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It seems I have fallen off the face of the Earth lately. Life has been a jumble of too busy and too much in need of a vacation and many things have fallen by the wayside, including sadly, my blog! My beloved husband is an author and editor (I am his proofreader and indexer) and we are in the final process of putting his second book to bed. It’s a crazy time with looming deadlines and sudden busyness that can’t really be anticipated or explained well. In quiet moments, I tend to retreat to a book or peaceful video game for some relaxation.
I wanted to drop in to share this delicious recipe, though. In the photo you see some baked salmon (one of our non-local compromise foods), dragon’s tongue green beans, corn relish and homemade cheddar bay biscuits. Apparently (I haven’t been there in decades), Red Lobster offers these amazing morsels called Cheddar Bay Biscuits. A local radio personality offered lifelong loyalty to a staff member for bringing him some. Sounds pretty good! So, I started digging around on the web and the recipes I found all called for some food-impersonator called “Bisquik” (wha???) but seemed easy enough to adapt to real food. Warning: I didn’t soak the flour for these biscuits beforehand. I normally do soak grains, but this was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision. They were delicious and the highlight of the meal!
Whole Wheat Cheddar “Bay” Biscuits
2 tablespoons melted pasture butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour
1/2 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon crushed dried parsley
1 scant teaspoon sea salt
3 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons cold pasture butter
1 cup buttermilk
Add the minced garlic to the 2 tablespoons butter and melt on very low heat. Remain on heat until biscuits are complete. In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients and cut in the butter. Add buttermilk and mix gently, just until the dough forms a ball. Drop by two-tablespoon measure onto lightly greased parchment paper (I use coconut oil for this) and bake 9 to 11 minutes at 450°. Brush with melted garlic butter immediately after removing from oven, serve hot. Makes 8 big biscuits.
Note on ingredients: Freshly ground flour is very light and fluffy. There is less flour in a cup of freshly ground than there is in a cup of flour that has been ground and stored. If you are using pre-ground flour, you will need to decrease the flour.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.
Wardeh at Gnowfglins is having a series called “Probiotics at Every Meal.” What a wonderful idea! We try to fit probiotics into one part of every meal and I’m really looking forward to reading other people’s suggestions!
This morning’s breakfast fit the theme perfectly. We enjoyed Sunshine Smoothies (adapted from a Sue Gregg recipe) and bright, zingy, in season blackberry muffins with cultured butter. I didn’t soak the muffin batter beforehand, but did use freshly ground flour. Hey, sometimes life’s a tradeoff, right?
Here are my recipes:
Blackberry Spice Muffins
1/4 cup melted butter
1 pastured egg
1/2 cup raw honey
3/4 cup cultured buttermilk
2 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon ground organic cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh, organic blackberries
Mix dry ingredients and berries together in one bowl. Mix wet ingredients together in second bowl. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until moistened, don’t overmix. Scoop batter into greased muffin tins (coconut oil is amazing for this), top with a few extra berries for decoration and bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes and the muffins will pop right out of the tins. Serve with cultured butter for a probiotic boost!
Sunshine Smoothie
For each two servings:
1 orange*
1 banana
1 teaspoon flax oil
1 teaspoon whey
1/2 cup yogurt
pinch cinnamon
Peel orange and banana, add to blender carafe. Pulse a couple times to chop. Add remaining ingredients, blend well. When everyone’s been served, pour leftovers into a popsicle mold for a probiotic boost on a hot afternoon!
*Note on ingredients: Don’t take all the white pulp off the orange when you peel it because that’s where the bioflavonoids are! Bioflavonoids (sometimes called Vitamin P) increase your body’s ability to absorb the vitamin C in the orange.
This post is part of Probiotics: Every Meal hosted by Wardeh at Gnowfglins.
I’ve posted before about this delicious artisan sourdough bread. One of the varieties is called Expedition Bread. From the baker’s site:
This is a very hearty bread that, if you were going on an expedition, is one you would surely want to take with you. This bread makes great sandwiches, toast or a meal by itself. Slice thin for sandwiches or thicker for a wonderful open face sandwich. Expedition is 100% whole grain. The addition of a small amount of rye flour boosts the lysine content, an important amino acid, giving this bread a superb protein profile. The added seeds and grains supply additional vitamins, minerals and protein.
