The Secret Ingredient

by Laura Schaefer

  I invented these scones after my family ate at this pub called Mickey’s on the near east side of Madison. They have the “World’s Greatest Sandwich” there, and it is full of bacon. It really is the world’s greatest.☺

  Ingredients

  2 cups all-purpose flour

  1 tablespoon baking powder

  2 tablespoons sugar

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  3 tablespoons cold butter

  2 eggs

  3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

  1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced

  1/2 cup crumbled crispy bacon

  3/4 cup buttermilk

  1/2 teaspoon secret ingredient

  1 tablespoon milk

  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix the dry ingredients together first, then cut in the butter. Add the secret ingredient. In a small bowl beat one egg. Stir in the beaten egg and add cheese, tomatoes, and bacon. Slowly add the buttermilk to form a thick dough. You may need slightly more than 3/4 cup. Knead the dough on a board, roll to a 1-inch thickness, and cut the dough into 2-inch triangles. Place each triangle on a greased cookie sheet, beat the remaining egg with milk, and brush the tops with the egg wash. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown; serve warm. Makes 12 scones.

  July 27 3:12 p.m.

  Chapter Six

  To kiss is like drinking tea from a tea-strainer—you always want more.

  —OLD CHINESE SAYING

  This is an emergency meeting of the Teashop Girls. I now call us to order. On the docket is a highly fascinating and romantic Steeping Leaf storage-room event involving Zach Anderson,” Genna announced loudly.

  “Genna!” I protested. Jeez, people could probably hear her all the way down on State Street.

  Genna and Zoe and I were at a table on the Leaf patio later that evening. We had a pot of jasmine tea in front of us and three scones, which had indeed turned out fabulously. Fortunately Louisa had rescued them from the oven at the exact right moment. I’d been wandering around all afternoon like someone who’d been hypnotized, and I’d forgotten about them. Louisa asked me if I was coming down with the flu, and I said the hot weather had slowed down my brain. I don’t think she bought it, but she didn’t say anything.

  “Shhhhhh!” I said. “You don’t have to announce my first kiss to the entire town.”

  “Why not? It’s totally exciting,” she said. “Didn’t I say you guys were going to get married? I love being right. And come on, you’ve got to admit Z. is really cute. You know, when he isn’t talking.”

  I looked at her and scrunched up my nose.

  “Um, there is a big difference between stumbling into someone’s face and marrying them,” Zoe pointed out reasonably. “It is pretty exciting, though, Annie,” she added with a giggle. Her white clothes were perfect, as always. I wondered if her mom was doing extra laundry now that Zoe had taken up gardening. Even though my friend was now up close and personal with dirt, there was never a speck of it on her.

  “I don’t know. It’s Zach. I didn’t really think …” I trailed off. I didn’t know what to think. I couldn’t pretend that my stomach didn’t have butterflies in it. Good butterflies. But he was so obnoxious. I never thought I would want Zach Anderson to kiss me.

  Let alone want him to kiss me again.

  “Tell me everything again. Every detail,” Genna demanded.

  “I fell over and he pulled me off the floor. I ended up sort of right in front of him, and it just happened,” I said. “It was really quick. But nice.”

  “When James kissed me, it wasn’t really quick,” Genna said, dreamily. “I never wanted it to end. Oh Annie, I’m so jealous. You’re so lucky Zach lives here. You can start high school with a real boyfriend!”

  “I… guess,” I said. I couldn’t even imagine what I’d say to him when I saw him again. Just thinking about it made my face turn pink. I could feel the heat in my cheeks as we spoke.

  “Now we just have to find a cute boy for you, Zo,” Genna decided.

  “I’m good, thanks,” Zoe said, and crossed her eyes. “These scones are phenomenal, Annie. What’s in them?”

  “Some of those tomatoes you gave me, Hook’s cheddar, crispy bacon, flour, buttermilk… and the secret ingredient, of course.” I leaned in and whispered, “Tea leaves!”

  “Perfect. Try it, Gen,” Zoe prodded.

