Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Scone -it's time to celebrate!

Celebrate what, you say? 

Well it's been a great few weeks of triumph and discovery. First off, I went to the Wharton Clinic to check on my progress and I have lost another 6 lbs and I measured myself and lost another 4 1/2 inches. 

Awesome, I'd say!  It's a slow steady pace, but this is what is needed when you plan to live like this for LIFE.  Changing the way I eat, plan and prepare meals and live with activity. This is the way I live now, it's never about a diet. I hate that word- 'starting a diet' implies that you will 'end a diet'. Well guess what? This is not something I will ever 'end', I will continue to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, I will continue to strive to get activity every day.... for the rest of my life!

For the rest of my life I will also constantly re-evaluate what I am doing, where I want to be in my career. After some soul-searching moments, I have decided to take a post-graduate course in Human Resource Management through McMaster University. Yep, I'm going back to school! Online of course, so I can continue working and living my healthy life!

So part of being a successful, healthy living being is to prepare some food in advance for the week. Most of my recipes include whole grains and healthy fats, but sometimes..... I just need to enjoy a little spark of something homemade, fresh and delicious. I head to Pinterest and search... I needed to use some part-skim ricotta cheese and below is the final product.

Taste testers living and visiting my home over the weekend mentioned it was the best scone they have ever tasted. I would say it was the moistness of the ricotta, but also I doubled the lemon rind and lemon juice required and barely used any sugar for the glaze- mostly all lemon juice

Here's the recipe. I used skim milk ricotta and milk and it was still divine!

Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Scones (adapted from http://bakerbynature.com/blueberry-ricotta-scones/)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, VERY cold and cut into tiny pieces
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup (Whole Milk) Ricotta Cheese
3 tablespoons Whole Milk
8 ounces blueberries, fresh or frozen (If using frozen, do not thaw first)

For the egg wash:
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon milk or water
2 tablespoons sugar, for sprinkling

For the (optional) lemon glaze:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup confectioners sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°(F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a large bowl mix together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and lemon zest.
3. Cut the butter into small cubes then quickly work it into the mixture (using your fingers) until lit resembles a coarse meal.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, ricotta cheese, and milk, then add to flour and butter mixture. Use a fork to stir everything together until just moistened.
5. Add in the blueberries and gently fold them into dough with a spatula - don’t worry if some of the berries break up a bit.
6. Pour the shaggy dough out onto a clean, floured work surface and shape the dough into an 8-inch circle. Cut the dough into 8 wedges and carefully transfer to the prepared sheet.
7. Lightly brush each scones with the egg wash, then sprinkle the top of each scone with sugar.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden brown.
9. Cool for about 10 minutes, then make your glaze.
10. For the glaze:
11. In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice and confectioners sugar. Drizzle over warm scones and serve at once.