When I tasted this bread, I thought, “Wow, this would make an awesome bread dressing!” The combination of grains was hearty and would hold up to the heat and liquid, but the flavor wouldn’t back down either. The earthy buckwheat and rye was a perfect combination with the herbs. Here’s how I made it:
Cut a 1.5 pound loaf into 1-inch cubes
Spread on dehydrator trays, or dry in oven
Try (hard) to stay out of it until it's thoroughly dried. You can store the bread cubes in the pantry until you use them.
When it's time to make dressing, melt 1/2 pound of butter and whatever seasonings you prefer. I like sage and marjoram with turkey.
Add 4 stalks chopped celery and a chopped onion. Some people like mushrooms or nuts in their dressing, we just like ours plain. Let that simmer until the veggies are soft, about 5 minutes.
Add a cup of your homemade chicken bone broth (don't you dare de-fat it!) and bring to a boil
Pour the buttery veggies over the bread cubes that you've spread in a 9x13 pan. Cover and bake 30 minutes at 350°. If you like a crispy top, uncover the last 10 minutes.
The bread will soak up all the buttery, creamy stock.
Easy! Now, you might not have access to the amazing bread I do. I would recommend a hearty bread that’s not going to fall apart and become mush in the liquid. If your dressing turns out a tad dry, just remember, that’s what gravy is for (your pastured turkey won’t need it anyway!)
Oh, my old recipe? Put boxed bread cubes in bowl, pour canned chicken broth over. Saute onion and celery in (cringe) canola oil, toss together. Bake covered for 30 minutes at 350°, uncovering the last 10. Try not to gag, and pass the gravy!
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Cheeseslave.
I was out of bed at a good, early hour and made scrambled eggs. I had a tomato that I hadn’t planned for another use, and some leftover green onions, so I chopped those up to add. Those of us who don’t have problems with milk tossed a small handful of shredded cheddar on top of our eggs. We enjoyed some 7 sprouted grain toast with our eggs. I love coconut oil on toast!
For lunch, I sauteed some mushrooms and shallots in the skimmed fat from a jar of homemade chicken stock. When they were softened and starting to turn golden, I tossed in a little white wine and a cup of stock and let it reduce some while I chopped up some leftover roasted chicken. I added the chicken and scooped out youngest’s serving before adding some cream to the sauce for the rest of us. Served over soaked and cooked rice it was just right for lunch.
I started some breadsticks in the bread machine to have with dinner right after lunch. I used the flour I’d soaked the other day to use in pancakes. I had about 3 cups that had been soaked in a little more than a cup of water. I threw that in the bread machine with 2 teaspoons of yeast, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (my machine warms the ingredients with the first mix, so this will melt gently and be incorporated well without my having to melt it first and take the chance of scalding the yeast) and a pinch of sea salt. I set it on the “dough” setting and let it do its thing. When the machine beeped its “all done” sound, I took the dough out and shaped it into long twists. They went on a buttered cookie sheet in the turned-off oven to rise, which took about 2 hours. Just before baking them, I brushed them with melted butter and sprinkled on some garlic powder (and parmesan for the un-allergic). They didn’t take long to bake, about 10 minutes at 400° and they were so, so yummy.
A couple days ago I set some red lentils to soak in a mason jar on the counter. When I realized I wouldn’t use them the next day, I set them to sprout. The sprouts on them were about 1/4 inch long tonight, just right for cooking, so I made lentil soup. It was orange and beautiful and didn’t have the earthy flavor of brown lentils, but a bright, herbal taste.
Sunshine Lentil Soup
1 onion, peeled and sliced
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon clarified butter
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 quart beef stock
1 cup (presoaking measure) red lentils, soaked and sprouted
thyme sprigs
1/2 lemon, juiced
Kefir, to pass at the table
Cook onions and carrots in butter and coconut oil slowly for about 20 minutes. Add stock and lentils and bring to a boil, skimming off the foam. Reduce heat, add thyme and cover. Simmer 15-20 minutes until lentils are tender. Remove thyme and blend with stick blender. Add lemon juice and sea salt to taste. Pass kefir at the table to add to soup.
This post is part of the Pennywise Platter Thursday blog carnival hosted by The Nourishing Gourmet.