  Genna looked uncomfortable and took a tiny bite. I frowned. I’d momentarily forgotten about her plan to eat nothing but egg whites and celery. “Very good,” she said enthusiastically.

  “You have to eat more than that!” Zoe protested.

  “I can’t,” Genna said. “I’m on a strict diet.”

  “You are? Is something wrong? Are you sick?” Zoe immediately looked very concerned. She knew all about my sister, Beth, and her celiac disease. Food allergies could be serious business.

  “No, no, nothing like that. I’m just staying away from fat and sugar. It’s no big deal.”

  “Oh,” Zoe said. “So you can’t eat Annie’s scones?”

  “I can, but only a taste. This really is delicious, Annie. I know you’ll win.”

  “Thanks,” I said. I thought about how Zoe had brought tomatoes to the Leaf for me and how I’d hoped the contest would be sort of a group effort. I wanted Genna to do more than take a tiny taste each time I made a new recipe, but what could I say? She was so determined to look like Cecily, with her ribbony arms. Zoe and I exchanged concerned looks.

  “Does your mom know about this diet?” Zoe asked.

  “Oh yeah. She’s on it too,” Genna said breezily. “We got a new juicer.” So that explained why Mrs. Matthews always looked sort of pinched. She was hungry. I thought about how my mom looked. A bit tired, I guess, but also amused … and content. My family always joked around during dinner and ate massive quantities of lasagna or stir-fry or baked chicken with rosemary and mashed potatoes. The thought of trading that in for some egg whites and skinny arms made me sad.

  “Anyway, when are you going to see Zach again?” Genna asked. “You want to borrow some of my makeup?”

  “I have no idea,” I answered. “He’s always just kind of popping up. Maybe he’ll come to the shop tomorrow … I’m working all day.”

  “Nice.”

  “I’m not sure how to put on the eye stuff, but I do like your lip gloss a lot,” I added warmly.

  “Really? Thanks! It’s called Peach Sparkles. I have two; you can totally take this one.” She reached into her bag and handed it to me.

  “Thanks, Gen.”

  “So, what are you all eating on this diet? You know, the human body needs at least some fat.” Zoe was determined not to let it go. I shifted in my chair uneasily.

  “I promise I’m eating healthfully,” Genna said emphatically. “Lots of veggies. And I’m thinking of doing one of those cleanse things and having juice for a few days.”

  “WHAT? Genna, that is not a good idea. Your body is still growing, and … and …” Zoe was really upset. She had a point.

  “It’s fine. Don’t wig out,” Genna said defensively. “Jeez.”

  “I’m not wigging out. I’m worried about you,” Zoe replied. “What have you eaten today?”

  “Stop being the food police. It’s none of your business. Annie, tell her to drop it.”

  “Um …” I looked back and forth between my two best friends and didn’t say anything.

  “Genna, let Louisa make you a turkey sandwich with some yogurt for dinner. I’ll go ask her.” Zoe stood up and Genna did too.

  “Forget it. I’m going to eat what I want to eat. I’m leaving.” Genna glared at Zoe and stomped out of the patio. Zoe sat down heavily, took a huge bite of her scone, and chewed angrily. I’d never seen her get so upset at Genna before. I didn’t know what to say.

  To Do: Tuesday, July 28

  • get Genna to eat more than a bite of something.

  • Invent best scone recipe in the history of scone recipes.

  • get o
ne thousand blog followers.

  • Try kissing again. Maybe.

  • Calm down. For real.

  Dear readers,

  Remember when I said I’d share some of the vintage ads I’ve collected in the Teashop Girls Handbook? Here is one of my favorites. It’s from when Louisa was a little girl.

  Have you ever tried Teaberry gum? It’s delicious! This gum has been around practically forever (okay, since 1900, close enough). It’s made with flavors from the Eastern Teaberry bush, which is an evergreen shrub that produces an oil similar in taste to wintergreen. Even though there isn’t technically any actual tea in Teaberry gum, I still heart it.☺

  It’s the perfect gum to have after high tea.

  <3 Annie

  July 27 7:13 p.m.

  Chapter Seven

  Make tea, not war.

