There’s a reason I don’t read many books.
I love to read, but when I’m engrossed in a good book, I am a nightmare to live with. That book becomes my world, and I walk around in a daze when asked to do anything else. At the best of times, my inner world is calling to me pretty audibly, and when a good story catches me, I am that person who stays up all night to finish the book just so it will let go of me. The closest I will come to understanding the grip of drugs or alcohol comes to me when I’m reading a good book I just don’t want to put down, that book you think about when you’re away from it, wondering how soon you can get back to it, that has you tearing up if you let yourself get emotionally involved, that book whose characters show up in your dreams and who you wonder about from time to time after putting the book down. I just read Canadian author Lori Lansen’s Rush Home Road, and the effects are lingering.
And if I put the time into reading a bad book? Well, that just annoys me. I’m not a person that can start and not finish a book, except in extreme circumstances, and I just made it through the much-hyped “Fight Club” and, while the premise is interesting, I consider that a few hours I would rather have back.
If I have time to read but not time to get caught up in a swell of demanding book emotion, I grab a cookbook or a magazine. They are the perfect thing to flip through and leave you feeling relaxed and inspired, without a big commitment. One of my favourite cookbook sections is always breakfast. In my future bed and breakfast I told you about, I will have every excuse to look at breakfast ideas all day long, and I can’t wait.
Of course, we’ve already talked about biscuits and scones a lot around here, so you know how much I love them and how crucial they are to my breakfast rotation. If you haven’t tried them, or think scones are time consuming, dry, or boring, you’re really missing out on everything a good scone can be.
(In other news, feedback please!! How do you feel about text on photos? Yay or nay?)
These are moist, flaky, sweet, and savoury. They are perfect for breakfast alongside your favourite eggs, but our favourite way to eat them is beside a hearty soup like minestrone or split pea soup with ham for a healthy and comforting lunch or dinner on a cold fall or winter day. Homemade soup is made to be eaten with homemade bread, biscuits, or scones, isn’t it? (Or nachos. Always nachos.)
This recipe is another adaptation of my Lemon Rhubarb Scones and Mom’s Best Ever Buttermilk Scones. The sweet potato and bacon is a combination that came to me last fall when I happened to have small amounts of those ingredients handy, and somehow I managed to forget to share them with you until now, when I was making them again. They are just as good as I remember, and can be on your table in 30 minutes from start to finish. I’ve yet to figure out the difference between a scone and a biscuit, so we’re calling these biscuits since it starts with “b” like bacon – up with alliteration! But really, you can call these scones if you prefer. Either way, next time you’re having soup for dinner, add these to the plans.
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour (or more all purpose)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- ¼ cup cold butter or margarine, cubed
- 1 cup peeled, grated sweet potato
- ¼ cup cooked, chopped bacon (plus additional for topping, if desired)
- 1 cup (250 mL) buttermilk (see note for substitutions)
- 1 beaten egg yolk
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In large mixing bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt and pepper. Cut in butter (with pastry blender or two knives) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Toss sweet potato and bacon with flour mixture.
- Whisk together egg yolk and buttermilk, make a well in centre of dry ingredients and add buttermilk and egg all at once. Stir with a fork until combined into a ragged dough.
- Coat hands lightly with flour or cooking spray and gather dough together: knead gently about 10 times in the bowl, until fairly smooth. Transfer to parchment paper-lined baking sheet and pat into an even 9″ circle.
- If topping with bacon, gently pat cooked bacon into surface of dough. Cut circle into 10-12 wedges with serrated knife. Do NOT separate the wedges.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through - toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Best served warm.
Duly noted! I agree, Canadian authors can often be a bit too…..well, Canadian. :)
Thanks for the scone recipe and the book recommendation :) I only seem to have time for Lord of the Flies, Merchant of Venice and such these days, but come February and it is cold and stormy and I am snuggled safe and warm at home, I intend to make up for lost pleasure reading time!
Anna, I read Lori Lansens’ “The Girls.” It’s a work of fiction that reads like an autobiography about conjoined twins. I finished the last page, closed the book and cried. I’ll have to pick up her “Rush Home Road.”
I just ordered her other books from the library! This one does have some questionable scenes, but it’s worth skipping them for the rest.
Oh boy, I am the same with books. I just recently realized how I can be when I’m in a good book. It tends to affect my overall mood of I’m not careful. Also, not being able to NOT finish a book is one of my failings, and it drives my hubby a little crazy. I am definitely looking up the book you mentioned! :)
I should warn you this one definitely has some parts that can use skipping – but the rest of the story is so worth it! I have to admit, when I see “Canadian author” I am immediately leery, but this one grabbed me!