Recipe: Bacon, Onion, and Cheese Scones (Gluten Free)

I've been bragging about these on Facebook, so I thought I would share.

To make 18 scones:

Two to Three rashers of smoky bacon, diced
one small onion, finely diced
Grated Cheese (I use Mature or Extra Mature Cheddar, but any other strong flavour would be interesting)
Four cups of Self Raising Flour (I use Dove's Farm Gluten and Wheat Free)
a pinch or two of salt
two round tablespoons of margarine
enough milk to draw it into a dough (I used whole goats milk)

In a skillet or frying pan, fry up the bacon, and when it's almost done, add in the onions. Cook until the onions start to go soft and the bacon crispy. Turn the heat off and set to the side.

Preheat the oven and baking sheet to Gas Mark 7/230C/425F.

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour and salt, give it a bit of a mix with your fingers. Add in the margarine, and rub in to the flour until it's mixed. Add in the grated cheese, give a bit of a toss, then add in the bacon and onion and toss with your fingers until evenly mixed. Gradually add milk until it draws in to a dough, but don't over do it.

Tip out on to a flour-dusted surface, and lightly knead it (but keep a light touch and don't over work it). Use your hands to press out the dough to about a 2cm thickness. Cut out in rounds with a cookie cutter or pint glass.

Pull the baking sheet out of the oven, and layer with nine of the rounds. Brush the tops with melted margarine and top with grated cheese. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes.

This is a recipe that I have modified from the Jamie Oliver forum

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Cross Stitch: Wheel of the Year - Week 1

Well, I'm not as far along as I'd like to be, but I had a busy weekend. We had an overnight guest on Saturday night, so it got set in the dining room. Doing that makes it less likely for me to randomly pick my work up and add. But, I am happy with how much I do have done, even amongst some other frustrations.

Frustration 1:  I've realised that I miscounted by 2 inches on my waste canvas, on either side. It could be that I didn't actually miscount or mismeasure. I'm using a cross stitch design program that I've not used before, so I could have easily put a figure in wrong. Not a particularly big deal...I have more waste canvas and I can tack more on to the edges when I'm ready for that bit.

Frustration 2: I could really use with a proper embroidery floor stand. I have a 24 inch frame that I am balancing against my laptop stand and arm. Not a real issue, just annoying. At least it lets me multi-task...watch telly, watch Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, and stitch all at once. Hmm...that may be a touch of the reason why I don't have as much done as I'd like. But, I do most of my stitching in the evening, and the social networks are the majority of my social life.

Frustration 3: Energy saving bulbs suck. Even with having the brightest eco bulb available in my living room light, it's way too dim for me. I'm going quite short-sighted and seriously need more light. I finally clicked and realised this evening that my clip light for my Kindle fits quite nicely on the top of my frame. Shame that I can't find the battery charger, because the batteries are all flat, and I can't find the spare set of non-rechargeables that I keep around for just in case. Granted, they probably landed into a remote or something when I couldn't find the spare rechargeables.

I'd normally work on it until midnight, but my eyes are starting to do funny things, so I'd probably better not. I think I'll probably just go veg and watch "Lady Gaga Presents" that I'm recording. I'm pretty sure I'll find the battery charger tomorrow, and having the clip light will make a huge difference to the work I can do after I lose daylight.

Mel