Recipe: Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits

cheddar buttermilk biscuits

What is better than warm biscuits straight out of the oven? Not many things. I had my beautiful friend’s beautiful 1 year old for the morning today and she was perfectly angelic and lovely. My two Cyclones, however, were in full force pushing each others buttons, screaming at each other, yet too in love to play separately. So it felt like a long morning. One that should end in comfort food. I also had some buttermilk to use up. This recipe is very easy, the biscuits were ready in 15 minutes and all three of the girls loved them. Enjoy!

Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits

Makes about 10

1/4 cup of butter, melted

2 cups of spelt flour, plus more for dusting counter

1 tbs baking powder

1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

1 1/4 cups of buttermilk

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar(the sharper the better)

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 425. Sift together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Toss in buttermilk and cheese and stir until dough forms. Turn out onto floured counter and press into a disk about 1 inch thick. Cut with a round glass, about 4 inches in diameter. Place on baking sheet. Brush generously with melted butter. Bake for about 15 minutes until turning golden. Serve warm!

Recipe: Tuna Nicoise Potato Salad

Tuna Nicoise Potato Salad

I’m on a roll!!! Maybe this menu planning business will give me a little kick in the pants with some food inspiration!

I just did a nicoise recipe not that long ago…But it was with pasta. So this is similar, but it was colorful, healthy and fresh so I thought I’d share! I know that food blogging can be a teeny bit narcissistic anyway, so forgive me if I say that this meal was so yummy I had a full other portion of it at 9pm. It’s a one dish wonder. Kind of a salad, but warm and a little bit heartier. Best of all, it was almost a complete rainbow. Here’s how it goes:

Tuna Nicoise Potato Salad

Serves 4

2 lbs purple potatoes, diced into 2 inch cubes, boiled until tender but not mushy (maybe 3-4 cups)

2 cups(or so) green beans, steamed lightly and chopped

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

4 eggs, hardboiled, chopped

2 cans of tuna

2 tbs grainy mustard

sea salt to taste

pepper to taste

1 tbs fresh dill

drizzle of almond oil(or olive oil)

Combine all ingredients in a large glass bowl. Serve!

I served this warm because the beans/potatoes/eggs were hot. It was good hot, it was good warm, it was good cold. Trust me. If you don’t like mustard, skip this recipe because the grainy mustard was the magic, don’t leave it out!

Think Fresh: Sugar Free

We don’t eat a lot of sugar around here. Not for the calories, not for weight loss, but for the sheer reality that sugar is dangerous to our bodies, creates an environment for bad things to grow inside us, messes with our natural cellular functions, and stresses our immune system. I can completely tell in my body too when sugar is more present. If I eat poorly, I feel every painful detoxifying second in the Bikram Yoga hot room I practice regularly in. If I don’t have sugar in my system, I feel great! To be honest, when we don’t eat sugar, I don’t miss it or even notice it. But it has a way of creeping back into our lives. It is just EVERYWHERE, and it can easily become a habit for me, to have it around. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the odd dessert or special treat. But when it becomes that I am consuming some amount of sugar, every day, it’s too much. Let’s be honest, it’s not a treat if you have ice cream every day. So every once in a while I feel the urge to eliminate sugar completely from our lives, just for a week or two to get back on track. I like to think of it as spring cleaning for the body!

That’s where we’re at this week. Sexy Husband and I are off sugar for a couple of weeks. Thankfully we eat healthy enough that it’s not too dramatic(although he is a chocoholic so it’s a bit more painful for him;). HOWEVER, life is meant to be enjoyed and there are so many amazing and natural sweet things out there that are sweet simply because they were made to be that way, not because they’ve been chemically manufactured for sweetness.

Honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, and fruit, are all great sugar alternatives. Once you get used to the more natural taste of sweet, refined sugar can seem too cloying.

So here’s an idea. I made this as a little pre-class snack for one of my bff’s who is pregnant with baby number 2, baby number 1 just turned 1 and she’s a full time university student(so she’s busy and needs healthy snacks!) So simple, took 2 minutes to prep:

Slice one pear into paper thin slices. Divide between two bowls. Pour 1/4 cup of whipping cream into a standing mixer. Add 1 tbs of maple syrup and 1 tsp of cinnamon. Beat until whip cream is lightly whipped. Place a couple of spoonfuls of spiced whipped cream on the pears and serve. So yummy!

The bottom line is this: I have kids, we like sweet things. I’m not going to pretend that eating ultra healthy things that taste like dirt are satisfying. But there are many ways to make small changes, decreasing the amount of sugar we eat. Hopefully I can give you some ideas this week!

I’m Inspired By: Nothing.

How’s that for the most inspiring title ever for a blog post? I took a picture of our bbq. It is buried under 4 feet of snow. It is APRIL 2. It has officially been snow covered and ridiculous and cold and dead since November. That’s right people, our 6th month of the white stuff.

This, does NOTHING for my inspiration. This does not make me dream of watermelon and fresh salads, of key limes and lemonade. No, this makes me want to order pizza. I have never ordered so much pizza in my life. Time, reflection, and let’s be honest, therapy, will probably help me figure out how to find inspiration outside of my immediate environment. Until this revelation comes to me, I have resorted to something I normally have no desire to do: meal plan.

I honestly understand why people meal plan. It helps you use ingredients you already have, saving money, it helps busy, full scheduled moms make dinner time smooth. But it’s just not for me(at least not in my usual highly-inspired-in-the-kitchen life). I keep the fridge stocked with enough fresh ingredients and inspiration comes to me in the moment and it hasn’t ever before been a problem. What if I don’t want to eat salmon on Saturday? What if I don’t want to use the cherry tomatoes this meal?

This is how desperate I am. So without further drabble, here is what I intend to feed my family this week:

Sunday: Friends over for wine, cheese fondue, and chocolate zucchini cake.

Monday: Tuna Nicoise Salad with blue potatoes, peas and boiled eggs.

Tuesday: Mushroom Risotto

Wednesday: Meatloaf (I know, random, we almost never eat meat. But Sexy Husband makes the best meatloaf and we picked up some organic ground beef from Hoven Farm, so…it’s happening).

Thursday: Stuffed Peppers – rice, beans, fresh salsa, cheddar.

Friday: Night on the town

Saturday: Roasted carrot and dill soup and homemade bread

So…we’ll see how it goes. Wish a little inspiration my way…