Cooking At Ingredients: Southern Biscuits

There are a few foods that are taken very seriously here in The South. One of those foods is biscuits. Much love goes into our biscuits down here and often they are the star of the meal.

I had the delightful opportunity to take a biscuit class here in Clarksville at Ingredients. Even more fun… Himself was home and took the class too. He is the main baker in our family and will often whip up a batch of biscuits “just because”. And they are sooooo good!

Our instructor, Maryann Byrd, produced and wrote an Emmy winning PBS documentary “The Rise of the Southern Biscuits”.  She then wrote a book of the same name with recipes from the various interviews. 

Beaten biscuits- in the days when yeast and baking soda were hard to get, biscuit dough was folded – beaten out – and folded again over and over to work air into the dough.

Good ole Southern biscuits with country ham and…

… red-eye gravy for dipping.  Ummmmm…

My friend Winnie helped in the making of a skillet biscuit.

Ready to go in the oven.

Ready to go in the tummy! 

Then Maryann had the guys come up to try their hand at making a standard biscuit.  Each used a different wet ingredient and a different ‘oil’ ingredient.

Little did she know that she had a ‘ringer’ in the crowd.  Himself was soon turning out perfect biscuits!

Aren’t they purdy?


Miss Daisy’s Traditional Biscuits



1 cup all-purpose flour


2 teaspoons baking powder


¼ teaspoon salt


¼ teaspoon baking soda


2 ½ tablespoons vegetable shortening or butter


½ cup buttermilk


Preheat oven to 450*.


In a deep bowl sift dry ingredients; cut in shortening or butter. Add buttermilk all at once and stir into a ball of dough. Knead lightly. Roll out onto a floured board to a ½ inch thickness. Cut with biscuit cutter. Place on baking sheet and bake in a 450* oven for 10 to 12 minutes.


Yield: 12 biscuits

Photo Challenge: Hand Crafted

There is something special about that which has been made by hand. Skill and imagination meet to create something beautiful. The perfection of a hand crafted item is its inherent imperfections… it is unique.

Hand crafted items are our connection to the past and our legacy to the future. It is a skill taught to a younger generation. It is a talent passed thru family bloodlines. It is a bond between two people and a gift many people.

There is no better flavoring in cooking than food prepared by hands that learned at her mother’s side.

The potter takes a lump of clay and gently forms the wet dirt into an object of beauty and function.

Hands that have known the yarn when it was wool on a sheep, value the warmth the sweater gives.

Strength creates strength, as the blacksmith’s blows work the metal.

As the beader matures, her designs become more intricate. She works without a pattern – the design in her mind; belonging only to her.

The Touch Of The Master's Hand

~Myra B. Welch

Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer

thought it scarcely worth his while

To waste much time on the old violin,

But held it up with a smile.

"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,

"Who'll start the bidding for me?

A dollar, a dollar, then, two! Only two?

Two dollars, and who'll make it three?

Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;

Going for three . . ."

But no,

From the room, far back, a grey-haired man

Came forward and picked up the bow;

Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,

And tightening the loose strings,

He played a melody pure and sweet

As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,

With a voice that was quiet and low, said:

"What am I bid for the old violin?"

And he held it up with the bow.

"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?

"Two thousand! And who'll make it three?

"Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice;

And going and gone."said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,

"We do not quite understand, what changed its worth?"

Swift came the reply:

"The Touch Of The Master's Hand."

Photo challenge at Razmataz

http://razmatazblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/photo-challenge-hand-made.html 

Help the Whooping Cranes From Your Home

Pepsi is offering grants for those who impact the world in a positive way.  Operation Migration is one of the organizations trying to get a grant.  A quick note about Operation Migration... not too many years ago there were only 15 wild Whooping Cranes left in the world.  Thru crisis intervention, there are now 407 wild Whoopers and some captive (unable to survive in the wild) breeding pairs. 

Each year Operation Migration hand raises some Whooping Crane chicks in a safe environment and teaches them to be Whoopers without impressing "human" on them.  Then in the fall, they lead them to their FL wintering area using ultralights.

