Scones for a Queen

The Orlando Sentinel recently printed two recipes in an article entitled, "Raise a fork to the queen: Celebrate Elizabeth II's jubilee with recipes chronicling her reign." Included were two recipes: Drop Scones and Coronation Chicken. The recipe for Drop Scones is featured today, Coronation Chicken in March.

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From a letter of January 24, 1960, by Queen Elizabeth to President Dwight D. Eisenhower:

"Dear Mr. President, Seeing a picture of you in today's newspaper standing in front of a barbecue grilling quail, reminded me that I had never sent you the recipe of the drop scones which I promised you at Balmoral. . . . Though the quantities are for 16 people, when there are fewer, I generally put in less flour and milk, but use the other ingredients as stated. . . . I think the mixture needs a great deal of beating while making, and shouldn't stand about too long before cooking. . . ."

Note: The Sentinel article states that the drop scones are really more like pancakes.

Drop Scones

2 eggs
¼ cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)*
2 teacups milk (1½ cups)
4 teacups flour (3 cups)
3 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
2 tablespoons melted butter

Beat the eggs, sugar and about half the milk together; add flour. Mix well, adding remainder of milk as required, along with the cream of tartar and backing soda. Fold in melted butter.

Ladle batter in batches by large spoonfuls (about ¼ cup) into a greased, large skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Cook until bubbles begin to form, 2-3 minutes. Flip; cook until lightly browned, about 1 minute.

*If you don't have superfine sugar, process granulated white sugar in a food processor until very fine.

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Grace's next Mosaic Moment: my brand new Historical Romance,

O'Rourke's Heiress.

Can the daughter of a Cit find happiness with a handsome and charming viscount, or does her destiny lie elsewhere? Perhaps with a man who isn't trying to kill her?

World Ending in 2012?

The legend above this reproduction of the Mayan calendar reads: TZOLKIN. Calendar wheel system of measuring time. Every single day has its own omens and associations. The inexorable passing of days acts as a kind of perpetual fortune telling machinery. Guiding the destinies of the Mayas and all the native peoples of Mesoamerica. It is still in use in an unchanged form in the outback, under the care of specialized calendar priests, after 5,123 years.

The words beneath the calendar: "Who owns your time, owns your mind. Change your idea of time and change your mind. Change your mind and then . . . you will change the world." Mayan Belief

(And, no, my Spanish isn't that good. The opposite side of the sheet above is in English!)

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Below: the hand-made wooden reproduction of the Mayan calendar I couldn't resist purchasing.

Will the world end on December 22, 2012, the so-called "end" of the Mayan calendar?

"No way," said our guide to the Mayan ruins of Tulum. His mother was Mayan, he informed us, and a man more dedicated to his heritage you could not find. He went to great lengths to praise the bus load of us off the Carnival Paradise for choosing the ruins over swimming, shopping, etc. And he absolutely, positively assured us that on the morning after the Mayan calendar runs out, the sun will rise, and the calendar will simply recycle, reverting back to its beginning.

My son and I felt privileged to have "Tour Guide Juan" as our mentor for the day. We couldn't help but wonder if the other guides were as dedicated. His extensive knowledge of his subject continued as he led us through the ruins at Tulum, including showing photos he had taken at summer and winter solstices and at the fall and winter equinoxes, each showing the sun shining through an exactly placed opening in the Mayan temple complex.

As we walked into the ruins, I'd swear they trained that iguana to pose. He just sat there and let my son take a dozen photos!

We walked through a tunnel in a rock wall, and there it was - according to Juan, the only Mayan city on the water.

Among the many things Juan told us about the Mayan culture is that chocolate is a sacred drink, used in religious ceremonies, particularly weddings. This is still true today, not just in the heyday of the Mayan culture.

He also admitted that the Mayans' worst enemy was the Mayans. And that fighting among themselves was weakening the culture even before the arrival of the Spanish.





















Above, the Temple of Tulum, the center of a city that once extended over a square mile.

