Fabulous Southern Country Biscuits

 

How to make light, moist, fluffy and fabulous biscuits! 

Biscuits are quick and easy to do. We especially like them made with either sour dough or sour cream. Both are acceptable. You can add sour dough to a biscuit mix to make stunning biscuits, which we will do in a pinch, but we usually make them from scratch. (I say “we” here because we both bake and cook in the kitchen. The man of the house is a better cook than the woman in our home.)

For those of you who do not keep sour dough on hand, I have also included the sour dough recipe and instructions. We like them both equally but don’t always have sour dough on hand or remember to feed it after use, which restricts the amount that is ready for baking. These recipes are made with basic white flour, not self rising or whole wheat.

Directions are the same for both recipes and are listed below.

Sour Cream Biscuits

Bake in 425F preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, depending on size of biscuit.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk

Sour Dough Biscuits

Bake in preheated 375F oven for 15-20 mins, depending on size of biscuit.

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sourdough

Directions for Sourdough and Sour Cream biscuits:

Please use a dish with a light coloured bottom. These recipes are for using a glass dish which usually prevents dark bottoms on biscuits and cookies.

Mix together all dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar and salt until well blended. Cut in the shortening. This is not pastry so you can cut it in until it is well mixed. Add wet ingredients called for in recipe of choice (milk, sour cream, sour dough) to make a very sticky, wet dough. You will use a lot of flour on the rolling surface and on your hands and utensils but it is worth it. Moisture is very important to make moist biscuits.

Flour a flat, clean surface with a layer of flour. Dump out the dough onto the floured surface. Liberally flour your hands and gently shape the pile of dough into a cohesive lump. Do not use a rolling pin. This dough is very soft and easily shaped with your floured hands. You will need to add more flour to your hands from time to time. Flatten the lump of dough until it is about 1″ thick and shape it into a square with fairly straight sides and corners. Flour a sharp knife and cut into 2″ squares. You will need to continuously add more flour to the knife to keep it from sticking to the dough, probably a few times just cutting one line.

Squares are much more practical than circles. You don’t need a glass or cutter to make squares, so you have one less dish to wash. Also, when making round biscuits, the leftover dough will need to be reworked slightly and flattened again, making those last few biscuits tougher and dryer.

Grease a glass dish. It is important to use a glass dish when baking biscuits and cookies to prevent the “dark bottom syndrome”. I know I have said this already, but it is important. Gently lift the biscuits and add them to the greased, glass dish, separating them by at least 1″. These will flatten and spread a bit in the pan, so make sure they are taller than you want the baked biscuits to be, shaping more with your hands as you add them to the pan. Add a tiny piece of butter to the top of each biscuit. Bake in a preheated oven for about 15-18 mins. Take them out when the top is lightly browned. If the biscuits are the usual size, the inside will be done. If you have made them very large, you may need to bake a bit longer.

Make sure you are familiar with your oven. Most electric ovens get hotter with wear and your oven may not be baking at the desired temperature. If you are unsure, put an oven thermometer inside the oven when it is preheated to see what the temperature inside the oven is, and adjust the baking temperature accordingly.

(Yes, I know. That’s a Christmas tablecloth still on my table in April. Quit laughing! Some of us are busy, you know…)

Sour Dough Starter for biscuits and waffles only, not for bread

1 package active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup water. Stir in remaining 2 cups water, flour and
sugar. Let stand at room temperature until bubbly, stirring 2-3 times per day.
Keep in lidded container in refrigerator. Feed after use: 1 cup flour, 1 cup
milk, 1/4 cup sugar and stir. Leave overnight before using again.

Baking Winter Squash

 

We baked our 50+ lb Hopi black squash today. It's the largest squash I have ever grown! Hubby cut it into 16 pieces, each weighing between 1200 and 1500g each.  I knew it was a 50 pounder! 


We wrapped each piece in foil and are baking it today. We can't get it all in the oven at one time, it's so large! 

It lasted a long time and wasn't beginning to go yet. I might have lasted through Feb. We still have another, smaller one that hasn't ripened to full orange yet. I'm sure that one will be good for another month or so, maybe longer. 

I added the knife for size comparison. This squash is a dark, bright orange. Does it have more beta carotene maybe? That would be a big plus. :) 

We love it. We eat it as a cooked veggie with just a pinch of salt and butter. Delicious! It makes great pies, muffins, cookies, loaf and cake squares! 


This is the longest I have kept one. I think the difference is that this year, I kept it at room temperature instead of in the root cellar. It was dryer and warmer on our dining room floor all winter. 


We go through a lot of squash in a year! 

