Sacramento Digs Gardening: Savory green scones for upcoming St. Patrick’s Day

It’s almost March and time for baking of the green – green variations of familiar foods in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.

These easy, cheesy savory scones make the most of early-season spinach or other baby greens. It’s a way to use up garden thinnings – all those little plants that get pulled to make room for others to mature.

Chop the fresh spinach or greens by hand or pop the leaves in the food processor. It takes about 2 cups loosely packed leaves to make ½ cup finely chopped.

Green onions and chives are sprouting now, too. I used garlic chives; they also add a subtle garlic flavor was well as more bright green. Green onion tops (or thinnings) or other chive varieties are fine, too.

These scones have another plus – no eggs necessary!

This recipe freezes well. Make a batch now and be ready for any green occasion.

Spinach scones

Makes 8 scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup cold butter (1 stick)

½ cup low-fat milk

¼ cup cream

½ cup finely chopped fresh spinach

2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic chives

½ cup cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Cut butter into cubes and add to flour mixture. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into flour mixture.

Mix together milk and cream. Add to flour-butter mixture until just moistened. Fold in spinach, chives and grated cheese.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. With floured hands, gently knead dough 5 or 6 times until spinach and cheese well distributed.

Pat dough into an 8-inch round about 1-1/2 inches thick. With a sharp knife dusted with flour, cut the round into 8 wedges.

Live a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the wedges onto the baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and transfer scones to a rack to cool for a few minutes.

Serve warm.

(Note: These scones freeze well.)

RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipe recipes winter February farm to fork Sacramento gardening brunch green St. Patrick's Day scones spinachproduce management farmers markets

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

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