The migration is happening right now.  At this moment they are somewhere west of Champaign, IL.

Anyway... if you click this link  http://pep.si/d0GVKa  you can vote for Operation Migration so perhaps they can win the grant.  Voting goes on from several weeks and you can vote daily.  I put a link in my "favorites bar" so I can remember to hit it each morning.

And if you'd like to know more about Operation Migration, their web site is:

http://www.operationmigration.org/ 

Watkins Products: A Winona, MN Landmark

When we visit in Winona I always make a trip over to the Watkins headquarters to pick up some spices and extracts.

This time I was tipped off to the fact that Watkins was having a big sale on their “factory seconds” 2 oz extracts and flavorings. Nothing was wrong with the product but the labels might have been smeared or set on the bottle crooked. It was a serious sale too… with the bottles going at 25% of regular price!!!

So of course I stocked up…

After I made my purchase, Himself and I looked around the small museum.  There were displays of the products from years ago;  

A Watkins horse-drawn buggy…    

…crates (wouldn’t these be cool to have now?)…

… and crocks that transported the products…

…plus all sorts of company promotional material. 

One section was devoted to their herbs and spices. 

After browsing in the museum for a while, we went around the corner to the lobby of the administrative building to enjoy the beautiful mosaics (the Prairie style building was designed by George W Maher, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright)…

…the 70 foot high gold-leafed rotunda dome…

… and the windows by Tiffany.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/  

Cool Junk Mail!

When I get solicitation junk mail, it is never anything remotely interesting.

But when Himself’s cousin Carmen get junk mail… it’s treasure!

In ONE year she had received this pile…

… of note pads (blank and personalized), shopping lists, address labels and calendars! She has even been sent a cute personalized mug.

She was more than happy to share her bounty… so both Himself and I are set with notepads and calendars for the next year.

Power Shopping

While visiting Himself’s uncle and aunt in Austin, MN, I suggested during lunch a quick shopping trip to the Younkers department store to Aunt D.  So eager was she to go, she almost dropped her drink glass!  Uncle A almost dropped his too… but not from eagerness.

Before you could shake a spoon, Aunt D had the table in front of us cleared and was pulling Younkers coupons from her purse. With military precision she flipped thru them, deciding which would give her the best deal and what one she could share with me since I don’t have a store credit card.  Lunch was quickly finished and off we went for a bit of retail therapy.

 

Once in Younkers, Aunt D found a buggy to hold her shopping conquests, explained to me the layout of the store and off she headed to women’s clothing at an amazing clip.  I followed at a more leisurely pace with a quick detour in the kiddie department.

When I made it down to clothing Aunt D had done a bit of recon in my shopping area and made sure I was aware of where the bargains were located.

Then she was back to her area, stalking the elusive super saver double points table.

I didn’t see her for quite a while after that. Himself and Uncle A had made themselves comfortable in the two available chairs… and refused to move; so I dropped my selections on Himself’s lap as I headed over to browse in the jewelry until Aunt D finished. I saw everything there was to see in there and in the scarves and gloves.

 

When I made it back over to the guys, they still hadn’t seen Aunt D.  However, they did find the time to make jokes about one of my “treasures”… little snowmen for Hanna and Owen.

After a bit Aunt D came back with a spring in her step and twinkle in her eye.  She had found BARGAINS.  She was completely jazzed while I was ready to melt.  She was unfazed by Uncle A’s comments about having so many clothes she would never have to do laundry again.  We headed over to the checkout desk.

I’m not sure what she had in her bulging bag. Mine had several outfits for the babies and one tunic for me. I was ready to go home!

You know, it’s bad when you shop til you drop… but 90 year old Auntie is going like the Energizer Bunny! (And the reason she is so able to ignore Uncle A’s comments? They have been married for almost 72 years!)

The S. P. Elam House by Frank Lloyd Wright

While we were at the Cedar Rock house, the guide told us about a Wright home in Austin, MN.  It’s a private residence but we drove past to have the pleasure of seeing it.  It was finished in 1951 and is one of the largest Usonian houses Wright designed.