Winter Squash or Sweet Pumpkin Recipes

Winter Squash or Sweet Pumpkin Recipes

*Note-All spices are dried and ground. If you wish to use fresh, you will need to research the amount.

Squash Pie

1 1/2 cup squash,cooked, mashed and unseasoned
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
2 teaspoon all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add squash. Beat eggs in another bowl and add milk to eggs, then add to squash mixture. Pour into an unbaked pastry lined pan. Bake at 350F until firm in center, about 1 hour

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Squash Loaf

3 cups sugar
4 eggs beaten
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2/3 cup water
3 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon allspice or 1/2 tsp mace
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 1/2 cup squash, cooked, mashed and unseasoned
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 350F, grease 3 loaf pans. Mix sugar, oil and eggs. Add squash. Sift together all dry ingredients and add to squash mixture. Add water and pour into pans. Bake 1 hour.

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Squash Soup

2 pounds uncooked squash
1.5 pints of stock, chicken or vegetable (can be made with bouillon)
Onion: 1 medium, diced Garlic: 1 crushed clove
Cream to add before serving, amount is optional
Salt and pepper to taste.
Sprinkle of nutmeg or cinnamon: (optional)

In a large saucepan, slice and saute the garlic and onion in oil or butter until tender. Add squash, stock, nutmeg or cinnamon, salt and pepper. Boil and cook for 25 mins until squash is tender. Puree mixture with a blender until smooth and return to saucepan. Before serving, add cream and gently heat. Do not boil.

*Stock amount can be changed, depending on how thick or thin you want your soup.

**Add thick applesauce for a special taste treat.

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Squash Muffins

1 cup squash, cooked and mashed
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon mace

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin tin or use papers. Mix together squash, eggs, oil and corn syrup in large bowl. Stir until well mixed. Stir all other dry ingredients together in smaller bowl. Add dry ingredients to squash mixture. Fill greased tins to the top. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 mins until lightly brown on top.
* Very good with raisins added.

Add raisins to batter if desired.

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Squash Dessert Squares

1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups squash, cooked, mashed and unseasoned
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease square pan. Beat together shortening, brown sugar and shite sugar unti light. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in squash. Combine dry ingredients and gradually stir into beaten mixture. Spread in greased pan. Bake for 30 mins. Cool in pan. Spread with orange icing (optional). Cut into bars.

Shaggy Mane Mushrooms

 

"Shaggy Mane" Mushrooms are blooming like crazy right now in August-September. They are only good for an hour or so after picking, so we don't sell them. I have considered selling jars of starter to those who want to grow these themselves. These are delicious as babies, prepared in casseroles, especially with fish. Due to their high water content, they don't do as well sauteed.

 

They aren't here for long, though, so we take advantage of it while we can.

While these are not the "Alcohol Inky Cap" shaggy mushrooms, it is not recommended to drink alcohol while eating them. They can sometimes contain a substance that prevents the body from detoxifying alcohol and can cause tingling, flushing and rapid heart beat. These symptoms of alcohol poisoning disappear after a few hours. Needless to say, we don't drink alcohol when we eat them, not that we drink much anyway.

These mushrooms are easy to identify. There are no other mushrooms out there that look like them. They are only edable in the immature, unopen stage but don't last long when picked. They are solid for about 15-20 minutes then dissolve into an inky liquid. This is caused by an enzyme that is killed with heat. If you can get them sliced in half and heated flat in a skillet within that time, they keep very well and even freeze well. 

These mushrooms are also known as "ink" mushrooms and, indeed, do produce a black ink when mature, that has been used for writing and drawing, in the past. I have not tried this, but may do some mushroom drawings with the mushroom ink. Interesting concept...

Mushrooms are good for you! Below is a chart form USDA with mushroom nutrition information: 

Cooking With Roses

 

I love rugosa roses! In addition to being beautiful, they are also prolific and I use a lot of rose petals and hips in the kitchen!


Any rose can be used for cooking. They are all edible, but the rugosa roses are so easy to grow. You can grow rows of them just from cuttings or seed and they will reseed themselves if left alone. I prefer to grow things from seed, rather than cuttings if possible, because of the genetic diversity but if I am in a hurry for more, I will use cuttings. When you plant a handfull of rose seeds, you could get any kind of rose from those seeds, throwbacks from ancesters of that rose or a genetic rarity. You just never know what you are going to get. Not all roses grow well from seed but rugosa roses do and they produce a lot of tasty hips too!



Rose hips are very high in vitamin C (approximately 1,700 mg of C in 100 gm of dried rosehip). That's higher than oranges and grapefruits! Rose hips have become a popular natural treatment for arthritis due to their anti inflammatory and anitoxident effects. Rose hips also contain carotenoids, including beta-carotene, lycopene, beta-chryptoxanthin, rubixanthin, zeaxanthin and lutein.

