Get cooking Central Hawke's Bay

If at first your scones aren't perfect, someone will eat them if you put enough topping on.

With MARIE NEILSON

I'm 73, and started learning to cook when I was four.

My poor, overworked mum (I was the eldest of six) "let" me beat the eggs for her famous sponge cake, and later, taught me to make it. I peeled fruit and veg with her for dinner, and for her marathon preserving sessions, and, much later, was a useful farm cook who trained as a chef in my 40s.

So I know about feeding a hungry family on a limited budget. I'd like to share some of that with you if you want to learn some easy recipes, and perhaps teach your children basic cooking over the next few weeks, while you're all at home in your "bubble".

If your kids help you, they'll be learning some basic maths skills without even knowing it as well!

I've tried to write the instructions so that even a child can follow them, so adults, please forgive me.

This week we're making scones. If you can make them well you never have to worry about running out of bread, and they have so many variations you need never get tired of them.

First things first :
Wash your hands well. Get out all the gear you'll need and make sure its clean and dry.

Wipe down the benches

Tie your hair back and put on an apron if you wear one. Get out the ingredients. Wash hands again.

Read the recipe right through. Measure all the ingredients and have them handy.

Flours absorb liquid differently from each other, so be careful just to add the right amount of liquid for your flour. If it first your scones aren't perfect, someone will eat them if you put enough topping on. Just keep on practising.

Kids — ask Mum to put your scones in the oven and take them out.

■ What you'll need

two 250 ml cups, a teaspoon, a tablespoon, a round-bladed and a sharp knife, a large bowl and smaller containers to hold any extra ingredients you want to use. A sieve, a clean bench or board to shape the dough on, a rolling pin or clean large round bottle for rolling the dough. An oven, various oven trays and other cooking containers.
a thick cloth to protect your hands

■ Ingredients
Basic scones (makes nine large scones)
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C
2 cups flour
4 level teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
60gm butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk
3/4 to 1 cup water
(if you have sour milk or a bit of leftover unsweetened yoghurt, use that in place of some of the liquid — it makes the scones lighter)

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a bowl.

Grate the butter on top of the flour mix (or place the margarine on top.)

Rub the fat and flour together gently with the very tips of your fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the centre of your flour mix, and pour in the milk and 3/4 cup water.
Mix quickly but gently with the round-bladed knife.

The dough should be quite wet and barely able to be handled, so mix in a bit more water if needed. Don't overwork the dough, you'll make it tough and hard.

Flour a board or the bench thickly with flour, pat the scone mix into a square about 3- 4 cm thick and cut into three each way, making nine scones.

Place on a lightly greased oven tray.

Bake for about 10 — 15 minutes until lightly browned, then enjoy.

If you want to make fancy round scones, but don't have a cutter, cut both ends out of a clean, dry 400ml fruit can and use that.

Kids — don't forget to clean up your mess and wash your dishes while the scones are baking.

Sultana, Apple, Date or Currant Scones.
Use the Basic Scone Recipe, but add
1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup of whichever fruit you prefer (make sure the dates are well chopped and have no stones, core the apple and chop into 1 cm cubes)

You can add 1 teaspoon mixed spice to the flour before mixing with the milk
Bake as for the basic scones

Cheese Scones
Use the basic Scone Dough, but add 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
to the flour before sifting it, and 1/2 cup grated cheese to the mix before adding the liquid.

Cheese and bacon (and Onion) Scones

Make as for cheese scones, but add 1/2 cup cooked, chopped bacon and a chopped, lightly fried onion to the flour before adding the liquid.

Quick Pizza (makes two)

Make the basic scone dough, using 2 tablespoons oil instead of the butter and less liquid (just enough to make a firm, soft dough).

Divide the dough in half and roll each half out to about 12 mm thick. Place each half on to a greased oven tray.

Spread lightly with about 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato sauce -then with your own preferred toppings ham, cooked meat, veges, pineapple, sliced tomato or sausage, herbs - even canned spaghetti!

A little goes a long way. Sprinkle with a little grated cheese and bake about 15 minutes until it is browned, fragrant and ready.

Fruit Dapple

(Apples - with, or without spices - or berries are good, as are stewed apples mixed with a packet of Blueberry or Blackberry Jelly Crystals)

Preheat the oven to 180 dgrees C

Cook some well flavoured fruit in a sweetened syrup in the oven in an oven dish. While it is cooking, prepare a basic scone dough with an extra tablespoon of sugar added to the mix, and a little less liquid.

Roll it out to about 18 mm thick on a floured board, and cut approximately 5 cm circles of dough. If you don't have a cutter, dip the top of a jar or a glass into flour and cut the dough with that.

Arrange the scone circles on top of the hot fruit, brush the top with milk, sprinkle with a tablespoon more sugar, and bake. Serve with cream, custard or icecream.

Cheesy pie

The topping makes the meat go further.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees C

Cook a meat or vegetable stew or a casserole, or use leftovers in gravy. Preheat in the oven.

Make Cheese Scone Mix, and cut out circles as for the fruit dapple. Place on the top of the hot stew and bake until golden brown. Serve with fresh vegetables or a salad.

You can make many different varieties from just this one basic recipe, so experiment and have fun.

Add herbs or spices to one batch. Roll out another batch to 6mm thick, then cover with the sweet or savoury filling of your choice, roll up in a long roll, then cut 3 cm slices off the roll.

Bake, cut side down, on a greased tray at 200 Degrees C. Sprinkle some grated cheese over the savoury pinwheels. Drizzle thin lemon icing over the sweet ones while they are still hot.

Try Marie's basic scone recipe and send in your photos of your creations being cooked ... or enjoyed! editorial@chbmail.co.nz or CHB Mail on Facebook.