CHEESE AND ONION SCONES

Good Afternoon to you,

Oh my word, I am so very late this week, but life has been a  little hectic for us and when life is like that, it is important, to stop and take time out to catch up with yourself.

Apart from having a very busy week, you will never guess what happened to me on Tuesday.

I received my first parking fine.... how depressing is that.

I have been driving for over 35 years and this is the first time, I have found a parking fine underneath my windscreen wipers.

It really all came about, because I was in a rush.  I parked my car as normal in the car park, I then went to the ticket machine to buy my parking ticket.... I checked the ticket and I was alright parking for 3 hours.... I had until one o'clock that afternoon.

I placed the ticket on the dashboard, so that if the traffic warden was checking cars, it could be seen.

I picked up my bag containing my sewing.... having to hold the door quite firmly, as it was windy.  I closed the door, locked the car and I walked away.

Now here's the thing, I always, always, turn around and check that the parking ticket is in view.... so why did I not check this time.... well, it was due to a series of events, but mainly, it was because I was late for my sewing group.... so I rushed from the car park without a backward glance.

When I returned to the car, the traffic warden had been on a 'walk about' and what did he see, my car without a ticket.... and where was the said ticket... it had blown onto the floor of the car.  I think when I closed the car door, the whoosh from the wind, blew the ticket on to the floor.... and I hadn't noticed.  If only I had done, what I always do, which is, turn around and check my parking ticket was in view, I would have noticed that it wasn't where it should be.

Never mind, I have learnt my lesson, 'more haste, less speed'.

So in the meantime, I am writing a letter to the council, and I am hoping once they see my parking ticket, they will be kind, and  use their discretion..... I am keeping my fingers crossed and I will let you know what happens.

After feeling thoroughly fed up, I decided to do some baking and make myself some comfort food.... it always works and baking really does cheer me up.

..... and these little Cheese and Onion Scones certainly went well with my tomato soup.

So it's on with the pinnie and the music I am listening to is,

one of George's favourite singers, John Denver.  George discovered John Denver during a trip to Canada in the 1970's.

  Natasha and Danielle's favourite song is,

'Grandma's Feather Bed'

and George's favourite, is,

'Annie's Song'

Me, 

I love,

'Come and Let Me Look in Your Eyes'

but I know you will have your favourite.

So whilst I am listening to 'Annie's Song' I will gather my ingredients together.

INGREDIENTS

TO 

MAKE

CHEESE AND ONION SCONES

225g self raising flour

1 teaspoon of dry English mustard

1 teaspoon of paprika

plus a little extra to dust onto the scones

1/2 teaspoon of table salt

1 teaspoon of olive oil

25g unsalted butter

100g (or 1 medium sized) red onion

25g Parmesan cheese

150ml of buttermilk

HOW TO

MAKE

CHEESE AND ONION SCONES

Pre-heat the oven to 200C

Line a baking tray

with parchment paper
and

dust with a little flour.

Finely chop the red onion.

Place 1 teaspoon of olive oil

into a pan.

Add the red onion

and 

cook until translucent.
You will find you will need to move
the onion around the pan quite a lot
to prevent the onions from browning.
The reason is there is only
a small amount of oil used.

When the onions are cooked,

remove them from the pan

and

place on a dish.

Spread the onions out, to allow them to cool.

While the onions are cooling,

sift the self raising flour,

along with the 
dried

English mustard,

the

paprika

and 

the salt

into a large bowl.

Add the butter
to the bowl

and 
rub into the mixture

until the mixture

resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the Parmesan cheese

and

mix.

Add the now,

cold onions

and

mix again.

Add enough buttermilk

to make a soft dough.

I tend to add half the buttermilk

and gently mix with a wooden spoon,

and then I add a little

at a time and use my hands

to create the dough.

Lightly knead the dough until 
it is smooth.

The only thing I need to mention,

is don't overwork the dough.

Gently roll out the dough
on a lightly floured surface

and

cut into rounds.

I wanted small scones on this occasion

so I used a 2 1/2 inch round cutter.

Place on the baking tray

and

brush each scone

with milk

and

using a small sieve,

sprinkle a little paprika

onto each

scone.

Place the scones in the pre-heated oven
and bake

for between 12 -14 minutes.

These cheese and onion scones

are small

and
 just perfect

to eat

with a 

bowl of soup.

Enjoy.

As I mentioned, I have made the scones quite small and also quite thin.  The reason for this is that I did not want to make scones which could be cut in half and buttered.  I wanted these scones to be pulled into pieces and eaten just as they are, but if you would like  thicker scones, don't roll out the dough too much. I would suggest you roll the dough until it is about 1 inch thick.

..... and of course the larger and thicker the scones, the longer they will need  to bake.

Before I leave you, I wanted to say, that I am sorry I have not been able to leave comments, but I am hoping, this weekend to find the time to catch up with you and to see what you have been up to.

So take care and I will see you on Sunday.