Dear CSA Members,
The kitchen has been cranking up production on our scuffins these last couple of weeks. Some of you may have seen the press we’ve received recently; the New York Times and Oprah magazine have both done stories about our hybrid pastry. A cross between a scone and a muffin, it is a jam-filled pastry developed 7 years ago to accommodate a large inventory of our fruit puree later made into jam. It has the shape of a muffin but the texture of a scone, as it needs to hold inside its cavity a large amount of jam. It is made with flax meal and whole wheat flour but don’t worry, it’s not as healthy as it sounds! It also has eggs and cream. It is the perfect size, not too big, not too sweet either and very satisfying. It is gratifying to see it finally take off. It’s something our Ferry Building shop customers have always known about and some of our mail-order customers as they have only been available at the shop and online. Now, we are going to begin selling them at our Berkeley Farmers’ Markets (Tuesday and Thursday) as well. Of course, they are always available to you, our CSA members as an add-on to your CSA Box.
Our cream scones also got a nod from Barbara Treadwell’s “Favorite Food Finds” on KGO radio. On July 6th she talked about serving our cream scones as part of an authentic English Tea; served with Devon Double cream and strawberry jam. They are also fabulous as a shortcake with strawberries or sliced stone fruits with blackberries or raspberries macerated in sugar. Cream scone shortcakes have become a summer Sunday morning tradition for Maddie and Millie.
We sell both the scuffins and the scones frozen so that you can bake them fresh at home after allowing them to slightly thaw, first. While the scuffins require a muffin tin to bake, all the scones need is a little egg wash and a sprin- kling of sugar. Because they are not too sweet, they can also be used as part of a savory meal; just skip the sugar on top.
I love this time of summer because we are picking the Flavor King Pluots and some of my favorite varieties of nectarines. While the Ruby Grands are waning, the Flavortop and Fantasias (the nectarines that brought me to my husband) are plentiful. Also, the Zee Lady peaches are in! This to me marks the beginning of the prelude to Cal Reds and O’Henry’s. So much delicious food to eat and so little time!
Bon Appétit!
~ Chef Becky
