Pumpkin, pineapple and cheese scones

Last night we had a lazy sort of dinner.  Good lazy not bad!  I chopped up some pumpkin, red capsicum and eggplant and put them on to roast.  I dug out the bits that weren't too charred to serve on the side with spaghetti mixed with bought sauce.  Then I had leftover roast pumpkin and no idea what to do for International Scone Week.  So I made pumpkin scones and added in some neglected pineapple and cheese from the fridge.

I am having a year where my blogging energy is down.  This is only the 3rd post I've written this year on a recent recipe I've made.  But I have had a few conversations lately with others about how so much of our routine that has been disrupted by Covid and lockdowns is still not back on track.  So I thought I would share a couple of odd moments while I am here.  Firstly above is a sign in the supermarket about supply delays due to Covid.  When we had shortages on the supermarket shelves in 2020 it was novel but it is difficult and disturbing to see this sort of sign still appearing in 2022.

This photo is from yesterday afternoon when we had a massive hail storm in the middle of a thunderstorm.  It was so heavy it looked like snow.  And so loud!  Yes, it seems even our weather can't regain its routine.  It is either too hot (hello European summer 2022) or too wet (thinking of those still affected by floods in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales).  Or hail that makes you run outside with a camera and text photos of it to people!

Today we went to Geelong to see my parents.  Even doing this is not as regular as it was.  But I still love it when I go there.  It was so lovely to have my mum's home made sourdough bread and her scones with jam and cream.  Sylvia and I agreed to visit a crystal shop while we were there.  Firstly we went on a wild goose chase to a place that Google maps could not find and did not have a phone number.  Too much rushing and not enough research.  So then we went to another place called Satellite Hearts which was unlike any crystal shop I have visited.  In large letters on the pink shop front it says Spiritual Convenience.  Isn't that an oxymoron?  Inside it looks beautiful but more like a mix between a teen gift shop and a candy store.  Such as this display of tumbled crystals that is displayed like a Pick 'n' Mix.

I took a few scones to my mum.  She bakes a lot of scones and knows a good one when she sees it.  I worried my scones were too sticky and didn't rise enough.  Mum liked the scones.  Her advice was that 1) they didn't rise so well because of the add-ins, 2) sometimes she adds some extra baking powder as well as the self raising flour, and 3) you need a lot of cheese for it to make an impact. Great feedback! 

I agree about the cheese not making a huge impact.  I used the apricot and almond cream cheese because after eating half the round I didn't want to eat any more.  But I think that a sharper cheese, even a blue cheese, would work in these with the juicy sweet pineapple.  

I also thought they were less sweet than my usual pumpkin scones.  Perhaps this was because I seasoned the pumpkin with garlic salt.  And to be clear, I did roast the pumpkin with skins on but I peeled the skins off and tried to remove any burnt edges before mashing the pumpkin.  I liked them with vegemite and my mum liked cheese on them.  I think they might work with jam or honey but did not get to try it.

And there are new routines emerging, though whether they continue remains to be seen.  But for now I have a quiet Saturday on most weekends.  Yesterday I took it easy during the day - and got some cleaning done - so I forgot to bake scones until after dinner and baked them late.  Today I photographed them and put the remainder in the freezer for during the week.  It was nice to summon up some blogging energy.  Thanks to Tandy from Lavender and Lime for kindly reminding me about International Scone Week.  I look forward to visiting her blog to see what others send her and I recommend you have a look too.

More scone recipes with fruit on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Beetroot, apple and walnut scones (v)
Olive, pineapple and cheese scones
Raspberry and white chocolate scones
Strawberry marscapone scones
Walnut, brie and apple scones


Pumpkin pineapple and cheese scones
Adapted from Green Gourmet Giraffe
Makes 15-20 medium scones

60g butter
2 tbsp castor sugar
1/2 cup cooked and mashed pumpkin
1 egg lightly beaten
1/3 cup diced pineapple (fresh or tinned)
100g cheese - I used apricot and almond cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups self raising flour

To glaze:
1 tbsp milk or 1 egg yolk 

Preheat oven to 230 C.

Cream butter and sugar. Mix in cooled pumpkin (hot pumpkin melts the butter).Slowly mix in the milk and egg, then the pineapple and cheese.  Sift flour and stir into the mixture and stir into the dough. 

Lightly knead and roll out 2-3cm thick on a lightly floured surface. Use a scone cutter or glass dipped in flour to cut out scones. Roll out any scrapes of dough and cut more scones til no dough is left. Place on a baking tray. I like doing them close together so they all join up and have to be broken apart but you can space them out if you prefer.

Brush scones with milk and egg yolk (or just milk which is what I usually do). Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

On the stereo:
Meanjin - Thelma Plum