Renewing America’s Food Traditions: Saving and Savoring the Continent’s Most Endangered Foods is one of my favorite books ever. As the back cover notes, the book is a call to recognize, celebrate, and conserve the great diversity of foods that gives North America its distinctive culinary identity and reflects our multicultural heritage.
You’ll find the Cape Cod Cranberry Scone recipe in the Clambake Nation chapter:
“This recipe is adapted from one Grandmother Mulligan of Cape Cod, whose granddaughter, Ann MacDonald-Rey, continued to bake these Irish scones at the Tea Shoppe at Mashpee Commons. It was further adapted by Virginia Spargo MacDonald and Earl Mills, a Wampanoag chief and chef. In fact, the Wampanoag community is said to have hosted the first Thanksgiving feast.” — from Renewing America’s Food Traditions by Gary Paul Nabhan (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2008).
Cape Cod Cranberry Scones
4 cups unbleached wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/8 cup sugar
1/2 pound cold unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup shelled walnuts or chestnuts, chopped
granulated sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degress F. In a glass mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and sugar. Cut the butter into the mixture and stir it in coarsely. In a separate smaller bowl, combine the eggs, cream, and vanilla, then pour them into the first bowl. Mix them until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Add the finely chopped cranberries and nuts. On a greased baking sheet, drop 3-ounce scoops of batter and shape into scones. Sprinkle the tops with granulated sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
By Annie B. Bond
By Annie B. Bond, best-selling and award-winning author of five green living books, thousands of blogs, and all the tips in the Greenify Everything app. Called “The Godmother of Green” by Martha Stewart Sirius Radio.
