Recipe
Well. It’s obvious controversy is more popular than things like enchiladas and scones. Really? I beg to differ. Give me beans and dessert any day over some drama. 🙂
I’m easing my way into scone territory by starting with some biscuits.
Why biscuits? Because I had strawberries to use up! (Stick with me here..)
See, I have very good intentions in the grocery store. But sometimes I feel kind of like a toddler in a candy shop. Only I’m a grown up in the produce section. I see vibrantly colored fresh fruits and vegetables and I’m just sucked in. Oh the things I could make! And they’re on sale- I have to buy them!
And I never fail to forget why things going on sale. They’re getting old… Meaning they won’t last a week in my fridge. So the strawberries I bought at the beginning of the week are already turning to mush. I have some serious unresolved texture issues when it comes to fruit, so there was no way I was eating the strawberries without chopping them up and adding a distracting element.
Such as shortcake. 🙂 Strawberry shortcake!
I started with what I thought sounded like a good biscuit recipe, then tweaked it a bit & sweetened it up.
Shortcake Recipe
*Note: This is a mini recipe- it only makes 4 shortcakes. Double or triple as needed!
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 T baking powder
dash of salt
2 T nondairy margarine (or regular)
1 T sugar
Scant 1/2 c almond milk
1 tsp lemon juice
Combine almond milk & lemon juice. Set aside.
Measure flour. I love everything & anything whole wheat, but I didn’t want shortcake that was going to hit my stomach like a ton of bricks, so I went halfsies.
Plus enough baking powder to make them rise & get fluffy.
Add margarine- it helps if it’s really cold. Use a fork, knives, or a pastry cutter to break up margarine into flour. Keep going until it gets crumbly and looks a bit like sand. Something about the butter melting in the oven forms the airy pockets. I’m sure this is where I should impart some wise baking knowledge, but I have none.
Pour in the almond milk lemon juice combo- this is our “buttermilk”.
Use a fork to stir the dough together.
Knead a few times, then press into a circle. If the dough gets too warm, pop it in the fridge for a few minutes. (Don’t want that margarine to melt.)
Use whatever you can find to cut biscuits from the dough. I’m not a classy enough baker to own a biscuit cutter. Why bother when you can use a perfectly good glass or jar lid?
(I decided those were too thin and started over. I like a lot of shortcake in my strawberry shortcake.) Place them on a baking sheet and sprinkle with a tiny bit of granulated sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees for 18 minutes.
This might have been the part where I got a little bored. See, I have some bad baking habits.
Like not measuring accurately. Tasting raw ingredients before cooking. Playing with the dough…
It’s called play-dough for a reason, right?
Poor little guy needs some eyes, but I went and ate the rest of the dough….
Moving on.
Let shortcakes cool before slicing. Or burn your hand trying if you’re impatient. The second way’s certainly more entertaining.
While the shortcakes are baking, slice up some strawberries. Sprinkle with a little sugar and set aside so the syrupy juices can start flowing.
My strawberries made absolutely no juice. 🙁 Maybe that’s what happens when you use really old strawberries.
It’s not strawberry shortcake without some kind of cream. We went with ice cream 🙂
Strawberry cheesecake flavored ice cream for the husband, So Delicious coconut milk ice cream for me.
Dessert of champions.
These shortcakes/biscuits were the best part of the dessert….they’d be really good with honey or apple butter…or pumpkin butter! I see a future for the two leftover biscuits…..
What’s your favorite baked good? Cookies? Brownies? Bread? Cake?
Don’t forget to tell me why you have the Best Scones Ever!
Dinner
I’m afraid I don’t have any pictures of my dinner tonight. It’s probably good for your sake though because it’d make you drool. 🙂 (Jusst kidding)
I had a dinner for work tonight, hence the lack of pictures (like I’ve said before, I’m not messing with confidentiality issues even though it’s a dumb rule when no patients are present). Even though it means a super long day, I really don’t mind work events that result in me eating good food:) And I got to listen to my favorite British doctor give a lecture.
Anyways, we went to a fairly new restaurant called Graffiti’s Bistro. I was excited to check it out. And then I was really disappointed. I hate giving negative reviews, but I’d rather be honest. I was so not impressed it wasn’t funny.
They ran out of appetizers- no biggie, except they ran out before the time the lecture started…That makes no sense.
For my dinner I had grilled salmon, garlic potatoes, and chef’s veggies, which ended up being white & green string beans & carrots. Sounds pretty good, no? Um my mouth was thoroughly insulted by the amount of salt on everything, especially the salmon. Literally, a crunchy crust of salt. Now, I’m not a complainer when it comes to restaurants, so for me to openly admit this is a sign of how seriously horrifying it was.
