garden goodness + a recipe for mixed herb and cheese biscuits
It feels so good to finally have a garden. Okay, it’s not so much a garden as a handful of planters on my front step, but it’ll do for now. It’s a good start, too, for a black thumb like me… you know, baby steps.
I don’t grow much; a handful of flowers here and there, some rhubarb {with stalks that are thinner than my pinky finger}, some mint {mojitos!}, tomatoes, nonexistent strawberries… but the plants I am most proud of are my herbs. There’s not much, just some oregano, basil, chives, parsley – the herbs I use most.
Of course these tasty little bundles of flavour make their way into all sorts of dishes {come on, they’re just begging to be thrown in a pasta sauce}, but today I put them in biscuits. Whole wheat, cheesy, best eaten warm with butter {herb butter, regular butter, garlic butter – all of the above…} biscuits that take just a few minutes to put together, and ten or so minutes to bake. They’re just the thing to make if you’re having unexpected guests over. You can serve the biscuits hot from the oven and your pals will be oh, so impressed. Or you can feed them a whole bunch of mojitos and they won’t even remember that when they showed up you were still in your pajamas and looked like a creature from the black lagoon. It’s up to you.
Mixed Herb & Cheese Biscuits
Makes about 15 biscuits
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup buttermilk {or sour milk: 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar + enough milk to make 1 cup}
1/3 cup mixed, chopped fresh herbs
½ cup grated cheddar, mozzarella, or a mixture of the two
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter, and mix {with your hands or with a pastry cutter} until pea-sized bits of butter remain. Stir in the buttermilk {or sour milk} and honey just until combined. Fold the herbs and cheese into the dough with your hands.
3. Place the dough on a piece of parchment and pat it down so you have a circle about ¾ inch thick. Cut out circles of dough with a glass, biscuit cutter, or cookie cutter, and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet, about 1 inch apart.
4. Bake the biscuits for about 10 minutes or until they’re light golden brown in colour. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool further; serve warm.
