Ginger Scones

There must be some psychological term for the behavior that overtakes most cruisers when provisioning (fancy word for grocery shopping). I think I become just a little crazy. It is, after all, a somewhat mind boggling game. Where will I next find a grocery store? When? What will they have? Can I really live without Skippy Creamy peanut butter? What will happen to our relationship if we run out of chocolate? And so forth.

See food, especially for me, isn't purely about surviving, it's about enjoyment, creativity, luxury, and sometimes comfort. At sea, cruising, there is very little that I or my partner can actually control. We can do our best to prepare, but in the end we have to "go with the flow"; mother nature after all is not one to take orders. So what am I left with? Food. I can supply my yacht with the best of things and prepare superb dishes, even when truly in the middle of nowhere. I refuse to resort to canned soup and dehydrated vegetables.

But in order to have this power I must stock-up, and I admit, I go just a bit overboard. There I am in the last major grocery store I know I will see in at least three months, and my mind starts racing. I think surely two jars of Skippy will be enough, but then my mind wonders and I picture the day I'm craving peanut butter only to find we've run out. So I get four. To make matters worse, Chris and I hoard; saving those special foods for "special occasions" because we fear over indulging and the dreadful running out! It is this thought process that has left me with 2kgs of "left-over" candied ginger - purchased way back in Australia about a year ago. Luckily I've got a vacuum sealer and good storage techniques, but still it is time for the ginger to go.

And so I thank my soon-to-be mother-in-law for her Ginger Scone recipe - one of Chris' favorite breakfast treats. The other morning Chris says to me, "you know what would be good?" "Hmmm?" I ask. "Ginger Scones" he replies with this huge smile. I kindly asked him who was going to make them to which he smiled and said, "think of the photos you could take". So I kill four birds with one stone; I get a delicious breakfast, Chris is thrilled, I get something tasty for the blog, and finally, I use up some of the candied ginger that I've been hoarding for the last year!

Ginger Scones 1 3/4 cup flour 2 1/4 tsp baking powder 1 T sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup butter 1/2 bag candied ginger pieces, cut into small pieces* 2 eggs 1/3 cup cream juice from 1/2 lemon Preheat the oven to 450 F. Mix together the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two forks. Stir in the candied ginger. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, cream and lemon juice; add to the flour mixture. Stir until well mixed. Turn out onto a buttered cookie sheet, and shape (with hands) into a circle. Score the top for 6 pie shaped pieces. Bake about 15 minutes (should brown lightly - keep an eye on them to ensure you don't burn the bottoms). Let stand a few minutes then cut (using scores) and serve warm. Makes 6 scones. I've kept them up to a week in the refrigerator, but they are best when hot and fresh. *Half a bag of ginger will obviously depend on how big your bag of ginger is - I was never given a bag size or amount, but I use roughly 1 to 1 1/2 cups. I cut my pieces quite small because while I love the taste of ginger, I don't like any one bite to be to overwhelming. You can adjust the amount of ginger used based on your own preferences.

Enjoy!