Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Of cheap tools and a biscuit recipe...

Night before last I went to the local national chainstore and among other things (like soup that was $.18/can more than the last time I purchased it) bought a new set of measuring spoons. I had been pretty much using the one teaspoon that I could usually find to do the work of all measuring spoons (thinking you can measure 1/4 teaspoon just by looking, and knowing that 3 teaspoons equals one tablespoon come in handy in such circumstances) but I broke down and bought a plastic set for a reasonable (read:cheap) price. One of the reasons for needing a new set was this recipe for biscuits found at Safely Gathered In, which I was anticipating making.

A list of things that I liked/learned about completing this recipe, that was excellent, and was consumed in a single meal (and before, immediately upon exiting the oven):

--Reasonably priced (read:cheap) measuring spoons from the local national chainstore don't stand up under a lot of pressure. If, by a lot of pressure, you mean trying to dry out the well of the teaspoon. When I tried to dry it out, it snapped right off, and I ended up using the other spoons to add up to required amounts--kind of backwards from the way I was doing things previously, if you ask me...

--Don't forget the salt. I thought I had combined all the dry ingredients, but I noticed upon tasting the final product that the salt was, in fact, missing. No one else missed it, though, and as I said, the biscuits didn't last very long in this household....

---I like the milk+vinegar= buttermilk substitution. Works for me! Also, who doesn't love a recipe where you can just do very minimal kneading, pat the dough out instead of rolling it, and you get to use a pizza cutter? Plus after plus after plus.... :)

---One of my children said, upon learning what I was making, that they didn't like biscuits. I said that the only requirement was to taste the finished product, not eat the whole thing. When taking a random family poll by raise of hands about who liked the biscuits, this child's hand went up, and guess who asked for the last biscuit? Ah, sweet success.... :)

Anyway, hope that you try out this recipe--if you follow this blog, you know that I like easy, and this recipe was both easy and delicious. I have also decided that it is time for me to invest in a lot better set of measuring spoons. After all, I am cooking/baking a lot more, and that's a good thing... Now, do I get metal spoons, (I saw a set that was more expensive) or risk another set in plastic (different brand)? Decisions, decisions....

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Get the metal spoons. Forget the plastic. Also see Brigid's recipes over at Home on the Range. They're scrumptious.
YeOldFurt

Vikki said...

I don't usually get new utensils for the kitchen, but at the dollar store, found myself picking up a spatula, a whisk, a set of funnels and some silicon brushes. I'd been wanting them for a while and finally bit the bullet. Easier to create recipes when I have the right equipment!

Vikki

Jayce^ said...

For the buttermilk, Alton Brown (of the show Good Eats, a must watch for preppers :) ) recommends lemon juice instead of vinegar, especially for biscuits.

If you have the lemon juice, it gives a little more zip, which tastes more like real buttermilk, and the citric acid will aid in the nice coloring you want from the finished product.

Both work overall the same, but if you have it, the lemon juice gives just a slightly better advantage.

Marie said...

YeOldFurt--I think buying the metal ones is what I will end up doing--better buy them once for more than buy various plastic ones again and again and again... I tried Home on the Range .com and Home on the Range blogspot .com, and couldn't find what you are referring to--would love to see the recipes, though. Thanks for your comment!

Vikki--The dollar store is a great idea--haven't checked there in awhile, and it would be great if they had the metal variety spoons. I agree that having good utensils makes it easier to get things done--perhaps I'll be brave enough to actually create my own recipes one of these days--I sometimes adapt or add to recipes, but I'm not very adventurous when it comes to actually inventing them. Thanks for the tip!

Jayce^--I'll have to try the lemon juice for the buttermilk substitution--with that, and actually adding the salt, the biscuits will probably disappear even quicker!
I am still looking for a thermos (when I remember to do so) so that I can try your recipe on cooking wheat--I checked the local national chainstore way back when, but I was perhaps looking in the wrong section or something. Thanks very much for providing that recipe post, (http://www.utahpreppers.com/?s=thermos+wheat) and thanks for your comment!