The roof of my mouth and tongue are still on fire from being scalded by salt.
Last chance for a good impression: dessert. Hard to mess up, right?
They served it in a box, as is customary for these dinners. (I guess it’s their way of saying “get out of here!”). I opened my box to steal a few bites before I left.
Imagine my surprise when I saw dessert contained….ice cream. (?!) Thank goodness I wasn’t planning on staying for coffee and I don’t live 45 minutes away like some people. The rest of the dessert was apple crisp. I liked it ok, but only because of my weird obsession with oatmeal.
Imagine making the blandest oats you could possibly conjure up. Then put them on top of apples. Don’t add any sweetened, even though it’s main function is dessert. That was it. Like I said, fine for me. General public? Not so much. It was the first time I got to finish dessert myself and didn’t have to worry about sharing with the husband.
I have some leftovers of my dinner too, so you can see pictures tomorrow, but honestly, unless I rinse it under a high powered faucet, I’m not so sure I’m going to be able to eat it.
To top it all off, I found this is where we’re having a celebration dinner for work next month. Boy oh boy. Oh well, guess they get a second chance to change my mind.
Please excuse my negative rant. Consider it over. (I meant to say I didn’t like it so much and stop, but I guess that didn’t happen….)
Dinner, Training
I don’t have much of an attention span so this afternoon I studied for awhile, then went for a run, then studied a little, then did some massive cooking. I didn’t get to cleaning….
I know I said I wasn’t going to run more than 3 days a week, or on back to back days, but this week is an exception. I may have “run” several times, but they’ve been really really short distances. Weds was only a mile and half! I think taking total mileage into account, and that I’ve been going easy on my runs, it’s ok just this once. (If you see me make this a habit please stop me:))
So today I snuck in another short run, again sticking close to the neighborhood. I did 2.5 miles in 23:43. I think I found my perfect running temperature. No idea what it actually was, but 48 degrees was forecasted, so somewhere around there. Cold enough to still wear a headband, warm enough for short sleeves. Ok, I was probably pushing the short sleeves thing since I was only going for a short jaunt, but I would’ve been perfectly comfortable if I had worn gloves.
Cross your fingers back on track with 5 miles tomorrow!
I spent the evening cooking up a STORM in the kitchen. I made a mess. I wanted to make something that would freeze well for my friends that had the baby so they wouldn’t have to worrying about cooking some nights. I decided on stuffed shells! Then the more and more I thought about stuffed shells, I realized I haven’t had them in a long time and wanted them! So I made an extra batch. Half the clean up 🙂
I loved stuffed shells you can vary the ingredients to suit your mood (or your fridge) and you usually end up just fine!
Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells (and just turkey shells—I made one of each)
1 box jumbo pasta shells
1 container ricotta cheese
1/2 block neufchatel cream cheese
1 egg (or egg whites)
1 lb ground lean turkey
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 cup chopped artichoke hearts
s&p to taste
handful fresh basil
assorted Italian seasonings
3-5 cups marinara sauce (homemade or store-bought)
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Boil water and cook pasta shells about 6 minutes (~half the time on the box- they’ll finish cooking in the oven). Set aside to cool.
Brown turkey, onions, and garlic. Season turkey with salt/pepper to taste. Set aside to cool. Mix together ricotta cheese, cream cheese, egg, basil, and seasonings. When meat/onion mixture has cooled, mix into cheese mixture.
Spoon 2-3 tablespoons into each shell; place face down into baking dish. When all shells are full, top with marinara sauce, then mozzarella cheese. Bake at 400 degrees 20-25 minutes. Freezes very well- cook up to an hour if frozen.
Notes: use any kind of ricotta cheese; my favorite is a mixture of fat free and whole. If you really want to use all fat free, definitely try adding the cream cheese- it gives it a rich, velvety texture.
Tastes great with spinach instead of (or with) meat for a vegetarian entree.
For seasonings, I usually use rosemary, thyme, and basil, or whatever I grab first.
I put the extra batch I made directly in the freezer for a night where I don’t have time to cook something good. I don’t put as much cheese on when I freeze it, because I like to add extra right before I cook it. (I put some on in case I don’t have cheese when I want to eat it!)
I stole four shells out of my batch and made them for myself for dinner tonight.
And two giant spoonfuls of the Mocha Almond So Delicious for dessert. 
I’m going to go have a wine-and-bad-Lifetime-movie-night with a girlfriend…she sent me a text saying eat a light dinner because she had lots of goodies prepared…can’t wait! 😉
Enjoy your Saturday night!