Our guide displaying two of his photos of the sun shining through a carefully placed opening on the morning of the summer solstice.

A close-up of the temple.



Credit: Wooden Mayan calendar, iguana, & Juan with sun photos - by David Kone

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For someone who had been twice to Machu Picchu in Peru but never seen a Mayan ruin, Tulum was the highlight of our January cruise. Warning: you have to put up with some aggressive vendors - all working for "foreign" owners, according to our guide! - before you can start the walk in to the ruins. It's almost like running a gauntlet. Sigh. But the ruins are worth it. At least if you're a history buff like me. If you go anywhere near Cozumel, don't miss it!

Coming soon: My Regency historical featuring characters from Tarleton's Wife and The Sometime Bride. Also, a gourmet chicken recipe created for Queen Elizabeth's coronation luncheon in 1953 (featured recently in the Orlando Sentinel).

Thanks for stopping by Grace's Mosaic Moments.

Family, Friends, & Carnival Madness

The Sunshine Skyway (Tampa Bay) at sunset


Got back early Friday from a 5-day cruise on the Carnival Paradise with eighteen family and friends. Woo-hoo, did the restaurant tremble when they saw us coming! The greatest irony of the trip - it was organized by my daughter's real estate assistant way back in early September to celebrate her 23rd birthday. One week before the cruise, she was told there was a January opening in nursing school, she wouldn't have to wait until July. BUT if she took it, the cruise was out. So there we were, cruising the Caribbean, celebrating Maria's birthday (and enjoying our cabin stewards' towel animals), while Maria went to school. Sigh.

Cold in Tampa when we left, but after a day and a night cruising south (through rough seas), the weather in the Caymans was grand. Did a fabulous tour on the "Nautilus," a boat with the passenger seats below the waterline so we could see coral reefs, multitudes of colorful fish, and two shipwrecks (19th c.) Then off to a Turtle Farm - see photo below of me juggling a turtle. Note for those who have cruised the Bahamas: money from the 500 banks in the Caymans definitely affects the economy. The whole of Grand Cayman appears far more prosperous than Nassau, including many luxury hotels. The 7-mile beach, however, is available to all, with walk-throughs to beach access between the hotels, as well as several miles of open beach and parking (not yet snatched up by hotels or condos).

Next blog: a bit about our tour of the Mayan ruins in Cozumel.

Next book going indie: O'Rourke's Heiress, an Historical Romance, featuring a number of characters from The Sometime Bride and Tarleton's Wife. (I did a promotion of two free days for Bride this past weekend and was amazed by the number of downloads. I'd like to think it was me, but I'm afraid it was the 0.00 price tag!

All the best, Grace
aka Blair Bancroft

Photos by David Kone

Orange Blossoms & Mayhem

A brand new book for a brand new year!

Needless to say, I'm thrilled to present Orange Blossoms & Mayhem with Delle Jacob's gorgeous cover, which so perfectly conveys both the exotic locales and the bombshell heroine. Please see description below.

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Want to get married in a hot air balloon? Have the bride step out of a Fabergé egg? Just call Fantascapes, the Halliday family business (ironically based in a sleepy Florida resort and retirement community). Fantascapes is also the right number for hiking the Inca Trail, a chalet in Switzerland, or a luxury journey to Angkor Wat.

Trouble in Fantasyland? It's Laine Halliday—well-dressed, well-toned, a sharpshooter in every sense of the word—to the rescue. But are fantasy weddings and vacations for the pampered rich enough to satisfy her?

Laine's options expand when bullets fly after she meets a mystery man on the Inca Trail in Peru, and she begins to fear there may be more to that Fabergé egg project than meets the eye. Amid the color and frantic pace of a luxury business, Laine finds herself involved in Russian mob warfare and law enforcement activity that ranges from the local SWAT team to Interpol. Can a wedding planner from Golden Beach, Florida, survive an encounter with the mob and juggle the two men in her life, as well as her job with Fantascapes and an offer from Interpol? Never fear, Laine Halliday is the kind of heroine who may be able to do it all.

