Francesco & Kaileena for Lunch—Not Cannibalism

           We miss the Sacred Bean, a quaint little coffee shop serving organic coffees and teas and delightful coffee drinks, along with some coma-inducing pastries. Team that with local artwork,  Psychic Sunday, open mic nights, poetry slams, local musicians, singers, and songwriters playing harmonicas, drums of all variety, guitars, saxophone, pan flutes…you name it and you can see it at the Sacred Bean. Or at least you could, but alas New Year’s Eve 2011 never happened as The Bean closed on December 30.  It is a loss to the community, and a great loss to Roy and I.  But the friendships we made there continue.

          Two of the best, owner Francesco and barista extraordinaire, musican, singer, songwriter Kaileena, are still in our lives and hearts, so their coming to lunch was a significant event.  And to commemorate the homecoming, a proper luncheon was served.

          Homemade Cream of Mushroom soup, loaded with chopped white button, crimini, and shitake mushrooms, sautéed in bacon renderings (bacon being crumbled into the soup), with tarragon, thyme, onion, garlic, butter, and cream, started the meal off with a round of moans of delight from all.

          Also served were deviled eggs with thyme & capers; Chicken Salad on toasted bagel slices; boiled red potatoes quartered and seasoned with butter, sea salt and dill; an assortment of pickles and olives; and for a sweet ending Pumpkin Cranberry Pecan scones. After filling up on the eats, everyone retired to the front porch for cigarettes, relaxation, digestion, and more conversation. Francesco is looking for a location for the reincarnation of the Sacred Bean, and at this time it looks like that reincarnation will take place in Tucson in the up and coming 4^th Street area. Patience is the word now. Gentrifying, the 4^th Street area is now hot property, and to get the location and ambience he demands, he will have to wait for the proper opening. So now it’s the waiting game, but someday soon The Bean will have a new and hopefully better home in Tucson. Great for Francesco (and Marcello his beautiful Italian Greyhound who HATES being cold), but sad for me and Roy as we live in Prescott and not Tucson. But with our friend living there, and Goddaughter Olivia, and friend Robert Prater, visiting should be easy enough to do!

          Kaileena says the scones are perfect.  Not quite so dry as many she has eaten, but spicy and delicious. So when you make these, think of Francesco and The Sacred Bean…and in a few months, check out 4^th Street in Tucson and see if you can find this delightful establishment. And if you do, tell Francesco Jane says hi!

PUMPKIN SPICE SCONES

2 cup flour                   7 Tablespoons sugar                1 Tablespoon baking powder

½ tsp salt                     ½ tsp cinnamon                       ¼  tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground ginger    6 Tablespoons cold butter       3 Tablespoons half n half

½ cup pumpkin—fresh cooked & smashed or canned     1 large egg

Powdered Sugar Glaze—

            1 c. powdered sugar    1 Tblspoon powdered sugar    2 Tbspns whole milk

Spiced Glaze—

            1 c. powdered sugar    3 Tblspns powdered sugar      2 Tbspns milk

            ¼ tsp cinnamon           1/8 tsp ground nutmeg            1 pinch ground ginger

            1 pinch ground cloves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet and line with parchment paper.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk pumpkin, half n half and egg. Pour into dry ingredients and mix well. Form dough into a ball.  Pat dough out on a lightly floured surface and form into a 9x3” rectangle. Use a large knife to slice the dough across the width into 3 equal pieces.  Cut those rectangles into halves diagonally so you have 6 triangular pieces (you can cut them into 4 triangular pieces for smaller scones). Place on baking sheet previously prepared.

Bake for 14-16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Make plain glaze—mix the powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp milk together until smooth. When the scones are cool, use a brush to pain the glaze over the top of each scone. Let dry for at least 1 hour before completing.

Make Spice Glaze—when the plain glaze is completely dry, mix all the ingredients for the spice glaze together. Put into small sandwich zip bag, snip off a tiny piece of one corner of the bag, and drizzle the spice glaze back and forth over the top of the scone.  Or you can use a squirt bottle to do this portion. Let dry again prior to serving.