Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Home Hunting: Ginger-Maple Scones

Me Blogging Before Beginning the House Hunting Process:


Aaaaaaand Now:


THE END.

Or not. But really, this is insane.

According to Lyon Realty, the average American only stays in the home they bought for eight years before selling and starting the whole process again. I don't actually get this. I grew up in only two homes my entire life. The first one I was in until the age of six, but my parents had been there for 15 years, and my mother is still in her second house.

How does the process not mentally and emotionally scar people to the point where they never leave their new homes? I imagine myself at the end of this process sustaining on the unfortunate squirrels who happen into my backyards in order to avoid society. I would have to restrain myself around loan officers and realtors for fear that I might bludgeon them to death with mortgage insurance paperwork?

At least the loan part is done. We have one and awaiting a letter of approval so we can start making offers.

Assuming we can, that is. Allow me to break down the market here in Sacramento.
  1. Most homes stay on the market an average of 20 days. This is because there are a lot of buyers and not a lot of homes. This is lame and I hate it.
  2. The market is slowly beginning to rise in Sacramento so everyone who was waiting to buy is now out in force. I am trying to move quickly before the hibernators come out with the winter thaw and every open house begins to look like a salmon spawning ground of eager buyers pushing approval letters with sweaty hands and pulsing through the tours of guest bedrooms.
  3. Many investment corporations are buying up to 30 homes a week in Sacramento with cash. Some of these corporations aren't even local. Some are in China, because apparently they're running out of highrises to stuff their populous in. My guess is that we will soon begin outsourcing jobs to overseas workers who actually live down the street. One investment corporation in particular purchased over 500 homes in Sacramento last month. This means the little people wanting a first home (e.g., me and husband) are screwed.
  4. The first home we found that was just right we didn't get to tour. Within 24 hours of it being up for sale the home had 20 offers and 4 counter offers. I fell into a Virginia Woolf-style depression for days and kept filling my pockets with small stones.
I am coping by falling back one of the oldest traditions in my family: drinking. Not like in an, "Oh my God, Garrett, we love you and you have a problem," way, but I find having a rather large glass of wine when I attempt to decipher mortgage loan offers or understand APR financing seems to help. The last one is still rather hazy and not due to the wine (or so I tell myself as I sit there, alone, full glass in hand).

What sustains me through this three bedroom, two bath nightmare? The desire to have hardwood floors, a guest room, and a yard of my own. Most of all, though, a proper kitchen. Something with cabinets so deep I could go hunting for my springform pan and end up in Narnia. Something with enough space for my table with all three leaves and where I don't have to turn it at an angle to make it fit. Something where I can keep cookbooks in the kitchen and not in the living room and where I have to trek back and forth like a Mongolian nomad. 

I want a yard where Brian and I can build that wood burning pizza oven we've dreamed of, regardless of the fact that neither of us know how to make pizza dough (yet). A yard where Jack the Corgi can pee on our lemon tree, variegated apple tree, orange tree, and pomegranate tree. A yard where I can build proper and permanent garden boxes and perhaps have a proper compost heap that the neighbors don't complain about. 

These are reasons to pursue this mission, or so I hear. There's also the fact that it'll be a good investment and the fact that owning would be cheaper then renting right now. 

But let's be honest... it is all about where I can cook.

Assuming the stress and stress-eating and stress-martini downing don't do me in first. We're being fiscally smart and ensuring we have the money, time, and willingness to do some projects ourselves to take any kitchen with electric ranges and pink tile counters and transform them. Between Brian and I we can easily transform anything that needs a bit of TLC. Bring on the fixer-uppers!

We refuse to be house poor and I refuse to have to hire help for every project. We'll knock down walls, install a gas range and two ovens so that Thanksgiving won't be so stressful, and buy a fridge with a vegetable drawer big enough to host a farmer's market. I also have a dream of concrete counter tops and glass tile backsplashes.

It will be the kitchen any food blogger could ever want.

Until then, I will continue cramming out food in my tiny 1982-built kitchen. It's not all bad and I certainly know how to make do until the right kitchen comes along. I was able to prepare these scones, after all. A bit of flour, sugar, cream, candied ginger, and maple syrup. Delightful and they make my charming rental smell like home. Or, at least, a home I rent.

