Butterscotch Biscuits Recipe

Butterscotch Biscuits Recipe

Do you remember as a kid waking up in the mornings to the smell of your favorite breakfast cooking? I sure do, and I still love it. Smelling the sweet breakfast aromas early in the morning is one of life’s great pleasures, one that almost instantly puts the entire family in a good mood.

Growing up in my family, there were a couple smells that almost always had us kids instantly bounding up the stairs: the quintessential breakfast of pancakes served with eggs and bacon and then the irresistible smell of butterscotch biscuits. Yes, I said that right… butterscotch biscuits,and today I’m going to share that biscuit recipe with you. But first, a quick peek into how awesome these biscuits are. These are not your typical biscuit, my friend.

Luckily (read: holy flipping cow, I’m incredibly lucky), my kids are not picky eaters. I’m not sure if it’s because I will eat nearly anything—with the exception of tuna loaf—and they’re just following my example, or if it’s because they know they’ll go without if they don’t eat what’s prepared. Maybe they’re really not my kids, but aliens from another planet… maybe, just maybe that’s it. (By the way, after they realized mom and dad were serious they always choose to eat what’s prepared.)
Click to Keep Reading →

Is Beeswax the Cure for Allergy Suffering?

Is Beeswax the Cure for Allergy Suffering?

AAACHOOOO!!! My conversation was cut short as I hastily whipped my head to the left and brought up my arm just in time to block my sneeze before covering the lady two feet in front of me with a goobery barrage of Chris germs. “¡Perdóneme!” I said while fervently searching my pockets for anything to wipe my nose with. I had inconveniently used the last of my tissue paper just minutes before. The only option was to keep my arm up in front of my face; to bring it down would mean displaying to the world the inner workings of my nasal cavity.

The sneeze had made my eyes water, adding to their itchy redness. “I’m not sick,” I hastily commented. “It’s just allergies; they’re killing me!”

The lady backed behind her entry-way door, sure that I was sick and contagious. “Then you should chew some beeswax,” she hastily replied. Though my arm still covered my face, our eyes made brief contact. Hers said, “Duh!” and mine said, “Are you crazy?”

The notion of chewing beeswax to cure allergies seemed preposterous to me—so preposterous, in fact, that I have never forgotten it. That was 10 years ago in Ipala, Guatemala, and I could still take you to the exact door where I sneezed. Not that it really matters (it was red, by the way), but it’s fun to think about visiting my old sneezing grounds. It’s almost like marking my territory, but we won’t go there. Moving on…
Click to Keep Reading →

A Peach Full of Memories

A Peach Full of Memories

Of all the fresh fruits I look forward to eating the most each year, peaches rank the highest (raspberries take a very close second). Peaches are better than candy–and I don’t care how much sugar content they have, I can eat six thousand and one in a single sitting and remain 100% guilt free.

This morning I blended up the last of my second bushel. When only four peaches remained in the box, I realized that if I didn’t eat one of them, I would most likely not have another fresh peach until September of next year. Without a second thought I cut it open, removed the pit and skin and sunk my teeth into its juicy flesh. My taste buds knew exactly what to expect and they weren’t disappointed. But what I didn’t expect was the flood of memories that came rushing into my head with that first bite.
Click to Keep Reading →

Book Review: Ratio by Michael Ruhlman

Book Review: Ratio by Michael Ruhlman

I’m on a book craze right now and can’t stop stuffing my face with awesome literature. I recently finished reading An Edge in the Kitchen by Chad Ward and immediately after finishing, I picked up Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking by Michael Ruhlman which I quickly devoured in each spare minute that I had. In my opinion, Ratio should be required reading for anybody who cooks in the kitchen.

On Goodreads, I gave this book a 5-star rating. It’s awesome. Really.

The purpose behind Ratio is to enlighten and teach the home cook about the fundamentals of cooking in the kitchen. Sounds boring, I know, but the concept of ratios is simply fascinating. It’s not as if cooking with ratios is a super-duper, ultra-guarded secret (because it’s not), but interesting enough, it’s not well known among home cooks. Knowing ratios gives you the power to ditch the recipes, grow some wings, and fly! It won’t be long before you’re creating recipes of your own. In fact, using his custard ratios, I created a tasty (and interesting) vanilla peach custard. I’ll post the recipe once I refine it a bit. It was my first ever attempt at custard, but I could do it thanks to being taught simple custard ratios.

Let’s explore some of the fascinating aspects of Michael Ruhlman’s Ratio.
Click to Keep Reading →

Book Review: An Edge in the Kitchen by Chad Ward

Book Review: An Edge in the Kitchen by Chad Ward

This year I decided to spend my birthday money on kitchen stuff that I’ve had my eyes on. I wound up with some awesome kitchen tools and some more books which I’ve been wanting to read and study for a while, among those books was An Edge in the Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Knives by Chad Ward (affiliate link). Using a 5-star rating method, I’d give it a 4 out of 5; using a 10-star rating method, I’d give it a 7 out of 10.

Chad Ward is a knife nerd, seriously; his kitchen knife expertise makes those of us who frequently use our kitchen knives and already know a moderate amount about them realize that we’ve been playing in the kiddy pool most of our lives. Although his book has quite a bit of “geek speak” in it as it relates to kitchen knives, metallurgy, and whatnot, it’s a pleasure to read and is easy to understand. And, as Chad says, once you learn the terminology you can impress all your friends and the guy behind the knife counter with your wisdom (extra bonus!).

The hard part now is figuring out where to begin…
Click to Keep Reading →

A Little Market Research…

A Little Market Research…

I’m doing some quick market research in the realm of the kitchen to figure out what people’s most frustrating kitchen-related experiences are.

Take a quick minute and add your opinions below:

Click to Keep Reading →