This and That and Soup

First off, Talitha is doing well. She and the other kids are all doing great with each other. Sure, there is the occasional tug-of-war over mom but it does make me feel super popular. Talitha will be sitting next to me on the couch. As long as she's touching me in some way, she's happy. Noah will spot her touching me and all of a sudden he loves me dearly, even though for the majority of the time he doesn't seem to notice me at all. I am the giver of juice and that's about it. So he'll pile on me and lay his head on my shoulder like he actually loves me. She will squawk and try to edge him out. They are both fighting over my affection and I think "I finally know how the cool kids feel."

Yesterday the kids played in the pool. Toby killed a snake, which he was quite proud of. It seemed like a harmless garden snake, which was very sad. We watched a toad hop along and ate fresh figs from our tree. Good things.

The marks on the fence? That's me with the lawnmower.

Mmm, figs!

Today I had planned to make cauliflower soup and biscuits and take some to my bestie, who just had her fourth baby. Noah did not sleep at all for naptime but I had to run to the store for ingredients this afternoon because I am nothing if not a good planner of time. Tali was fussy so I carried her in the sling. Noah sat in the cart and rubbed his eyes and generally looked stoned. At one point, I was wearing Tali and pushing Noah and making threatening remarks about behavior to Jack while Katie sadly nodded her head at him, like she was disappointed in his choices. It was around that time that someone I knew turned around the corner and ran into us. From threatening my kids through clenched teeth to a very bright "Hi, how are you? How are we doing? Oh, just fine - couldn't be better!"

Says the mom with a clingy sweaty baby on her hip, a red-eyed toddler in the cart and two young kids, both of whom are probably scouting the crowds for a nicer mom. "Look at the juice she's buying. No preservatives, organic, and each fruit picked gently in the moonlight. That's the one."

I got home around 4 pm. Here's a rundown of me making soup tonight:

-I browned the butter in the pans and chopped the veggies. I'm making a triple batch, one for my friend and two for us. Lots of math. Which was probably my first mistake.

-Realized that I only bought two heads of cauliflower when I needed three. Why did I think I already had one? Looked in the veggie drawer - oh. That's a cabbage. So my family got a nice mix of cauliflower and cabbage in the soup. They both grow in the ground. Similar enough. 

-I forgot to buy chicken broth. I have one box, which is 4 cans. I need 24. So I googled 'Chicken broth substitute.' Among them is white wine. So I rummage through the cupboard. How about a wine cooler?"

-Big kudos to me that I remembered that chicken broth has a lot of sodium so if I was just using water and boullion, I would have to use salt. Sprinkled liberally throughout cooking. It was after I dropped the meal off at my friend's that I noticed the salt shaker was closed. I do that so the kids can sprinkle away without actually using any salt. So...not much in the seasoning department.

-I made some biscuits in my beloved cast iron skillet. I placed the skillet on the counter after the biscuits were done. Minutes later I saw that the milk lid was sticking out under the pan. I lifted the pan up. The one that minutes ago was in a 450 degree oven. Lid melted. Fingers burned. I drove the whole way to my friend's house with my hand in front of the air conditioner vent to cool it off.

Later I carried Noah and Tali to the bathtub, as they were both covered in broth and biscuit crumbs. As I passed by the mirror, I noticed that my one-day-old haircut was not quite what it was yesterday. My side swept bangs have now feathered. I've got a popular haircut. It's just 30 years late. 

Then Talitha had an unfortunate accident in the tub. We got the rubber duckies out just in time. She clenched her teeth when I tried to brush them and Noah stuck one of her flower petals from her towel in his mouth and pulled her head over til she screamed.

Stick a fork in this day. It's done.

The Best Biscuits You Will Ever Eat

I'm going to deviate from my usual repertoire of adoption updates and my moronic living to share with you some recipes that I love.

This particular biscuit recipe has been circulating the internet for some time. I just found it though so it's all new and exciting.

It's a well known fact that I can't make biscuits. They continually befuddle me. I've tried various ingredients and techniques but they always turn out flat and weird. Matt loves baked goods and I've gotten pretty awesome at making bread and pies but wanted to make biscuits that were light and fluffy and filled with love. And I've always failed. Until now.

I made them last night and after Matt took a bite he said "Are there any more?" I said "Yes, one." He immediately said "I call it. It's mine."

Then today he texted that he might be late tonight from work. I told him I was making the biscuits and baked eggplant. He left within minutes.

They're that good.

I don't know the original baker of these biscuits but the recipe I followed is listed here.

7 Up Biscuits

2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup 7 up

I know, I know. Weird and unhealthy. But that's life sometimes.

This recipe is good but here is where it gets really ultra special.

Make your own Bisquick (or baking mix if you're generic). Use White Lily Flour and get the self-rising kind. If you're fortunate to live in the south, then you're probably familiar with this type of flour. It's made with soft winter wheat and it's the best flour ever for pancakes and biscuits and stuff. Make your own baking mix with a 5:1 ratio of flour and shortening.

So...5 cups White Lily Self-Rising Flour
       1 cup all-vegetable shortening.

Or 10:2 if you're mathematically gifted. 15:3...I could go on. I did just recently pass statistics.

If you have a Kitchenaid and it's beautiful and shiny like mine, use that big metal whisk thing to mix this together.

Get yourself a cast iron skillet. Really. I recently acquired mine from a friend who didn't realize how lovely and expensive these skillets are and gave them away with a wave of his hand. I shore am happy with them.
Cast iron skillets just add so much depth to dishes.

Anyway, throw a pat of butter in your skillet and put that in the oven about 5 min before the oven is ready so the butter melts. Mix your baking mix with the sour cream and 7 up. Put some flour on your palms and shape the balls of dough like hamburger patties. Sure, you can cut them with a biscuit cutter but then you've got to clean the counter. And you don't really want to do that, do you?

Make sure you put some flour on your hands. It's a really soft, sticky dough. Take your skillet out when the oven is ready and your butter is melted. Swivel the pan a bit to distribute the butter.

Bake at 450 for 12-15 min.

Get ready to be adored by everyone.

I served this alongside Baked Eggplant - recipe here.

1 eggplant, sliced
Mayo
Diced onion
Spices
Breadcrumbs
Panko
Parm Cheese

Chop the onion, mix with mayo. Coat the eggplant slices with this mixture. Coat with mixture of breadcrumbs, panko crumbs, parm cheese, and Italian Spices (I had basil and parsley. Italian? I don't know. All I had on hand? Yes).

Update: I forgot to mention in the original post that I added panko crumbs to this recipe. A mix of panko and regular gives it a nice crunch. Also, the recipe calls for no-fat mayo. Which is an oxymoron. Update over.

It's messy, so it's good to have a helper.

Bake at 425 for 12 min. Flip and bake for another 12. I actually just baked the biscuits at that temp and added a few extra minutes.

These biscuits with that eggplant? My goodness. It's happiness and joy all around.