  —MONTY PYTHON

  The next day, I woke up earlier than I usually do. I could hear the reassuring sound of a cardinal chirping outside of my window, but it was impossible to lie there and enjoy it like I normally could. Yes, I was worried about Genna and Zoe’s spat, but more than that I was confused about what had happened between Zach and me. When I thought about it, I couldn’t help but smile, like I held a very precious secret inside of me. I practically wanted to giggle. All this time, Zach liked me. It was incredible. But also so very strange. I couldn’t imagine how I would talk to him now. Would he still tease me and say mean things? How would I feel if he did?

  I just knew I wanted to see him as soon as possible to find out what would happen next.

  I threw off my sheet, got ready for work, and grabbed the day’s to-do list I had made the night before. The shop didn’t open for another half hour, but I could always help Louisa water her plants and maybe start another blog post. It was sure to be a hot day again. I put on a light cotton blouse and jean skirt and grabbed my Leaf apron. My hair was curlier on one side than the other, so I decided to comb it. It became huge all over, so I sighed and put it into a ponytail. I dabbed some SPF 75 on my face and arms and I was ready. Before I walked to the Leaf, though, I logged on to the family computer.

  SCONE CONTEST LEADER BOARD

  1. Miss Cuppycake.........415 followers

  2. Master Baker............311 followers

  3. HaileyCakes.............295 followers

  4. SweetCakes.............265 followers

  5. PastrySwagger..........260 followers

  6. Scone-y Nation.........216 followers

  27. SteepingLeafScone.....19 followers

  I knew that twenty-seventh place was at least a sign we were moving in the right direction, but there sure was a lot of work to do to become a real contender. I checked my blog to see if I had any new comments on my Parmesan berry scone post. It had two comments; not bad.

  MadisonMom: I loved your berry scone! I want to have another one at the teashop soon!

  July 28 6:27 a.m.

  Miss Cuppycake: I love cheesy scones. Very nice.

  July 28 7:14 a.m.

  I grinned. Mostly I was relieved there wasn’t another mean comment from SweetCakes.

  “Good morning, my dear! You’re up early.” Louisa waved as I approached the shop. She was outside on the patio tending to a small trellis of morning glories.

  “Hi, Louisa. Yes, I guess I was just done sleeping. Nice day out here.” I noticed that some of our chairs had dew on them, so I stepped inside to grab a towel. I came back out and began wiping them down.

  “Thank you, dear, that was my next task,” Louisa said. She watched me for a moment, and I could tell she was trying to decide if she should ask me about yesterday. I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask her advice about Genna and Zoe. If only to avoid talking about Zach.

  “So Gen and Zo got into a fight,” I blurted out.

  Louisa stopped trimming her plants and turned to me.

  “Yeah. Genna doesn’t want to eat normal food anymore. She’s on a diet so she can look like this tiny actress or something. Zoe tried to talk her out of it, and now they’re mad at each other.”

  “Oh dear. What won’t she eat?” Louisa asked.

  “You know, anything with, like, sugar in it.” I tried to remember what else Genna had said. “She would only try a tiny bite of my bacon scone.”

  “I see.” Louisa then said, almost to herself, “I wish people would think less about taking foods away and more about adding them in when they decide to change the way they eat.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Well, there is nothing wrong with making an effort to eat healthfully,” Louisa replied. “We all probably do eat too much sugar, for example. It’s just that often in our culture when a person wants to slim a bit, they decide to cut out everything they love to eat. They make food some sort of enemy, when really it’s our lifelong friend. Every time I’ve made an effort to eat better, I try to add new foods. Then the ones that aren’t serving me very well fade into the background for a while.”

  “Yeah. Maybe I can get Gen to talk to you,” I said hopefully. “Like what new foods?”

  “Hmm. Like quinoa or whole oats. Tahini, sushi, Chinese broccoli. All my favorites when I’m trying to lighten up a bit. Sometimes preparing these things takes more time, but that’s part of honoring your body and the earth that has produced such goodness for you.”

  “Sounds tasty. Maybe I can get her to try some of those things.”