If you just thought roses were for the flowerbed, you were wrong! Plant them in your herb garden!

I plan to plant rows and rows of them this year from seed and cuttings. I already have a beautiful violet one (pictured above) and pink ones. Who knows what I will get from open pollinated seed! I love surprise gardening! They are stratified, being collected this week from the roses outdoors, so should be ready to germinate. It does take awhile to grow a rose bush, but they are worth the wait and if you plant a lot of seed, you get a lot of rose buses! 


I made wine from the rose petals last year. It has been ready for a few weeks now and is my favourite so far! The rose bouquet fills my nose when I drink it. It's like summer in a bottle!


Add rose petals to salads and sandwiches!
Below are some simple rose recipes:

Basic Rose Hip Tea: Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 heaping teaspoons of chopped rose hips. You can use rose hips with or without their seeds. Steep the herbal tea, covered, for 15 minutes and strain.

Pose Petal Jelly
2 cups flower petals (or fresh young herb leaves)
2 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup lemon juice
600 oz liquid pectin (2 pckges) or equivalent powder (You may find that the liquid works better for this purpose than the powder)
4 cups sugar

Rose Hip Jam Take two cups Rose hips. Wash thoroughly and cut out the black calyx. Cook hips in two cups water until tender. Mash fruit while cooking. Push pulp through a fine sieve and to each cup of pulp add one cup of water. Then cook until the pulp thickens to the consistency of other jams.

Rose Honey
1 and 3/4 cups cleaned rose hips
2 and 1/2 cups water
Cook rose hips in the water about 15 minutes and occasionally crush them. When they are tender, pour into jelly bag and strain off juice. This quantity yields about 7/8 cup of juice to which add enough water to make a cupful then add one tsp. lemon juice, 3/4 cup sugar and cook rapidly until juice jellies on a silver spoon. This will thin to a honey consistency when cold. It is delicious served on waffles, pancakes, over desserts or in cakes and frostings.

Candied Rose Petals
Rose petals must be dry and clean. Dip both sides in slightly whipped egg whites, then coat both sides of the petals immediately with granulated sugar and lay carefully on waxed paper. Allow to dry thoroughly before packing in boxes. To speed drying, turn the petals once. Keep dry and cool.

Rose Petal Syrup (See previous pose on dandelion syrup)
4 cups rose petals
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
Boil rose petals in water for an hour. Remove petals with a sieve and add sugar. Boil until thick and syrupy.

Rose Petal Butter
1 Cup fresh Rose Petals, chopped
3/4 Cup softened unsalted Butter
Mix together well and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours to let the rose flavor meld into the butter. Keep refrigerated up to 2 weeks or frozen for several months.

Rose Petal Pesto
Two Cups Fresh Basil
One Cup Rose Petals
4 Large Garlic Cloves
1 Cup of Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Rosewater
1 Cup of Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 Cup of Freshly Grated Romano Cheese
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
Rinse Rose Petals and Basil thoroughly and pat dry. Cup up Rose Petals with sharp scissors. Peel and chop garlic. Combine the basil, garlic and Pine nuts, chop in either a food processor or blender. While still processing add olive oil and rose water slowly. Add the Parmesan and Romano, salt and pepper, blend lightly.

Green Tea and Rose Petal Popsicles
3 cups water
1-1/2 tbsp green tea leaves (about 3 tea bags)
1/4 cup assorted organic small rose petals.
Bring the water to a boil and remove from heat. Pour over tea in a ceramic teapot. Fill popsicle molds loosely with rose petals. Steep tea for 5 minutes and strain into popsicle holders. Freeze in the freezer for 30 minutes, then place the wooden sticks in the center of the popsicle holders. (This is a good time to spread the petals throughout the mold evenly.) Freeze until solid and serve immediately.

Rose Petal Ice Cream Makes approx. 3 cups.
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 cup sugar
5 large egg yolks
1 ½ cups loosely packed, very fragrant old rose petals, washed and dry.
Follow directions for your individual ice cresm freezer.

I have open pollinated rugosa rose seeds for sale in my seed store now. They are stratified, being collected this week from the roses outdoors, so should be ready to germinate.

Perfect Spice Jars

 For years I have searched for the perfect spice jars, or, at least some that I could work with. Most spice jars that I have had were not all that convenient to use. They either had a small opening, making it difficult to fill and impossible to get a teaspoon into or they were not in a convenient holder and were too hard to find at a glance and they were always in the way.