Not that the food is bad. In this case I offer you scones jammed full of candied ginger and brushed with a maple syrup cream glaze.


Ginger-Maple Scones

6 oz all-purpose flour
2 oz sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
6 oz cream, plus 2 tablespoons for brushing
2 tablespoons maple syrup, preferably Grade B but use what you got

1. Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, ground ginger and baking powder. Next, whisk in the candied ginger. In a small bowl mix together the maple syrup and the two reserved tablespoons of cream.

2. Add the cream and use your hands to gently bring together the ingredients. If you need to add a bit more cream or flour then do so judiciously. It will be sticky and clumpy. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead twice (push-squish, push-squish, done).

3. Form the dough into a disc and cut into 6-8 pieces. Brush the tops with the cream-maple syrup mixture. 4. Bake at 425F for 10-15 minutes or until golden.

33 comments:

  1. My thought process: feet off of ground, jumping for joy, congrats! Took me a minute to get it - I'm sorry that it's been such a frustration. The scones look great; thanks for channeling all of your bad experiences into delicious recipes!

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    1. Maybe in a few months I'll have that picture. ;)

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  2. I am quite sure you want to stay central city/grid-side, but if you happen to really want to trek, the house next door to me out in Carmichael is absolutely gorgeous and is up for sale on a fanny mae loan. Nice kitchen, Streng home (Eichler influenced), we're across from a 13.6 acre natural park, great neighborhood, large yard with 850 sq ft covered deck, and the best neighbors money can buy :) I know the housing junk is terrible, and I don't mean to comment way oof topic, but it would be a dream to have fellow foodie, composting, neighbors next door. Good luck with the house thing and get that glass of wine out :)

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  3. Oh and P.S., the Fannie Mae homes require that people looking for a main residence, and a first time home get special priority over investment buyers. If you're even minorly interested, the house is at 4329 Jan Drive Carmichael

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    1. Sadly, that house is out of our range. We are looking to not get crazy house poor, but how cool to be neighbors! When we find that house you'll have to swing by for pizza. XD

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  4. House hunting is a drag but finally finding the house and making it your home is a lot of fun. Hopefully you have a good realtor.

    We looked for a very long time before finding our current home simply because we live in a remote rural area where there isn't a lot to choose from. We also were looking at a time when places were being snatched up before we could even make an offer. We finally found one only to find we were in competition for it with a couple from California who were bidding without even seeing it. When we toured it, we noticed the owner had 2 dogs. So......we wrote the owner's dogs a letter from our dog. Kenzie told the owner how much she would enjoy the acreage (2.7), how the home was perfect for perfect for her family with three boys and parents who liked to garden (extensive gardens, which now have become a good reason to move again but that's another story), and several other reasons I can't remember. Accompanying the letter was a bag of dog treats. I dropped it off on their porch. Our realtor also sent a letter of reference with our offer commenting on the fact that I do a lot of volunteer work in the community and how overall delightful we are.

    She also added an escalation clause to the offer which means that we would top anyone else's offer by $1000. (This might not work in the California market. I'm familiar with what you face in that market because we sold our old home in the Bay Area to move to Washington.)

    We got the home and when we went for the walk-through a month or so later, the owner told me it was the dog letter that did it. ;) Plus I think she liked the fact that a family would be moving in, one that would live there full time. The California couple had called up and asked remodeling questions, which was off-putting to the owner. People don't want to think about their beloved home being changed around. Although I had definite plans for the kitchen (we put in an Aga), I don't think we mentioned any remodeling type things in front of the owner.

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    1. Gwen, I love this story. Thank you so much for sharing. I'm gonna grab Husband and tell him we need to get Jack the Corgi to start practicing his penmanship. XD

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  5. P.S. I like the sound of the Carmichael home!

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  6. I remember this process oh too well. Three years ago my husband and I set out on our first househunting adventure. At first, I looked forward to each Saturday of endless possibilities with our realtors....that however quickly turned to a feeling of dread each weekend, as our search extended to six months. After seeing clown house after clown house, we finally decided our realtors really didn't "get" us and switched to someone new. Her new, fresh perspective actually led us to build a house for the same amount we were looking to spend. We couldn't be more happy today. So, on the New Year's Day, I toast to you and your hours on end watching HGTV and scanning local real estate blurbs online! Goodluck-it is WELL worth it in the end :)

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    1. HGTV is quickly becoming my addiction. Lordy... Lucky for us I really like my realtor so far. He's kinda awesome. XD

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  7. Oh the househunting nightmare. Boo! Hiss! I hope you can find a home and make it the one of your dreams over time. The idea of a wood burning pizza oven is nearly enough for me to invite myself over and bring a large carafe of sangria and a basket of scratch-made assorted muffins!

