Strawberry Lemon Spelt Scones

I have to admit I’m a teeny bit disappointed writing this post. Normally, every June, I happily skip through our Strawberry Week post chatting about our adventures picking fresh, Ontario strawberries at the local farm by our cottage. However, over at the farm, there’s nothing! Yup, that’s right. Zippo. After a long and cruel winter, the strawberries weren’t available until later this week. So instead of my hand-picked goodies, I picked up a local variety at our grocery store. The upside of that? No one whined about picking them.

Photo by Maya Visnyei

I can be a bit of a, ahem, pain about picking strawberries. (I think I just felt my husband’s eyes roll.) The first day, when the three of us venture up to the fields, it’s always fun and games. By the third, fourth and fifth days, I’m dragging a whining and pretty anti-berry crew of pickers–Some I’ve bribed others receive totally unnecessary promises. But I can’t help myself. The season is so short at our farm so I try to get the most out of it. And by most I mean butt-loads of berries to hull and freeze.

Part of my normal picking crew looking for a way out….

Despite not having my berries, this recipe is a total home run. Instead of rich butter I’ve used coconut oil but, I’ve got to admit, you don’t sacrifice flavour. The chunky bits of strawberry are all you really need. Scarlett loves them as part of her breakfast. However, she didn’t buy into my idea of spreading mascarpone cheese on them. Instead, one morning, I found her rummaging around in the cabinet for something. When I asked what she was looking for she said, “You’ll see.” What did she pull out to top her scone? Nutella. Now, I realize this is not something to have each morning but, when schools ending and you’ve got the whole summer lying ahead of you, what’s a little chocolate spread between family (or berry-picking co-workers)?

I love eating these with a heathy spread of mascarpone cheese. So does our photographer Maya. We think we’re genius’ for using it since it’s like clotted cream. You don’t have to use it, but you’ve gotta admit it was a good idea.