beet biscuits and starting again

Beet biscuits you might ask? That's right, and look at their color. These came out more beautiful than expected with a vibrant redish pink color. They had a slight hint of beet flavor and were nice and flaky, just how I like 'em.

I found this recipe in a 1998 New York Times article looking to use beets and other veggies in an inspiring way. It caught my attention because I am such a biscuit fiend, and because it worked so well with the name of my new blog, beets & biscuits.

I have been blogging since last November at a site called Local Flavors (I am in the process of moving those posts over to this site). However, in an effort to grow and expand I decided that some adjustments were necessary, including a new name and a new blog site. I will continue to focus on recipes featuring flavors and food that is currently in season, and sourced as locally as possible. I also plan to bring a community aspect to my blog and include information about local food entrepreneurs, urban farming, ways to fight hunger, and the politics of food. I welcome your comments and suggestions as I move forward and am excited for what lies ahead.

Recipe for Beet Biscuits
Adapted from the New York Times, 1998

4 small beets, washed
1/4 cup buttermilk*
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut in to small cubes

Place the washed beets in a medium saucepan and cover with 2 inches of water. Cover and bring to a boil, lower heat and let simmer for 30-45 minutes until tender. Add water as necessary to ensure beets are covered. Drain beets and let cool until they are easy to touch, then rub off the skins and cut into quarters. In a food processor puree the beets until smooth (approx. 1 cup). Whisk the puree and buttermilk together and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, and place rack in the center of the oven. In a medium mixing bowl sift together the dry ingredients. Using a pastry knife or two knives cut in the butter until the size of small peas. Place the bowl in the refrigerator** until putter is hard, approx. 10 minutes.

Take bowl out of the refrigerator and scrape beet puree into the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together, it will be very sticky and moist, and there should be whole pieces of butter visible.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead about 10-15 times, until smooth, incorporating enough flour so that the dough no longer sticks. Pat dough out to 1/2 inch think round and cut using a biscuit cutter (I use a water glass). Continue until all dough is used. Place dough on an ungreased cookie sheet or in a round cake pan (for softer sides). Bake for 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes. Serve warm, butter optional.

Alison's Notes:
* To make a quick buttermilk I use regular milk (usually non-fat, or whatever I have in the fridge) and squeeze in a couple tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. Then let this sit and curdle in the fridge until needed.
** The original recipe recommended sitting the dough in the freezer to let the butter harden but when I pulled it out I had to let the dough warm up in order to work it as necessary. I think the refrigerator would work just fine to stiffen the butter.

(photography: alison clayshulte)

espresso breakfast muffins

These crunchy, moist muffins were adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson, author of an amazingly inspirational blog 101cookbooks. In Super Natural Cooking Heidi pairs these with mashed overripe banana's, however not having banana's on-hand I added frozen pitted half cherries.

Recipe for Espresso Breakfast Muffins
Adapted from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson

2 cups white whole-wheat flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t sea salt
1 and 1/4 cups chopped toasted walnuts
1 T finely ground coffee beans
6 T unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cups natural cane sugar
2 large eggs
2 t vanilla extract
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 -2 cups frozen pitted cherries
(Many kinds of fruit would work well here, I might try dried cranberries, or frozen peaches - sans skin - next time.)

Pre-heat the oven to 375 F, position racks in lower half of the oven and prepare muffin cups with paper liners. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, 3/4 cups of the toasted walnuts, and coffee grounds in a bowl and whisk to combine.

In a separate large bowl cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the sugar and the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla, yogurt, and fruit, then briefly and gently mix in the dry ingredients.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, topping each muffin with some of the remaining 1/2 c. walnuts, and bake until golden, about 25 minutes. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.


(photography by: alison clayshulte)

lemon poppy biscuits

These poppy specked ultra-light and flaky biscuits have been on my "to-make" list for months now. I found this recipe from Food & Wine a couple years ago featuring buttermilk biscuits and this was one of the variations. With buttermilk biscuits like this it seems the possibilities are endless, original, savory, sweet...etc.

I grew up eating homemade buttermilk biscuits. I remember many days I would get home and have a couple as my afternoon snack. My dad showed me how to make honey butter (mixing honey and butter together - it seemed novel at the time), and my mom kept a fresh batch around almost always. There are stories that we went through dozens of these pillows of dough at one point. I won't comment on that.

For the lemon-poppy variation, follow the recipe at the link above and whisk 1/4 cup sugar in with the dry ingredients. Then stir in the grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds just before adding the buttermilk. Finally, just before baking sprinkle with sugar.

(photography by: alison clayshulte)

stone oven pizza

There is something special about pizza baked in a stone oven. The flavors seem to meld, and the smokiness enhances the taste in a way that is hard to match in traditional oven. Last weekend Matt and I piled into a friends car and joined many others at my "soon-to-be-former" bosses house in Napa for a pizza party.

Her house, set on three acres up in the hills to the west of Napa is a small slice of heaven. The stone pizza oven, with interior parts replicating old Italian ovens, and the exterior stone built by hand is a presence in itself. I learned this weekend that the temperature (measured with a cool infrared laser device) must be at 800 degrees F to be hot enough. Wow!

Dough was pre-made and after word began to spread that the oven beast was at the desired temperature, we got to work. All the party goers had fun mixing and matching with the the range of ingredients brought. I made only two pizzas, the first with greens from our garden and local pre-cooked fennel sausage, and the second with tomatoes and squash blossoms from farmer's markets in the bay area visited in the morning. However I probably tried at least 10 little slices as the pizza's came steaming out of the oven.
It was fun to see what everyone brought, and also to get to try so many different kinds. If I had to guess at least 50 little pizzas were made in just a few hours. Talking to another "chef" about similar party ideas he had been to a ravioli making party, dough provided, filling up to the attendees. The possibilities seem endless.

(photography by: alison clayshulte)

molasses-gingerbread cake with cream

I recently made this yummy cake from Food & Wine Magazine, April 2009. Each month when I receive my subscription I immediately turn to the back page to see what delectable treats are featured. I couldn't resist trying this one. The recipe calls for whipped cream made from mascarpone cream and confit orange peel, however I just used regular whipping cream and a bit of cinnamon for mine. Enjoy! My mouth is watering just looking at this picture again...too bad mine is all gone.

(photography by: alison clayshulte)