Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits

I made these a while ago during my biscuit/scone phase. Well the biscuit/scone phase never really passes, I just figure I should eat healthier baked goods sometimes! These are basic buttermilk biscuits - though perhaps the instructions make them more complicated than they should be? But I guess this is to try and ensure flakey biscuits. I thought mine could have been flakier though, but that could be my own fault not the recipe's. They are however super buttery, and definitely tasty and comforting fresh out of the oven. Sadly, as with most biscuits, once they cool down they lose some of their magic. I like this recipe, but it's the first buttermilk biscuit I've tried so I'm going to try a few more before deciding which one's best!

Next week I start my summer job (which will hopefully be my part time during school job as well) so I will have less time for food blogging, but more time for making money! Money to buy delicious food and ingredients and I guess pay for important things too like school and our mortgage.

We got this basket full of goodies from a fancy grocery store (that my boyfriend's mom had won). As you can see, Abby has claimed it as her own. She likes chewing on it and sitting in it, but mostly she likes chewing on it.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Baking Powder Biscuits
Maple Cornmeal Drop Biscuits
Apricot Orange Scones
Caramelized Onion, Sage and Cheddar Muffins

Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits
Adapted from Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More

Makes 12 small biscuits.

3 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned in and leveled, plus additional for kneading and dusting (I used 472 g flour.)
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled, plus 2 tbsp melted
1 2/3 cups buttermilk

1. Position the rack in the middle of the oven. Heat the oven to 400F. Have ready a large, ungreased cookie sheet.

2. In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. Shave the chilled butter into 1/8 inch slices using a dough scraper or a sharp knife. Add the butter to the dry ingredients, one third at a time, rubbing it between your fingertips to form flake like pieces. Work gently and quickly so the butter doe snot become too warm. You should have both large and small pieces.

4. Add the buttermilk, pouring it around the edges of the bowl. Using a rubber spatula, push the mixture toward the center, working your way around the bowl to blend the buttermilk with the flakes. The mixture will be soft and resemble large curds of cottage cheese. Let stand for 2 or 3 minutes while you prepare the rolling surface.

5. Sprinkle a pastry board or other flat surface generously with flour, about 2 tablespoons. Empty the dough onto the board. The dough will be sticky. With the help of a dough scraper, lift the dough four or five times to coat it with flour. With floured hands, gently knead the dough six or eight times, or just until it forms a "skin" (thin layer of flour on the surface). It's okay if larger particles of butter are visible. Do not overwork the dough or your biscuits will not be tender. When the dough is ready, slide aside and clean the work surface.

6. Place the dough on the flat surface and pat it lightly with floured hands, shaping it into a rectangle. Roll the dough into a 10 x 14 inch rectangle, with the 10 inch side parallel to the edge of the counter. Fold the dough into thirds, like a business letter. To do this, lift the far side of the pastry cloth up and fold the top third of the dough over on itself. Press the dough to align the edges as best you can. Lift the lower edge of the dough and flip the bottom third of the dough over on itself, keeping the edges as best you can. You will now have there layers of dough. Press the top gently with your hands, then roll the dough into a 5 x 15 inch strip, with a thickness of a generous 1/2 inch.

7. Cut the dough into 12 rectangles and place on the cookie sheet inverted, about 1 1/2 inches apart. (This is my easy way of cutting biscuits. I hate rerolling dough.)

8. Brush the tops with the melted butter and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the biscuits from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes before loosening with a thin metal spatula. Serve the biscuits warm. If baking ahead, warm the biscuits for a few minutes in a 300F oven.

Spicy Indian Chickpeas/Chana Masala

As I've mentioned before, I'm not the biggest fan of beans, though I try to eat them at least somewhat regularly. Indian cooking has really helped with that as there are so many yummy spices and things added to them to make them so very delicious, like in this dish. What's also helped with my bean eating are the dishes that Lisa (of Lisa's Kitchen) makes! This is one that she suggested I try when I was looking to cook more Indian food, and I've defnitely fallen in love with it. It's intensely flavoured, for the most part uses pantry staples (assuming mustard seeds, cumin seeds and cardamom pods are pantry staples for you of course ;) ), and most importantly makes me look forward to eating beans. It definitely falls into the category of dishes to make again and again. I've also recently purchased a few Indian cookbooks (660 Curries, Indian in 6, and 5 Spices, 50 Dishes) so expect more Indian recipes from me!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Chickpea Cutlets with Mustard Sauce
Middle Eastern Chickpea Soup
Curried Sweet Potato Soup
Artichoke Rotini Pasta

Spicy Indian Chickpeas/Chana Masala
Adapted from Lisa's Kitchen

My adaptations were to make it less spicy, use less lemon, and not add the cinnamon stick.

