Buttermilk Biscuits

Biscuits that are lightly crispy on the outside but moist and soft on the inside? Biscuits that taste just as good plain as they do slathered with jam or smothered in sausage gravy? Biscuits that flake apart into such tasty buttery bites that you can't resist popping them into your mouth?Yes, please!

I'd like to say that the secret to perfect biscuits is lard.But I think lard is only part of the story.

Only two tablespoons of lard are used in this recipe. (Can I claim this biscuit recipe as a homegrown food when it only uses 2 tablespoons of a homegrown ingredient?)

Other parts of this story include using all purpose flour instead of cake flour. Also, just like cornbread, you have to (have to, have to, have to) bake them in an iron skillet. Okay, really you don't "have to" use an iron skillet. But if you happen to have a ten inch skillet it's the perfect size for making these.

For me, my best biscuits happen when I work quite quickly and knead them just right. I'll describe how I do it in the recipe below.I just love buttermilk biscuits.

And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only member the Buttermilk Biscuit Lovers Club.BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon sugar (optional... but please give it a try)
4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon cold lard
1 more tablespoon of lard
1 cup cold buttermilk
a little more flour, for folding dough

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Stir together with a whisk.

Use a pastry cutter or two forks to cut butter and 1 tablespoon of lard into the dry ingredients so that the mixture looks like coarse crumbs, be careful not to break up the butter and lard too much, leave plenty of pea sized pieces. (Bacon grease may be substituted for lard depending on how you are going to serve your biscuits... it does add a slightly smoky taste.)

At this point check the oven temperature. If it hasn't reached 450 degrees yet place your bowl in the freezer until the oven is ready.

When the oven temperature reaches 450 degrees put the other 1 tablespoon of lard in a 10 inch iron skillet and place skillet in oven for a couple of minutes to melt the lard.

Remove skillet from oven. Turn skillet this way and that to spread the melted lard around the bottom of the skillet. Then pour the melted lard into a little bowl and set aside.

Add the buttermilk to the bowl of flour and gently stir until just combined. Without handling too much, dump dough onto floured surface, press down on it gently, and then knead it by folding it over on itself about 4-5 times.

After the last fold gently press dough out with your fingertips to a thickness of 1/2 inch.

Cut with a cookie or biscuit cutter and press straight down into the soft dough to cut the biscuits. I use a 2 1/2 inch cutter and I get 6 biscuits out of the dough and some leftover cut edges.

Place biscuits in a circle inside the skillet. Gently gather leftover cut edges of dough together and place them in the skillet too, as if they are another biscuit. (I always put this biscuit in the middle, just because.)

Brush tops of biscuits with the melted lard from the little bowl. Place skillet in oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes, until biscuits are nicely golden brown on top.

Now sign your "Buttermilk Biscuit Lovers Club" card and enjoy those biscuits!

Homegrown Countrygirl's #6 Skillet Cornbread

While the whole rest of the food blogging world is posting romantic Valentine's Day recipes and menus to woo your lover, I'm going to do something different. I'm going to blog about something I love... something I'm passionate about...
Cornbread!

Hey, I'm not the only one! I've noticed that others are passionate about cornbread, too.People are serious about their cornbread! Need an example? Give a Southerner a piece of sweet cornbread made with sugar and see what happens. Or give a Yankee a piece of crumbly cornbread made with only cornmeal and no flour and ask what they think of it. Chances are you'll strike out in both cases.

So. Here's my favorite cornbread. This my recipe, and how I like it.

Maybe you'll like it, too...

I make this recipe in my #6 cast iron skillet which measures 9 inches across the top. And I use cornmeal that I grind from homegrown field corn... I'll show you that process... someday.

For now, let's just talk about the cornbread!

First, put some lard or bacon grease in an iron skillet and place skillet in oven. Turn oven on and start preheating to 450 degrees.While lard is melting, whisk together some cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking soda.In another bowl, measure out some buttermilk and add a couple of eggs. Whisk this mixture together, too..Your lard should be melted by now. Carefully remove that skillet from the oven and pour all but about 1 tablespoon of the lard into a small cup. Place skillet (with remaining tablespoon of lard in it) back into the oven.

Let the removed lard in the small cup cool slightly. Then add it to your buttermilk and eggs and whisk againPour buttermilk mixture into dry mixture, blend together with whisk (mixture will loose enough to stir with a wire whisk).

Remove hot skillet from oven again and pour batter into skillet. It will sizzle as you pour it in.Return to oven and bake until done... it won't take long, only about 12-15 minutes.

