Hot Damn and Hell Yeah Cranberry Scones

Here's half a batch of 'Cranberry Scones' from a new cookbook of mine. It's an easy recipe using basic ingredients that you probably already have around the kitchen --- though I was out of lemon. I used lime zest instead, and combined the juice with soy milk to make the "buttermilk." The most notable difference between these and other scone recipes is the approach with the wedges. The recipe says to use a knife to cut three deep lines to create six wedges of dough, but don't separate them -- these'll break right off nicely once they're properly baked. I was skeptical about this, but the wedges did break off beautifully & I didn't have to handle the delicate scone wheel before baking. They turned out much prettier, and are best served warm from the oven with Earth Balance and maybe some preserves.

"Hot Damn and Hell Yeah" was written & illustrated by Ryan Splint, and boasts a Southern Cooking theme complete with the flamboyant flare of the South minus the meat and dairy. Some recipes of his that I'm itchin' to try are Sweet Potato Pie, Vegetable Mountain with Gravy, and Coconut Curry Tofu on Green Jasmine Rice. Splint says that "There's also a lotta people that think pompous attitudes and morality lectures oughta be served alongside with it, maybe ta make up for the lack of flavor in their food. It ain't too hard to see why vegetarian food and the people who eat it haven't wound up with the best of reputations."

What do you think?




This is the "happy hour" of cookbooks, because you get two for the price of one. Turn the book over, and you have "the Dirty South cook book" --- recipes by Vanessa, with help from some other people. She sets out to prove that you CAN make good southern food without meat or dairy. Vanessa gives a shout-out in her introduction to her family (of course!) as well as cooking by kittee, and the Post Punk Kitchen.