1 1/4 cups of dried chickpeas
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
5 green or black cardamom pods
2 bay leaves

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1/2 - 1 tablespoon of ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne
1 teaspoon of turmeric

2 finely chopped hot red and green chilies
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 - 2 inch piece of ginger, grated or finely chopped

2 medium-large tomatoes, finely diced
juice from half of one small lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon of garam masala

Soak the chickpeas overnight in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 - 2 hours or until the chickpeas are buttersoft. Drain well and set aside.

Heat the butter and oil in a large pot. When hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves. Stir and fry until the mustard seeds begin to pop and the cumin seeds begin to brown.

Throw in the onions, and stir and fry until they begin to brown. Add the ground coriander, ground cumin, cayenne and turmeric to the pan and stir until the onions are well coated with the spices - about 1 minute. Then, add the fresh chilies, garlic and ginger. Stir and fry for a few minutes.

Next, add the tomatoes, half of the lemon juice and cook to thicken, about 10 minutes. Put the chickpeas into the tomato mixture, add the salt, some black pepper, half of the parsley, the remaining lemon juice and the garam masala. Cook for about 10 minutes to blend the flavours, adding a bit of water if necessary. The chickpeas should be fairly dry.

Remove the bay leaves if you are using whole ones, and the cinnamon stick. Stir in the remaining parsley and serve hot.

Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecake

Not surprisingly, this cheesecake was extremely delicious. But I have yet to meet a cheesecake I didn't like! Well there was the Godiva chocolate cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory but I think I still ate that. (Which made me think I didn't like chocolate cheesecake but then I made this rich chocolate cheesecake that convinced me otherwise.) Anyway, this cheesecake is really creamy and luscious. It's like apple pie in cheesecake form, and since I'm not a big fruit pie person I would definitely go for this over apple pie any day! I will definitely be making it again.

The recipe suggests you cut the apples into eighths but I found the slices too fat (they weren't able to soften enough) so I'd just suggest slicing the apples a bit thinner. And to make it look prettier, I'd put additional apple slices on top of the cheesecake next time like Confections of a Foodie Bride. Also, make sure not to over bake the crust. I always want to bake it for longer than it says but this time it resulted in a super hard crust which I couldn't cut through very easily. I took this cake to serve at Easter dinner with my boyfriend's family (an indication of how far behind I am in posting food I've made!) and the slices ended up a mess because I couldn't get the crust to go with it. Once I got it home I was able to figure things out and chop through the hard crust though.

Abby loves sleeping behind the computer monitor. And yes we have our monitor propped up on the yellow pages!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Cinnamon-Apple Scones
Lemon Cheesecake
Apple Pie with Brown Sugar Streusel Topping
Applesauce Spice Bars

Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecake
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

For the Crust:
30 gingersnaps
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

For the Apples:
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter
3 large apples, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
2 tbsp (packed) light brown sugar

For the Filling:
3 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
6 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp apple juice
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy cream

To Make the Crust:
Butter the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan. (I think I used a 9 inch springform pan.)

Put the gingersnaps in a food processor and whir until you have crumbs; you should have a scant 2 cups. (If you are using graham cracker crumbs, just put them in the food processor.) Pulse in the sugar and cinnamon, if you're using it, then pour over the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are moistened. Turn the crumbs into the springform pan and, using your fingertips, firmly press them evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan as far as they'll go. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F.

Remove the pan from the freezer and wrap the bottom tightly in aluminum foil, going up the sides. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust is set and lightly browned. Transfer to a rack to cool while you make the apples and the filling. Leave the oven at 350F.

To Make the Apples:
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, toss in half of the apple slices and cook, turning once, until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the apples with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and cook them, turning, just until coated, another minute or so. Scrape the apples onto a plate, wipe out the skillet and repeat with the remaining apples. Let the apples cool while you make the filling.

Getting Ready to Bake:
Have a roasting pan large enough to hold the springform pan at hand. Boil a kettle of water.

