparrowhawk usually goes to the gym on Thursdays, but today he was just too tired. He took a nap instead. It worries me when he's tired. I used the time to clean up the kitchen, which is something I could do without making too much noise. When he woke up, I went for a quick walk. Our blood work came back, and it's all fine. After months of taking iron and vitamins, I now have a normal amount of hemoglobin etc. And then we watched the Queer Eye episode with Jess, the black lesbian from Lawrence KS. Now THAT was a happy-making story! Omg. As soon as I set eyes on her I got all emotional because she was so beautiful and such a strong spirit. Totally deserving of every good thing. Also she wore her new look like a queen. It's always great when the people who get makeovers really run with it and rock it.

Comments

[ismo]

This recipe for Cream Scones comes from a book called Afternoon Delights. It tells you how to make most of the yummy things you would buy at a coffee shop.

Makes 8 large scones (I usually cut them smaller than that--like 12 or 16)
3 cups flour
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup dried currents, coarsely chopped sweetened dried cranberries, or diced crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Either use a nonstick baking sheet, or line it with baking parchment.
Combine the first 5 ingredients and pulse in the food processor, or cut in with a pastry cutter, or mix with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.
Add the cream and dried fruit and stir just until it sticks together.
Turn the dough out onto a slightly floured surface and knead gently and quickly just until it comes together, maybe 30 seconds.
Shape the dough into an even, flat round that is about 1 inch thick. Cut into equal wedges. Place the wedges about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Bake until they're lightly golden and offer very slight resistance when touched in the center with a fingertip, probably 18-20 minutes.
Using a spatula, transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes.
If you manage to not eat them all immediately, they will keep for a few days in an airtight container.

[oracne]

Lemon curd is the yummiest. I think I need to watch Queer Eye.