It was a rainy day, which put me in a baking sort of mood. The boys and I made bread. We used to make it every week, and then I had Lilly, and let's just say baking bread fell to the bottom of the list of things to do. But I forgot how good it is. Hot from the oven with a big pat of butter on it? Mmmm. Perfect for a rainy day and the big pot of soup I made last night. Speaking of that soup, I think I am finally becoming a cook. Or at the very least I am trying to. The soup was really good. Know why? I made my own stock. For the first time, I am ashamed to say. It was so easy and I don't know why I have never done it before.
Speaking of things I've never done before (wait, didn't I just say that?) I also made biscuits the other day. Again, ashamed to say, for the first time. What is wrong with me? Why haven't I done this before? Maybe because I didn't grow up in the South where biscuits are like salsa is here. Or something like that. Or maybe because my Mom wasn't a biscuit maker either, so they just don't often come to mind. But they have been in my recipe file under "To Try" for a long time. So I did.
They were light and flaky and buttery and delicious. Just like a biscuit should be. I used the Martha Stewart recipe for baking powder biscuits, so my next foray into biscuit land will be of the buttermilk variety. I want to see which I like better. James liked these ones a lot.
I also made this cake. One of my goals for the year is to become a cake baker. A baker of good, no, really good cakes. I started with an easy one. It was so easy, I actually made it twice and improved on it the second time. I got it from my favorite food blogger, Molly, over at Orangette. I must admit, I was swayed in its favor by 2 things: I love lemon pastries, and it is French. How can you go wrong? 
It turned out not to be my favorite cake. While it was better the second time around with more zest in the batter and more glaze on the cake, I'm still going to keep looking for that perfect lemon cake.
Tonight I'm going to try another new cake. (I'll let you know if this goal of great cake baking helps me achieve another of my goals: get in shape, or if it just helps me gain 100 pounds) It is a chocolate pound cake. We'll be sharing it with friends. I'll give you the verdict tomorrow. Until then, go bake something. It really is a very warm and cozy thing to do.
2 comments:
Biskets are devine! I loved going to South Carolina when I was young because my mom's aunt would make cheese biskets with sugar on them, not you might think that sounds nasty but don't bash it untill you've tryed it! All you do is roll your dough out extra thin and cut out double the amount of biskets then cut a little block of cheese and place it between two biskets being sure to pinch the edges so it won't leek! bake and then pull the bisket apart and sprinkle a touch of sugar on top and v wa la! This is buy the way now a good idea if you are trying to loose weight. But the kids will love them as a treat!
Yeah, none of this baking stuff is good for the weight loss stuff. Oh well. You would not believe how much butter I have been using lately. Oh baby. Just walking in my door will make you put on a pound or 2.
I'm going to have to try the biscuits with cheese. Yum.
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