To Make the Filling:
Working with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed, scraping down the bowl often, for about 4 minutes, or until it is velvety smooth. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes. Beat in the cider, vanilla, and cinnamon. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Finally, beat in the sour cream and heavy cream, beating just until the batter is smooth.

Pour about one third of the batter into the baked crust. Drain the apples by lifting them off the plate with a slotted spoon or spatula, and spoon them into the pan. Cover with the remaining batter and, if needed, jiggle the pan to even the top. Place the springform pan in the roasting pan and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours (I baked mine for 2 hours), covering the cake loosely with a foil tent at the 45-minute mark. The cake will rise evenly and crack around the edges, and it should be fully set except it will jiggle slightly in the center. Gently transfer the cake to a cooling rack, remove the aluminum foil and let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it for at least 6 hours; overnight is better.

Run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the crust, open the pan's latch and release and remove the sides.

Maple Mustard Glazed Potatoes and String Beans

I think I've mentioned before about how I rarely cook potatoes because I find them to be void of much nutritional value and they just fill you up. I'd rather eat sweet potatoes or whole wheat pasta or something else. But my boyfriend loves loves potatoes so sometimes I have to be nice right? Well these potatoes turned out to be extremely delicious and perfect and we've already made them twice (which is saying a lot to have made them twice before I even post about them given how I usually like to try new recipes). My boyfriend said the potatoes were like the ones you get at Korean restaurants (though I've never been so don't know). I just know that the maple-garlic-Dijon dressing is super tasty. The second time we made them the potatoes weren't cooked enough because we cut them too big, so make sure that they're 1 inch pieces. Oh and this is super easy to make.

Edit: Okay so it was my belief that potatoes aren't that healthy for various reasons, but as Daily Spud pointed out, they do have some good attributes so I thought I'd just point those out. This information is for a baked (not boiled) with skin potato found on this Nutrition Facts website. Of your daily requirements, a baked potato gives you 48% of your Vitamin C, 46% of your potassium, 21% of your folate, 18% of your iron.. and the list goes on. Check it out. Plus potatoes apparently have more fibre than pasta (mind you I think they're comparing this to white pasta). Thanks Daily Spud for spurring me to look into this further!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Pasta with Pesto, New Potatoes and Green Beans
Warm Vegetable Salad with Sesame-Maple Dressing
French Barley Salad
Santa Fe Pasta Salad

Maple Mustard Glazed Potatoes and String Beans
Adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance

2 pounds small Yukon gold potatoes, halved (about 1 inch pieces)
1/2 pound string beans, halved, ends cut off and discarded
1 yellow onion, thickly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place the vegetables in a 9x13 inch casserole dish. In a mixing bowl, stir together all the other ingredients until the mustard is dissolved. Pour over the vegetables and mix until everything is coated. Cover with foil and place in oven. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and toss everything; use a spoon to drip the sauce over the veggies. Turn oven down to 350F, and cook for 25 minutes uncovered. Remove from oven, toss again, cook for 25 more minutes uncovered.

Black-Bottom Cupcakes

I'm sure this recipe is familiar to many of you, and comes from one of my favourite food bloggers (and one of the first food blogs I ever read) - David Lebovitz. Seriously you must go check out his blog if you haven't. He's really awesome and hilarious. As for these cupcakes, they are very rich and moist. Chocolatey and cream cheese-y. What else is there to say? These would be great if you want to make cupcakes and have to carry them somewhere, as they don't require icing that could stick to things and get messed up. Oh and I'm still in search of a good cream cheese brownie recipe, so if you have one let me know. =)

If this sounds good, you might like:
Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Rich Chocolate Cheesecake
Cheesecake Pops
Chocolate Mousse Layer Cake

Black-Bottom Cupcakes
Adapted from The Great Book of Chocolate

I halved the recipe and used 116 g flour, 95 g brown sugar, and 35 g granulated sugar.

Yield: 12 full-size or approximately 30 mini cupcakes

For the filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

For the cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 tablespoons cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the filling:
Beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate pieces. Set aside.

Make the cupcakes:
1. Adjust the rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by buttering or using muffin liners.

2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.

3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, stirring until just smooth.

4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Spoon a few tablespoons of the filling into the center of each cupcake, dividing the filling evenly. This will fill the cups almost completely, which is fine. I would recommend creating a little well and putting the filling into it, otherwise the cream cheese sits on top as it did with mine. However you might like it sitting on top.

5. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed. Cool on a rack, then store in the refrigerator.