Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

Eight Perfect and Easy Scones

Recipe Adapted from the Savoy Hotel

The Savoy Hotel high tea has been a tradition in London since 1904, and their delicate scones are at the heart of the menu. Although Savoy scones are round, and this recipe makes wedges, Allrecipes members claim that the recipe is altered only slightly from the Savoy’s. Who knows, since the Savoy isn’t about to publish its famous recipe. Certainly, one would not see chocolate chips and orange instead of the traditional currants at the Savoy. Those are my substitutions in honor of Valentine’s Day. These light and tender scones take only about 35 minutes to make. And they’re vastly less pricey than a trip to the Savoy.

Sweet Potato and Pomegranate Tagine with Ras el Hanout

Mid-Winter Lift

Recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times

I can’t imagine a better pairing than winter and tagines. These highly spiced North African stews perk up both body and spirit. Though traditionally tagines are curried meat dishes, vegetables respond equally well to the combination of spices. Sweet cinnamon and ginger, hot peppers, bitter turmeric, exotic cardamom and saffron, and other spices combine to make the heady blend called ras el hanout—which means “head of the shop” or roughly “top rated” in Arabic. In this recipe you’ll make your own spice blend, creating a supply for other tagine experiments this winter.