    When we bought our current house we spent 10 agonizing months and settled for something just to be done. Surprisingly we were on speaking terms during moving week! The agent wasn't ideal and I was smothered in paperwork that made no sense. Why I chose to buy houses for a living makes less sense than why I bought a house next to a busy, high speed street where people can drive through your back fence.

    I'm going to give these scones a try and while I do I'll share this post with my other half and my kids. The three of them might have some empathetic words for you during this difficult time and I will send them here to leave you some comment love!

    Congrats on the loan approval process! Yay! One big hurdle done! I hope the process is smooth and painless for you. I'm very glad that I found your blog thanks to Stephanie Stiavetti and her article! :)

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    1. Glad you like the blog, Dionne. And thank you for sharing your story here. It's nice to know that others have gone through this hell and survived it all. =D

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  8. Oh gosh, Garrett! We feel your pain! Just went through the process in May. It was exhausting. And you know what? When it's all over, life never returns to normal because you then have endless DIY projects in the house. I hate to tell you it, but it's true. Buy more wine! :)

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  9. I am never moving again, not because buying the house was so stressfull (which it was-so many things were wrong about the process) but because moving gives me nightmares. This is my first house and I plan on dying in it.

    The instructions say add bread flour and the ingredients call for all purpose. Can you clarify?

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    1. Either will work, but thanks for the fix. I used all-purpose for this recipes (though usually for scones I use bread flour; in this instance I just didn't have it on hand).

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  10. Are you looking at any particular areas? We live in Rosemont, which has nice yards and plenty of fixer-up-ability (pretty sure that's not a word) and we're county, not city, so some of the zoning restrictions (for compost and the like) are a little less. Sadly, my house is probably perfect for you but, for the reasons you listed, I will be buried in my backyard because I refuse to ever buy again. Plus we're something like $80K upside down. Ah, California.

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  11. We were in the exact same situation as you a year ago --- newly weds looking for their new house. I could have lived anywhere with my husband but he wanted waterfront and that limited our choices even more. The first house I liked was unceremoniuosly pulled from the market after we accepted their counter offer. Grrr! We then decided to build on a lot that developed this big sink hole just days before we were to sign a contract with the builder. We finally settled on a stinky, racoon infested house next to the most heavenly view of the Chesapeake Bay. We endured 3 months living at the local La Quinta Inn and a couple more months living in the half-constructed house. Finally, we are now the proud owners of our dream house. Each morning when the sun rises over the water, I watch with awe with my beloved over morning coffee. It will be that way for you when you find THE house. I promise.

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  12. I can only imagine what a nightmare that is to go through! I thank my lucky stars that my Fiance had a wonderful, fully-paid-for house before we ever met... such a weight off my shoulders. As much as I'd like to travel around, I sure hope we don't have to move! (That said, I'm sure you'll get through it just fine - think of that perfect kitchen!)

    The scones sound delicious! I'm a huge fan of ginger, especially in something not-too-sweet like this. Yum!

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  13. Ahhh, I feel your pain. Husband and I saw a short sale house in Elmhurst we liked back in May, put an offer on it the next day (no time to think about it!), and the deal didn't close with the bank until September so we (finally!) moved in during October. We were first time buyers as well and I'm finally feeling like I've stopped reeling from the stress of buying and moving in and am able to enjoy the house. Good luck with your search!

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  14. Yes it is really stressful for hunting a home, but once you become owner, it is nice feeling, may this year you will able to move in to new home. Love this ginger maple scones.

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  15. LOL those two pictures made my morning! Should TOTALLY be a meme! Happy new year and good luck with the house hunt :)

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  16. I bought a house between Colfax and Grass Valley about two years ago, it was insane. Apparently the loan process has gotten crazy since the whole bust, as an attempt to prevent defaults. I don't know if it was worse because I was a single woman or not as well. (my siblings who are married bought houses before I did, South Land Park, Elk Grove and Curtis Park, without all this craziness.)

