Tonight I made an “interesting” dinner of grits, baked beans, biscuits, a fresh pear, and radishes. I personally thought the dinner items complemented each other but in actuality I guess they probably didn’t. One of the perks of living alone is that it doesn’t matter what you eat. Or when you eat or where you it. It just doesn’t matter. You don’t get complaints, stares, or grumblings from spouses or offsprings. You can eat all yellow food or all proteins. It just doesn’t matter. You can eat salad for breakfast or snacks for lunch or grits for dinner. Complete freedom from reproach.
I started out making the savory grits and then other foods just kept appealing to me so I added them to the plate. Soon I had a Thursday night Julie Feast. The grits recipe and the biscuit recipe were new to me and I enjoyed them both. The biscuits were incredibly easy because you don’t use butter or shortening. The only fat in the biscuit is from whipping cream. Stir it up, bake, and eat.
I have been working on a birthday present for Davis because his birthday is Saturday. I’m making on of those t-shirt quilts. So Davis if you’re reading this, I am sad to report that IT’S NOT DONE!!!! I hate being late with gifts but this one is taking way longer than I thought. About 5 years longer than I thought. I sincerely wanted to finish for this birthday and hand it to him on the day but a work-in-progress photo will have to do.
The last few days I have been working on the quilt, in addition to weaving and spinning. My homemaking skills abound. I find it funny how originally these skills were for the frugal homemaker to master in order to spin thread and weave and sew her own clothes. Nowadays these are just hobbies and it costs big bucks to be “frugal”.
Well, time to go but I thought I would check in tonight since I missed the last two nights on the blog due to my crafty endeavors. Tomorrow we celebrate Davis’ birthday. I ordered an interesting cake so I hope to get good photos of it to show the decorations I wanted. See you tomorrow with the details.
Savory Supper Grits
4 cups water
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup uncooked stone-ground grits (I used yellow corn grits tonight)
1 cup (4-ounces) shredded shart Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (optional)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Bring water, garlic and salt to a boil in a medium, heavy saucepan. Gradually whisk in grits. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 20- 25 minutes or until thick, stirring often. Remove pan from heat, and stir in cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and red pepper.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gradually stir in beaten eggs to grits mixture and pour into a 9X9-inch pan coated with shortening. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until set.
Whipping Cream Biscuits
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the whipping cream. Stir just until the dough is well blended. Drop onto a baking sheet into 12 mounds. Bake in center of oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until cooked through and tops of biscuits are lightly browned.
I love grits; it’s just a southern thing. However, it never seems “to go” with anything except seafood and breakfast. You have inspired me to start thinking outside the box. Brenda Scruggs.