The Truth about Sunflowers.

These are my sunflowers, and they are growing 10 feet tall, just like they are supposed to, and opening up into the beautiful yellow heads. So Bill and I were discussing whether sunflowers actually follow the sun, like we have heard. I told him that everytime I went outside and looked at them, they were facing east. We looked on the NSA website (National Sunflower Association), yes, Sunflowers have their own website, who woulda thunk it, but after the sock monkey incident, I guess anything's possible. So, it turns out, that when the blooms are just opening and are in the budding state, they DO follow the sun throughout the day, but once they have opened into a flower, they face east. Nobody knows why. It's a mystery. While I was there reading all about sunflowers, I found this great scone recipe, which I promply made and wow, they were very flavorful and wonderful with coffee...so here's the recipe.....Class dismissed!

Sunflower Breakfast Scones

		2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup quick or old-fashioned oats, uncooked 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt Grated rind of 1 orange or lemon (optional) 5 tablespoons cold, sunflower margarine 1/3 cup toasted sunflower kernels 1 can (11 ounce) mandarin oranges, well-drained 1/2 cup milk
Preheat over to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Drain mandarin oranges; set aside. In medium bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and orange rind. Mix well with a wire whisk. Slice cold sunflower margarine into about 10 pieces and cut into flour with a pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in sunflower kernels. Add reserved mandarin oranges and the milk to dry ingredients. Working quickly, stir lightly to form a rough dough ball. Dough will seem dry but will moisten as kneaded. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead quickly and gently about 10 turns. Divide dough in half. Pat out each piece into a 6-inch circle and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Using a dough cutter or knife, cut through to the pan, making each circle of dough into 6 wedges that are separated slightly. Beat 1 egg white with cold water. Brush each circle with the egg white wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown on top and bottom. Avoid overbaking for a tender inside. Place on wire rack to cool. Separate wedges and serve. Note: Scones may be frozen in an airtight container. Thaw and reheat at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes.
Makes 12 scones.

These may seems like a lot of work, but they are worth it.