Grace Note: Orange Blossoms & Mayhem is my venture into Thriller mode, with a bombshell heroine, hunky heroes, and dashes of humor to lighten the mayhem. If you like your heroines truly heroic (this one saves the hero five times), this book is for you. [Please note Orange Blossoms is not part of my backlist, but a brand new, never-before-published novel.]

Link to Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Orange-Blossoms-Mayhem-Fantascapes-ebook/dp/B006T00PO6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1325636085&sr=1-1

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On another note, I have finally succumbed to Twitter. I can be found @blairbancroft. On Facebook and Linked, I post under my real name of Grace Kone.

Coming soon: O'Rourke's Heiress, a Regency Historical saga, featuring a number of the characters from Tarleton's Wife and The Sometime Bride.

May 2012 bring peace and fulfillment to you and yours!

Grace

A Christmas Shopping Story

Only a few weeks ago, I ranted against Black Friday on this blog. My opinion hasn't changed, but I discovered today that Christmas shopping can have very special moments that truly illustrate the meaning of the Season.

Not that I haven't enjoyed accumulating presents in my closet over the past few months, anticipating the looks on my grandchildren's faces over some particularly unexpected surprise. And I've enjoyed making Christmas cookies with the three little girls, showing them how to measure and mix, cut out, decorate . . . and granting them permission to eat the the last of the dough and a sampling of the cookies we're saving for Christmas dessert. But today, Saturday, December 17, 2011, was special, an emotional few moments that ranged from nightmare to miracle.

Ordinarily I wouldn't go near a store this near to Christmas, but I had to return a batch of colored markers to Staples at Waterford Lakes, because my oldest granddaughter was disappointed when the pink she chose turned out to be white (somehow it never got "inked"). After Staples, I braved Jo-Ann's fabrics because I had at least ten 40% off coupons burning a hole in my purse. A great opportunity to acquire yarn and craft items for the grandchildren. Plus 20% off on the whole order. For that, I would brave the Christmas crowds.

After being told I'd saved twenty-three dollars and some cents, I pushed my cart out to my car and put the bags in the trunk. While parking my cart so I could drive out frontwards, a woman asked me where the "bookstore" was. I gave her directions to Barnes & Nobles, got in my car and drove home.

But when I got home and went to put my car keys in my purse, there was no purse. I looked under my pile of Publix cloth bags, looked in the back seat, checked the trunk. No purse. My mind boggled. No purse, no driver's license, no credit cards, no debit card, no cell phone. No Macy's card, no membership cards to umpteen places. No extra car keys, no address book, no . . .

I must have been scammed, I decided. While I gave directions to Barnes & Noble, someone had grabbed my purse. But no . . . I'd swear no one else had been near, and yet . . .

Appalled, I drove back to Jo-Ann's, cataloging all the phone calls I was going to have to make. After what I knew was a hopeless check of the shopping carts in the lot, I went into the store. I stood at the counter at Customer Service, feeling like a complete idiot for even asking. I looked at the young man and said, "I know this is a stupid question, but did anyone find a purse?"

He looked at me and said, "It's not a stupid question, we did find a purse."

"You found a purse?"

"Yes."

"Was it silver?"

"Someone found it in a cart and turned it in. We have it locked up in our vault."

He made a call on the intercom, asking for the purse to be brought to the front of the store, while I burbled my thanks, feeling horrible that I wasn't able to thank the Good Samaritan who found my purse and turned it in. And, yes, I also thanked the good Lord for this small Christmas miracle that meant so much to me. This incident of less-than-an-hour in time that so amply illustrates the true meaning of Christmas. And of the Ten Commandments.

When you stop to think of our lousy economy, of how many people have so little . . . and yet my purse came back to me just as I left it, with everything intact.

If you've enjoyed this Christmas story, please pass it along. I can guarantee that the Christmas spirit lives at Waterford Lakes Mall in Orlando.

Grace, who is still shaking her head and saying thanks