    Good luck, and as you are already doing, think about the end process. You could even get a few hens for eggs!

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    1. We are looking in 95825, 26, 70, 08, 07, and 09. Here is hoping!

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  17. Geez, that sounds like a horrid market for buyers. Here in Ky it is a horrid market for sellers!! But improving. When we moved into our current house, I told husband I would not be moving again! But 21 years later, we are trying to sell and then, yes, we will be looking for houses in Nova Scotia. Which is a market that is more seller friendly, and relatively unscathed by the recession. Home is worth it. I hope you find "The One" soon.

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  18. I was amazed by statistics like that, too, but I've come to learn that when it comes to home buying, shit seriously happens. For instance, you buy a house that you can comfortably afford on 2 incomes, and you can even get (barely) by on 1 if that should happen, God forbid. Then you become pregnant, and then comes the overwhelming daily grind of working full-time plus trying to get a home-cooked meal on the table every night, spend some quality time with your kid who is in daycare 8.5 hours a day, and, oh it sure would be nice to spend 10 minutes talking to your husband, too. Incredibly, you find yourself saying fuck it after 3 years of that house, putting it on the market, and moving back to the city you and your husband both grew up in that has a much lower cost of living so that you can stay at home, be a big part of your kid's childhood, and once again enjoy putting dinner on the table. The house, upset that you told it to go fuck itself, refuses to have itself sold, so you end up living with your mother so that you can afford to keep paying the mortgage. Lord, how I wish some company would come by and buy up that house! This is my long-winded way of saying once you find THE house, be sure that it is THE house that you will only move out of when you need to take up residence in the cemetery! :)

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    1. I'm going to hide in a closet and refuse to come out now.

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    3. Okay, now I feel like one of those people that tell pregnant women horror labor stories. In other words, evil.
      While our house nightmare is, in fact, a bona fide nightmare, our objectives for moving have been achieved. In the morning, instead of doing the daycare-work-daycare-slap dinner on the table routine, I ask my daughter what she'd like to do today. Since she's 18 months and barely verbal, I decide for her. Make sourdough bread, bake cookies, make ricotta cheese, decide what we'll have for dinner and start prepping it, or a million other culinary adventures. She stands in her little kitchen tower with her apron on and "helps" me. More food ends up on the floor this way, but some ends up in her mouth, making me burst with pride over her little refined palate. My husband and I sit down after she's asleep at night with a beer and talk, instead of frantically doing laundry, dishes, or packing bags for the next day of schlepping. I have time to exercise again and am training for a marathon. In other words, my bank account is much smaller than it was before, but I'm happy. But I'll be happier when the fucking house sells.

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  19. When I bought my house in 2001, I had been renting it for two years, and was thrilled to be able to make it mine. It wasn't perfect, but it had a huge, eat-in kitchen and, seriously, the largest pantry you can imagine. I figured I would live the rest of my life in that house. But less than 6 years later, I had to move (I'm in a small profession, and found myself with a crazy boss -- the only way out was to accept a job across the country). After 5 years, I've bought again, and this time, I know I won't be here forever. I like my new place and really like not being a renter, but I don't love it like I did my old house. Sometimes, you're lucky and find the place that's perfect for you, but sometimes you have to try several times. And of course, sometimes you find the perfect place and have to leave it behind. :-(

    All this is my way of saying good luck!

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  20. You should move to Lincoln. I would make a great taste-tester and we aren't too far out now that the bypass has gone through.

    *crosses fingers*

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  21. In my experience, house hunting isn't quite as fun as it should be. It's all about patience. Good luck with your search.

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  22. And hear I keep hearing the housing market is still in crisis! Well, I'm not worried for you. You'll find something...and if you can turn that kitchen of yours into anything as amazing as you can with these scones, you'll be set! ;) Good luck (and thanks, these were DELICIOUS!).

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  23. I'm so excited for you and your husband buying a house! I can't wait to see pix of the new kitchen...

    I agree, it should be a fun thing, so do your best to let it be so (your best is pretty awesome, you know).

    Giant hugs to you all!

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Hey, you're leaving a comment! That's pretty darn cool, so thanks. If you have any questions or have found an error on the site or with a recipe, please e-mail me and I will reply as soon as possible.
~Garrett