Tea Biscuits

I love biscuits! I especially love biscuits with butter, buttermilk, cheese and garlic. My mouth is watering as I type. I'm not kidding. You could make these with margarine but really you should skip the one molecule from plastic and go with the real stuff. I like these with or without cheese and garlic. If you want them plain, also skip the final step of pouring the butter over before they're done baking. What you could do instead, is brush the tops with milk before putting them in the oven. The last time I made these, I skipped the cheddar and in the last five minutes, mixed up some melted butter, garlic and Parmesan and poured over the top. I found it a little salty, so you could probably cut back on the salt in the recipe if you wish. One more thing: when I make the cheese biscuit version, I skip the sugar. You won't miss it.

2 cups flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp garlic powder, optional
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup grated cheddar, optional
1 cup cold milk or buttermilk

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp parsley flakes

• Mix together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and garlic powder.
• Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly, or mix in a food processor for a few seconds.
• Add cheese.
• Add milk to make a soft, sticky dough. Sometimes I find the dough is too wet, even though I measure the same way each time, so I have added more flour and no disaster ensued. Try not to over-mix the dough, which could result in tough biscuits.
• Shape into biscuits and arrange in a greased baking dish. You will find the dough too sticky to roll and cut out the biscuits. Never mind, because I find that method a complete waste of time and energy.
• Bake at 375° anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of your biscuits.
• Just before they are finished baking, mix together the butter, garlic powder and parsley and pour over the biscuits. Return biscuits to the oven for about 5 minutes.
• Serve warm!

Multigrain Pancakes

I went through a stage when I ate these pancakes five days a week for about six months. I once made these pancakes to impress a guy - and his mother. I was so nervous and it was a disaster. I'm not sure what happened but I had to make a few substitutions and I may have doubled the baking powder by accident. Worst pancakes ever. We all sat there in silence trying to eat them. I tried disguising them with sliced bananas and chopped pecans. It didn't help. Not even a little bit. He never called me again after that. Life lesson: never try to impress a man with food.

1 cup large flake or old fashioned oats*
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour*
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1 tbsp wheat germ (optional)
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk*
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs

1. Mix together dry ingredients.
2. Mix together wet ingredients.
3. Add wet to dry, stirring until just mixed. Don't abuse the batter! It won't forgive you!
4. Heat a non-stick skillet and spray with cooking spray or margarine or butter. You'll know it's hot enough if you throw a drop of water into the pan and it sizzles. Note: if you use cooking spray, the edges of the pancakes won't look as nice and crispy than if you used oil or margarine.
5. Pancakes are cooked on one side when the edges start to look dull and the bubbles burst. Flip them over and let them brown on the second side, which doesn't take very long. 
6. If the batter is too thick, which often happens to me when I turn my back for a minute, just stir in extra milk.

* Don't use Quick Oats. That was my first substitution disaster.
* You can find whole wheat pastry flour at the Bulk Barn. I really wish grocery stores would get on board with this one!
* You can substitute buttermilk and omit the lemon juice.