I just returned home from my French class and am thinking lovingly of the chive and cheddar biscuits we had for supper. By “thinking lovingly”, I mean I am eating another one. There is only flaw with these yummy savory treats – they are at their best when straight out of the oven. But that obviously does not stop me.

What is a biscuit you say? You want to know where they originated from? I don’t. I think it might be the spring fever everyone has out here on the prairies but right now I just want to plant my garden and eat all the bounty. I keep on reading all these cookbooks I haven’t seen since last summer and reading seed catalogues to see what should be planted. I don’t really care about the history. I must be that sense of urgency flatlanders have when finally feeling the sunshine on one’s skin and quickly realizing there is only four months left before the snow flies.

If you must know about the history of biscuits read this:

“What’s the difference between biscuits & cookies?
Excellent question! The answer is an interesting buffet of linguistics, history, and technology. The original term “biscuit” derives from the Latin “bis coctus,” or “twice baked.” Ancient Roman armies were issued biscuits as part of their rations. Hardtack, ships biscuit, rusk and mandelbrot descend from this culinary lineage. Advances in technology permitted a wider range of biscuit products. Small cakes and delicate wafers were gradually added to the family of biscuits. In most English-speaking countries, the traditional definition of biscuit remains. In the United States the term “biscuit” was reassigned to denote a small, soft, quick-leavened bread product served piping hot. It generally accompanied meals in lieu of bread. “

Taken from: http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcookies.html#biscuits

I make biscuits quite often as they are a very quick baked good and we love them. Ignore the amount of butter. They are worth it! The following biscuits are from an unknown source and as you can see, the recipe (scribbled by my Mom) is now very thorough. I’ll walk you through it, no worries!

Cheddar and Chive Biscuits

Preheat oven to 425F. Parchment paper on the cookie sheet is a good idea!

In a bowl mix the dry ingredients:
3 c of flour (I used about half whole wheat flour)
1 tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Grate about a cup of cheddar cheese. I also grated some pecorino romano (it never hurts) and finely chop some chives.

As you can see, the chives are the only thing in the garden, so let’s eat some bounty!

Spring on a cutting board!

Cut 3/4c of cold butter into cubes and add to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until it is the size of peas. Sprinkle the cheese and chives over the bowl and pour in 1 3/4c of buttermilk. Mix with a spoon until just combined. This recipe makes “drop” biscuits and not the traditional biscuits that are rolled out and cut into shapes. This is much quicker and a lot less messy.

Drop by spoonfuls onto the baking sheet. I ended up with 10 biscuits. Bake for about 15 minutes until they are golden brown.

In they go!

Yum!

À la table, mes enfants!

via Saskatchewan,
J

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