Here's a piece I slathered with butter and honey... it just seemed like a good idea (and it was)...HOMEGROWN COUNTRYGIRL'S #6 SKILLET CORNBREAD

4 tablespoons lard (or bacon grease)
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs

Place 4 tablespoons lard in 9 inch iron skillet and place skillet in oven. Turn oven on to 450 degrees. Combine cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and whisk together to blend. In another bowl combine 1 cup buttermilk and 2 eggs. Whisk together. Remove skillet from oven and pour 3 tablespoons of lard into a small cup. Leave remaining 1 tablespoon lard in skillet and return skillet to oven. When lard in cup has cooled enough to add it to the buttermilk mixture, add it to the mixture and whisk again to combine. Pour buttermilk mixture into cornmeal mixture, whisking with wire whisk to blend. Remove skillet from oven. Pour mixture into skillet. It will sizzle when you pour it in. Return skillet to oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden on top and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Monster Cookies

Meet the Monsters.
Normally quite monstrous, they will do anything for one of these tasty cookies.

If you make these cookies you can get your own Monsters to do anything you want, too.Here's what you do:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk together the following dry ingredients and then set them aside:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch cinnamon or dried parsley (optional)

Melt 1/3 to 1/2 cup of lard, grease, or shortening. I like to use bacon grease for these.

Add lukewarm water to grease to make it all equal 1 full cup.

Pour into a small bowl. Let grease and water cool enough to add an egg. Then whisk in 1 egg.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir.

Roll or press out to about 1/4 inch thickness on a floured surface.

Cut into big or small pieces, depending on the size of your monster.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet. (These can be placed close together and then broken apart easily later if they connect while baking.)

Bake for 30 minutes.

Turn oven off and leave cookies in oven overnight.

These cookies will keep for several weeks in an airtight container. (But they won't last that long.)

I know that these are tasty enough. I'll tell you a secret... I've tried them myself.

One time I even fed one to my brother in law. (Shhhh. Don't tell!)

Storing Whole Wheat and Making Something Sweet (Pie Crust)!

Okay. So I'm starting this blog "growing and eating much of our own food..." with a big lie. Because we didn't grow this wheat. Our neighbor did.

But I might as well start out with imperfection here... because if anyone ever actually reads any of this babble (Hi, Mom!) they will easily see my shortcomings. So I'm not even going to try to hide them.

Besides, this wheat was 'almost' home grown, as I watched it's daily progress, from a field of tender little green shoots in neat, straight rows, to a beautiful golden sea of graceful summer waves. I thought about it in the winter as it lay below a cold blanket of snow. I watched for it to perk up in the spring. I prayed for rain when it was thirsty. And I rejoiced at harvest time even as the cloud of wheat husks veiled everything in dust.

I like to watch food grow.

Dry wheat berries will keep almost indefinitely in an airtight container. I use food grade 5 gallon buckets with a tight fitting lid. These wheat berries came straight out of the combine. I placed the whole sealed container in the freezer for a number of days, thawed it out for a couple of weeks, and then froze it again for a while to destroy any possible insects or insect eggs. Now it is stays in the pantry and I grind it as needed.

There are a number of different ways to grind wheat. One of the quickest and easiest ways is to grind it in your blender. It only takes a few seconds to do it that way. I usually use the blender because it's so convenient.

Freshly ground whole wheat makes a flaky pie crust and I think it adds a nice mellow flavor to the pie. But I might be biased because, well, we're talking PIE here. What's not to like?

Everyone has their favorite recipe for pie crust. Here's mine. It's easy!

WHITE OR WHOLE WHEAT PIE CRUST

(Recipe makes enough for a top and a bottom crust)

2 cups all purpose flour (or 1 cup all purpose and 1 cup whole wheat)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon cold butter

1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon cold lard

4-6 Tablespoons ice cold water

Whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar. Cut up cold butter and cold lard into the bowl and place bowl in freezer for a few minutes.

Make a small glass if ice water and place it in the freezer.

Remove bowl of flour from freezer and use two forks or pastry cutter to break up butter and lard into pea sized bits.

Add 4-6 Tablespoons of ice water, as needed, from the cold cup of ice water and mix together just until dough is wet enough to be rolled out.

Divide dough into 2 equal portions.

Roll out each portion separately on a lightly floured surface. It's alright if there are a few cracks or breaks along the edges. They can usually be mended with a bit of leftover crust later without any one even noticing.

Place in pie plate, cut to fit, (mend any cracks) and bake as directed for the pie you are making.

If I am making a one crust pie I don't roll out the unused portion. I wrap it in plastic wrap, label it, and put it in the freezer. Pie crust freezes well and can be thawed and rolled out for your next pie with good results.