Tea time with Coconut Scones

We have been having difficulty exercising good table manners at home lately. Forget about going to a restaurant - that is completely out of the question.

So we've been coming down pretty hard. Forcing the issue. The kids are old enough to have enough discipline at the table to use polite manners. And I want to have a nice meal.

So my solution? We started having daily tea after school.  At least that is one component of the solution.

This is not a pretend tea party. A real after school snack where we all sit at the table together. I get out the fancy-but-not-too-fancy dinnerware and bake a plate of scones or put together little sandwiches or some fresh fruit.  The kids don't drink tea (we are careful not to let them have caffeine), but they will usually have milk or water.

It seems to be working. They have something to eat that they like. They are hungry. And it's a short duration-maybe 10 minutes. They tell us about their day. It's fun!

One unintended benefit (to my surprise) is that dinner is pushed back to 6:30-7. Much later than we used to eat (used to eat at 5 or 530).  Since they are older and going to bed later now, there is plenty of time for bath and stories after dinner. A later dinner hour also gives me more time to cook dinner and I don't feel so rushed. I love it.

By the time dinner rolls around they are hungry again. Then its much easier to enjoy dinner because it seems they are able to retain some of what we practiced at tea.

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Coconut scones

Baking anything without butter or egg and getting the same result as a dairy baked good is very difficult. No - its impossible.  I guess when you decide to go vegan you have to accept that your baked goods are just not going to be the same.  But I thought these coconut scones were pretty good. Not the same, but still really good. Pretty dense. And the coconut flavor was not too intense. Thats either a plus or minus depending on your affinity for coconut.

With only 2 tablespoons of sugar, they are not to sweet either.  I like that.

Serve them with a little pineapple jelly or whipped coconut cream (for directions on how to make whipped coconut cream, see my blog entry on Strawberry Shortcakes).  I like my tea served with light vanilla soy milk and maybe some honey for added sweetness if I'm in the mood.