I’ve experienced a major shift in cooking and baking this year.

It’s revolutionary from my family’s perspective — a family of accomplished bakers and cooks who have relied entirely on using butter and animal fats to concoct so many marvelous creations. Slowly, I’ve been expanding into unknown territory – using new techniques and new ingredients. Alternate flours, vegan margarine, cocoa nibs, chia seeds (apparently they are the seeds used in Chia Pets!) and coconut oil: they’ve all come into our kitchen and in turn ended up on our plates.

There’s an entire world of delicious and nutritious foods out there that once I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot wooden spoon. While some will continue being used in our kitchen (coconut oil) and others won’t (vegan margarine), there’s a new level of comfort with so many of them. And most wonderfully, the girls are learning to be open to the new experiences. These vegan scones are an easy and enjoyable example – no eggs and no butter and filled with loads of flavour and possess a wonderful crumb. Perfect for a Sunday morning, with tea or for Mother’s Day (hint, hint: it’s just around the corner!)

Our family’s foray into new-to-us foods isn’t quite over yet — and I’m hopeful it helps your family expand into new-to-you areas with confidence!

Tips and Suggestions:

• If you have a particularly flavourful batch of strawberries, skip mixing them with sugar and just use them chopped in the recipe.
  • And a quick tip I learned this past week from America’s Test Kitchen: Don’t judge a strawberry by its color. It turns out it may darken once harvested, but will not sweeten.
• Feel free to substitute other berries such as blueberries, raspberries or blackberries in place of the strawberries.
• Although I always make the recipe in a flat-bottomed bowl as I describe in the recipe, if you don’t have one, go ahead and do the kneading, shaping and cutting a lightly floured surface. I do that work in the bowl so it limits cleanup to the mixing bowl rather than the kitchen counter.