… having had a little break from blogging over the past few weeks, dipping in and out when i’ve had a moment has actually built a little confusion in my mind… whilst it’s given me the physical time to work on other projects it hasn’t actually helped with my mental state, in fact you could say that it’s made it all the more worse. This time away from the constant writing and tweeting, commenting and taking photo’s has only gone to highlight the pressure and now that I have a few days ahead of me, overtime I pick up my computer to blog I just fill with dread and I pull away. Worst of all is that I seem to have lost my love for the food, which I thought would never happen. I swipe though instagram with no emotion, occasionally seeing things that look nice but I think it’s the volume of everything that just makes me so bored with it all. I feel as though there’s nothing special out there any more, or at least nothing special to me. I guess that i’ve slipped into a very negative state of mind and i’m hoping it will pass. I have been here before and my learnings from last time is not to make dramatic statements about quitting blogging and instead, understand that it will pass and my passion will come back. Until then, the sun came out yesterday and it actually felt like Spring was on the way. So I made some scones…
lemon zest scones
every scone season I like to try a new recipe… I will always return to my favourite Delia Smith classic scone recipe but after years of sticking with the same I began to branch out a few years back with interesting results…and there are so many recipes out there from the aforementioned Delia to Paul Hollywood to Bea’s of Bloomsbury to the classic Cornish Scone… it seems i’ve made them all and as I always say, the humble scone is a basic thing which is essentially just a vehicle for cream and jam and so however it’s made, as long as it does its delivery job from plate to mouth without crumbling in the hand then it’s a job well done. The ones i’m sharing here today are a new Mary Berry recipe and to be frank I didn’t like them. They were very heavy and far too doughy. Their only saving grace was the fresh zing from the lemon set which I added myself. Saying that, they rose well in the oven and their colour was delightful but I shall not be making this particular recipe again…
450g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
50g caster sugar
2 large free-range eggs
225ml milk
pre-heat the oven to 220C and line a baking tray with parchment
put the flour and baking powder into a bowl, add the butter and rub-in to create breadcrumbs… stir in the sugar and the lemon zest
beat the eggs together and add these to the milk, stir together and then mix this into the flour (leaving just a small amount aside to glaze with later)… I use a knife to do this as it cuts through the dough… once the dough starts to form into a solid ball bring together with your hands
pop out onto a floured board and pat out to a thickness of about 2cm, using a 2inch pastry cutter, cut out as many scones, in which ever size you desire and re-shape the dough until you’ve used it all up… the trick is not to twist the cutter as you dig it into the dough as this will effect the rise and create a lop-sided scone…then brush just the top with the remaining beaten egg / milk mix
bake for 15 mins until golden and risen then set aside to cool
I understand!! The lemon scones are lovely.
Best,
Bonnie
thanks Bonnie xx
I've been feeling much the same myself, but am keeping going at a slower pace. I think the long cold spring isn't helping, or the fact that we've been doing this blogging game for nearly 10 years now! I still love the community of like-minded folks but sometimes it's just hard work and no fun. Shocked to hear that Mary's recipe didn't come out well, will throw some lemon zest into my next batch of scones and see what it's like. xxx
Thanks Janice. It's hard isn't it? I've noticed it quite a bit amongst our group of bloggers. Maybe we've just cooked it all away!!
Step away and enjoy just doing stuff and going out in the sunshine.
Lemon scones sound nice, especially with that Blackcurrant jam.
I'm in my 10th year f blogging and what with Instagram and Facebook and Twitter etc the fun of blogging has slipped away. Instagram has become a bit – create your brand savvy – with emphasis on making sure your photos are up to snuff so your 'feed looks tip top'. Which sadly takes away the randomness.
Oh, I should make scones more often, looks so delicious!
Thanks Celia. You're so right. The fun has gone. The randomness gone. The creativity. Thanks for the kind words.
Thanks Sven. You really should. So easy. So delicious.
Few people keep the same pastime/hobby/passion going for ever, so finding that it's no longer as exciting is normal I think.
It would be a shame to carry on just for the sake of it but speaking as someone who has been immensely inspired by your blog it would be terrible if you just disappeared. But life evolves and goes on so it would be lovely if you just ambled along for a while.
The scones look lovely but I shall avoid the M.B. recipe….I have enough trouble turning out a decent batch without a duff recipe!
Understand completely especially the bit about social media, but instead of stopping with the blog I just go at a slower pace and also remind myself not to take everything too seriously. We all started blogging about food because we love it, and to obsess over it will be to take the joy out of something that started as an honest passion to cook and to share! Hope to see more from you Dom, and nice work on those delicious sounding scones! x
I know exactly what you mean, I've been really sick of stuff lately and miss the days when blogging meant actually publishing the posts rather than a ton of social media alongside. I find the latter is a huge drain on creativity and is only getting worse.
Love the scones! I rarely make scones, not sure why as I like them a lot 🙂
Off to new horizons! The lemon scones are a steal!
Highs and lows in this business for sure. Sometimes it all just gets to be too much but you have a gift Dom. I enjoy all your posts and the recipes and would truly miss you if you move on. Thanks for all your entertaining posts … so far!
I certainly hear what you're saying. You have to do it for the love of food but sometimes the extra time at the computer just wears you down. I remember when there were other hobbies that I enjoyed 🙂 I love scones and the idea of the lemon zest is a great one. Given your review I think I'll try it with a tried and true scone recipe.
Oh no Dom, don't lose your love of food. Even when I get fed up with the whole blog business and even more so the social media one, I've never gone that far! Love the idea of lemon zest in the scones, but I reckon a good scone has to have buttermilk, kefir, yoghurt or some such in it so maybe that's why you were disappointed.
I KNOW exactly what you mean Dom and that is why I have been doing more travelling lately, as a break from food blogging! I am just getting back into the thread of things now, but I have lost a bit if my mo-jo and need to get it back! I LOVE LOVE LOVE these scones however, and anything with lemon in them gets my vote! We need a tequila night! Karen xxx
Oh no!!! That's not a good place to be, but I get where you are! I have been blogging for only a short time in comparison to yourself and find the social media side really really wearing. It seems to make no difference to my readership in the long run and just takes the enjoyment out of being creative with food. There seems to be a pressure to publish on an ever expanding list of social media in addition to the blog and I could take or leave that side of things. Tedious for sure!
I hope you get your mojo back soon though….. I would HATE to see you disappear. I love what you do! xx