  “Good luck, dear. I know eating right isn’t always easy. It’s a very emotional thing for some people. But I’m sure you can be a helpful friend to Genna. Maybe all she needs is an example.”

  I thought about how I scarfed cupcakes and scones and realized I probably needed to shape up a bit if Genna was going to listen to me. Next time we had weekly tea, I vowed to make us some veggie sushi rolls with things from Zoe’s garden. There was no way she could say no to that! I felt better already. It was so nice how when something was bothering me, Louisa always listened and had such good suggestions. I set down the towel I was using to wipe off the patio chairs and went over to give her a hug.

  “I love you, Louisa,” I said.

  “Well! I love you too, Annie dear.” She smiled at me. She looked happy but also wistful.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “It’s just that sometimes you remind me so much of your grandfather. Having you here at the shop reminds me of when we first opened. We spent a lot of time in between serving tea just chatting about our friends. And with them, of course.”

  “Sounds nice. And just like today,” I added. I saw in Louisa’s eyes her awareness of time going by. I wondered what it felt like, being a grandmother.

  “Indeed.” Louisa seemed to come back to the present then. She opened the Leaf’s front door wide and propped it with a large pot containing a little banana tree with big leaves. I helped her to put out our sign on the sidewalk. It announced that the tea of the day would be French Breakfast.

  Now that I had a plan to help Genna and Zoe, I debated whether to tell my grandmother about Zach. She always had the world’s best advice, but I didn’t want her to act any differently around him when he came back to the shop. Also, it was nice to have this thing that was all mine. I decided not to mention it for now. There were some things that were just too private to discuss. When Genna had shouted about it yesterday, I’d felt uneasy. Especially when she’d said the thing about me having a “real boyfriend” for high school. I looked down Monroe Street, both ways, hoping to see Zach standing on his bike, pedaling furiously toward me. All I saw was the mailman.

  Since we were usually pretty quiet before eight a.m., I had some time to see if there were any comments on my blog entry about the bacon scone. I turned on Louisa’s computer and waited. Finally, the scone contest page loaded and I checked the leader board. I was still near the bottom. I clicked on the first one, Sweet Impressions, and learned that she was the daughter of a cupcake-shop owner in San Francisco. Her latest recipe was for a lavender scone decorated with a real edible flower. Wow
! I randomly clicked on the seventh. A blog page with the title Master Baker loaded. Its newest scone recipe appeared. I blinked. The title read “Cheesy Tomato Bacon Scone.” It was almost EXACTLY the same as the one I had invented yesterday. A thin layer of sweat broke out on my forehead as I stared at the post. I reread it over and over. Not only was the post just like mine, but it had dozens of comments. All of a sudden my stomach began to ache, like it sometimes does when I get stressed out. How could this be?

  Did the Steeping Leaf have a spy?

  Dear readers,

  I’m doing my best to create original scone recipes, but I’m worried there aren’t enough ingredients to go around. I know it sounds silly, but I noticed that some of the other bakers in my scone competition have very similar recipes to mine and I can’t help but stress about it. Making the same scone on the same day is way worse than wearing the same outfit to school on the same day as another girl. See, it only takes two minutes to change or throw on a different sweater, but it takes two HOURS to bake a scone. Do you know what I mean?

  I need to invent a recipe that is so unusual no one could possibly think of it too. If you have any outrageous (and delicious) ideas, dear readers, PLZ message me.

  Signed, freaking out,

  Annie

  July 28 7:52 a.m.

  Chapter Eight

  It was fortunate that tea was at hand, to produce a lull and provide refreshment …

  —LOUISA MAY ALCOTT, LITTLE WOMEN

  Master Baker’s bacon scone recipe freaked me out so much that I spent hours reading all of the other contestants’ blogs. Normally I would have enjoyed spending that much time reading about delicious tea food, but instead I just felt tense. I had new resolve to invent a truly original recipe and get the Steeping Leaf blog into the top five. But how could I get hundreds of new readers? The leader had almost five hundred followers already. I had nineteen.

  It was clearly time to get brainstorming.