This is a jar from the set I bought last year. I can't get a teaspoon into it. What am I suppose to do with that? If I need 2 teaspoons of something I have to use the 1/2 teaspoon 4 times! What if I need a tablespoon? I always make a mess filling them. I don't like the way they open anyway and they are hard to find at a glance.

I recently visited a friend's place, and found the perfect spice jar! It's metal and has a glass top.



These spice jars have a pour and a sprinkle area on the side of the lid.

They also have a large mouth. I could get a tablespoon in there, easy! They are easy to fill and with the name painted on the lid, they are easy to find at a glance.

All of these things are good, but that is not what makes this jar so special. This jar is MAGNETIC! You can put a metal plate on your wall for them to stick to or you can just attach them to 
anything metal.

They stick to my microwave! I could keep them there but that's not the best place to keep them.

They stick to my coffee maker. (Probably not a good idea.)

I can stick them on my oven!

I can stick them to my freezer! 







I can even stick them to my car!! (Maybe not.)



I stuck all of them to my refrigerator! They are even in alphabetical order. I can read the name at a glace because I painted it on there myself. There's lots of room and I can see what is inside.

Another good thing about these jars is the price. They were only $2 each! I'm going to get a lot of them and keep all kinds of things in them, stuck to the refrigerator. I LOVE my new space jars! 

Milkweed as a Vegetable

 

Below is part of an excerpt from "The Forager's Harvest" written by Samuel Thayer. It fit in so well with the foraging post that I had to post it here.

"Milkweed season begins in late spring, just about the time that leaves are coming out on the oak trees, when the shoots come up near the dead stalks of last year’s plants. These resemble asparagus spears but have tiny leaves, in opposing pairs, pressed up flat against the stem. Until they are about eight inches tall, milkweed shoots make a delicious boiled vegetable. Their texture and flavor suggests a cross between green beans and asparagus, but it is distinct from either. As the plant grows taller, the bottom of the shoot becomes tough. Until it attains a height of about two feet, however, you can break off the top few inches (remove any large leaves) and use this portion like the shoot.

Milkweed flower buds first appear in early summer and can be harvested for about seven weeks. They look like miniature heads of broccoli but have roughly the same flavor as the shoots. These flower buds are wonderful in stir-fry, soup, rice, casseroles, and many other dishes. Just make sure to wash the bugs out.

In late summer milkweed plants produce the familiar pointed, okra-like seedpods which are popular in dried flower arrangements. These range from three to five inches long when mature – but for eating you want the immature pods. Select those that are no more than two thirds of their full size. It takes a little experience to learn the knack of how to tell if the pods are still immature, so as a beginner you might want to stick to using pods less than 1 ¾ inches in length to be safe. If the pods are immature, the silk and seeds inside will be soft and white without any hint of browning. It is good to occasionally use this test to verify that you are only choosing immature pods. If the pods are mature they will be tough and bitter. Milkweed pods are delicious in stew or just served as a boiled vegetable, perhaps with cheese or mixed with other veggies.

Silk refers to the immature milkweed floss, before it has become fibrous and cottony. This is perhaps the most unique food product that comes from the milkweed plant. When you consume the pod, you are eating the silk with it. At our house, we eat the smallest pods whole, but we pull the silk out of the larger (but still immature) pods. Open up the pod along the faint line that runs down the side, and the silk wad will pop out easily. If you pinch the silk hard, your thumbnail should go right through it, and you should be able to pull the wad of silk in half. The silk should be juicy; any toughness or dryness is an indicator that the pod is over mature. With time, you will be able to tell at a glance which pods are mature and which are not.

Milkweed silk is both delicious and amazing. It is slightly sweet with no overpowering flavor of any kind. Boil a large handful of these silk wads with a pot of rice or cous cous and the finished product will look like it contains melted mozzarella. The silk holds everything together, so it’s great in casseroles as well. It looks and acts so much like cheese, and tastes similar enough too, that people assume that it is cheese until I tell them otherwise. I have not yet run out of new ways to use milkweed silk in the kitchen – but I keep running out of the silk that I can for the winter!

With all of these uses, it is amazing that milkweed has not become a popular vegetable. The variety of products that it provides ensures a long season of harvest. It is easy to grow (or find) and a small patch can provide a substantial yield. Most importantly, milkweed is delicious. Unlike many foods that were widely eaten by Native Americans, European immigrants did not adopt milkweed into their household economy. We should correct that mistake.

You will find that some books on wild foods recommend boiling milkweed in multiple changes of water to eliminate the “bitterness.” This is not necessary for common milkweed Asclepias syriaca (which is the subject of this article, and the milkweed that most people are familiar with.) Common milkweed is not bitter.

I had no idea that milkweed was even edible! I am going to try them next spring, especially using the silks like cheese!