Cheese Biscuits and "Orange Soup"

I guess we had an orange theme this weekend. On Friday night, the girls and I ended our long week without VeggieDaddy, who was out of town for work, at our favorite chinese restaurant. We ordered our usual: one order of sesame tofu (served with broccoli and covered in a yummy orange sauce) and one order of steamed tofu (no sauce). On Saturday, we went to the Farmer's Market (which has moved inside University Mall for the winter) and picked up some great baby carrots, along with some yummy cheeses (VeggieDaddy traded a couple of his homebrews for some of the cheese). On Sunday morning, we made the cheese biscuits below and made egg biscuit sandwiches. While the girls and VeggieDaddy made the biscuits, I put the soup on the stove for lunch. AND, clementines have been ingested daily. All in all, alot of orange foods for one weekend:)

Cheese Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 t salt
3 t baking powder
6 T shortening
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup finely grated cheddar cheese

1. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder.
2. If you have a food processor with a dough blade, just cut the shortening in 1/2 inch chunks into the flour and then process for 30 seconds. If you don't have a food processor, get one. Just kidding, just cut or rub in the shortening until shortening is well-combined throughout.
3. Stir in the milk, and once mixed in, add the cheese, then knead lightly.
4. Roll the dough 1/4 inch thick.
5. Cut the dough with an upside-down pint glass, or a circle cutter, if you're fancy.
6. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden.

Side note on this recipe: this is based on a recipe from The Treasury of White Trash Cooking, by Ernest Matthew Mickler and Trisha Mickler, a classic given to me by some friends when VeggieDaddy and I first moved in together. Thanks ladies!

Butternut Squash Soup

I called this soup "orange soup" because it sounds alot more appetizing to a 4 year old than squash soup.

2 ribs celery, chopped (including the celery leaves)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 T olive oil
1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cubed (I buy Trader Joe's precut)
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
2 t cumin
1 t sage
1 t turmeric
Pepper to taste
4 cups water

1. Cook the celery, onion and garlic over medium heat in 1 T olive oil until softened.
2. Add the squash, potato and spices and continue to cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
3. Add the water and bring it to a boil. Turn down to simmer and cover.
4. Cook for 35-40 minutes, or until the squash and potato are softened.
5. Puree in a food processor until smooth.

Have a great week! If we get a "snow day" tomorrow maybe we will come up with some special inauguration day recipes!

My Never Fail Dish: Eggplant Parmesan

The one recipe I make that never fails is my eggplant parmesan. You can get eggplant at the Farmer’s Markets in the Southeast right now so this is a great time of year to make it. For me, the key to this recipe is baking the eggplant, not frying. For kids, I think the key is all of the cheese! In any case, 1 eggplant with some pasta or a green salad makes a complete meal for us. The cheese gives us a fair amount of protein and if I want to up the vitamin content of the dish I will shred some carrots into the tomato sauce.

Eggplant Parmesan

1 large eggplant
2 cups Breadcrumbs
3 egg whites
Tomato sauce
8 oz. Mozzarella, grated
1 cup Parmesan, grated

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Slice the eggplant thinly, about ¼ inch.
3. Separate whites of three eggs into a shallow bowl.
4. Put breadcrumbs on a plate or in a shallow bowl.
5. Coat both sides of each piece of eggplant with egg whites and then bread crumbs.
6. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with olive oil spray.
7. Bake until browned, starting to crisp, about 45 minutes, turning halfway through.
8. Lower oven temperature to 350°.
9. In a 2 ½ quart casserole or baking dish, spread tomato sauce in a thin layer over bottom of dish. Place eggplant in a single layer over the sauce. Put a thin layer of sauce over the eggplant. Sprinkle grated mozzarella and parmesan. Add eggplant in a single layer and repeat with sauce and cheese. Finish with layer of cheese on top.
10. Bake at 350° for about 35-40 minutes until cheese is melted and starting to brown.

Eating Local

We buy locally grown produce, eggs and cheese as much as possible. We are very lucky to have great Farmer's Markets in our areas. We go to http://www.carrborofarmersmarket.com/ (which has a playground) and http://southestesfarmersmarket.com/. The South Estes market just started this year but has already grown to over a dozen booths.

The kids love to go and try the samples and walk around the market. It also helps to have them help pick out the items and help cook with them later. I find that my 4 year old is more likely to eat vegetables she has picked out herself!

To find out about eating local in your area, visit www.localharvest.org.