Food Friday: Quick and Easy Biscuits

The idea of quick and easy biscuits is one I can buy into since biscuits are a nice treat every so once in a while.  These really are quick and so easy.  And they come out pretty well in just a few minutes.

These are a variation on King Arthur Flour's Never Fail Biscuits.

Quick and Easy Cheese Biscuits

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, or a little more
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F.

In bowl, stir flour, salt, cheese, and cream together until it holds together well. If it does not glob together to your satisfaction, add another bit of cream, one tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition.

Use a portion scoop to divide into biscuits or just use a solid spoon.  Probably a tennis-ball sized plop of dough should be placed on a parchment-paper-lined pan.  With your hand, flatten slightly then bake for 10-15 minutes.  Check at 10 minutes, then every 2-3 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown.

We liked them.  They make a nice foundation for Eggs Goldenrod.

Mission: Haircut

The scraggly hair has been getting on my nerves for quite a while.  The other senior missionary sisters all have nice hair which they take great care of.  They look really nice and neat and finished every day.  I have tended to just wash my hair, pull it back from my face either is combs or in a rubber band.  Looked rather hag-y for the most part but since I have been so busy I have not had time to grouse about it.

Around Thanksgiving I think it was, I was speaking with some of the ladies my age at Relief Society. They always look put-together and nice, especially their hair. I asked if they had any recommendations for haircuts and they did!  The same lady!  They gave me her number so I called her up.  I was not able to get an appointment until January.  I asked for a consultation which she freely gave.  Two weeks later I had an appointment for a cut.  Dear One kindly took a picture for me.  This is what it looked like the evening I came home.

The hairdresser took off somewhere between 2 1/2 and 4 inches.

In the background you can see our green onions growing, a stack of flour tortillas we had just purchased and which had not yet been put away, clean dishes which Dear One removed from the dishwasher for me, and my maroon 'tablet apron' which I wear when I don't have pockets to hold my phone or iPad when I want to listen and work around the house or when I go for a walk.

Also in the background, further out, you see the stack of lovely little pie dishes I purchased for gift-giving filled with either a sweet or savory pie.  So far they are still sitting there!  Plus the silver flask is a wonderful 2-quart container that really does keep ice water icy and probably also keeps hot things hot, though I have not tried that.  The smaller versions do a fabulous job of both.  The big one is a Yeti and the little one is an insulated Klean Kanteen which we learned about from Son#1 one summer when I was visiting him and his family.  He told me he could fill the bottle with ice water in the morning, leave it on his car's front seat all day in the fierce sun, and still have ice water when he got out of work for the trip home.  We have found that to be true.

Mission: Learning Spanish

What a great thing it is to learn a new language!  We really want to be able to converse comfortably with our brothers and sisters who speak only Spanish so we have taken on the task of learning.  We have met three times with a tutor at the Missionary Training Center over an application called Zoom where we can both see and hear each other. He is a good teacher and a native speaker. We have met three times also with our coach.  She is a lovely girl who does not speak Spanish but she DOES know how to study effectively and she is helping us set goals and reach them.

This is all sounding very familiar as if I had said it before in this blog.  Well, then, let's get on to something new!

This morning I have been working in The Book of Mormon.  I started (today) in 1 Nephi chapter 8.  My method was to copy the whole chapter in Spanish into a table format on my computer then  I added a second column to the right for notes.  This is what it looks like:

Capítulo 8
Lehi ve una visión del árbol de la vida — Come de su fruto y desea que su familia haga lo mismo — Ve una barra de hierro, un sendero estrecho y angosto y el vapor de tinieblas que envuelve a los hombres — Saríah, Nefi y Sam comen del fruto, pero Lamán y Lemuel no quieren hacerlo. Aproximadamente 600–592 a.C.	Ve—present indicative  ver-to see  He sees Come-present indicative  comer- to eat -He eats Desea- present indicative Desear to want-He wants Haga- present tense Hacer- to have He does in this case Ve—present indicative ver- to see  He sees Estrecho—narrow Angosto—narrow Envuelve—present indicative envolver to wrap up, envelop—It envelops Comen—present indicative co mer-to eat, They eat No Quieren—present indicative querer to want—They want in this case-they don’t want Hacerlo--to do it
1 Y aconteció que habíamos recogido toda suerte de semillas de toda especie, tanto de granos de todas clases, como de todo género de frutas.	Y aconteció que-and it came to pass that Habíamos—haber to have—We had
2 Y sucedió que mientras mi padre estaba en el desierto, nos habló, diciendo: He aquí, he soñado un sueño o, en otras palabras, he visto una visión.	Y sucedió que-and it came to pass Estaba-  he was Nos habló—he talked to us Diciendo—saying He aquí—Behold! He soñado—I have dreamed He visto-I have seen

As you can see, I was much more detailed in the heading part, inserting the verb tenses.  Well, that did not last, though it really needs to continue. I spent almost an hour just doing this small amount of work.  When I got to what I thought was a verb, I typed it into the right column then went to the internet for the forms I did not know.  Which was most of them!  

I have the internet but also my various Spanish study aids.  When I was at the office the computer translated into English directly.  That was great. I cannot figure that out on my Mac. I must try harder I guess.

Anyway,  the assignment from our coach is to speak with two different people in church this week. Yikes!  That is somewhat scary.  After the meeting with her, I had a dream that I was speaking with a little boy in the hallway.  Several other times conversations ran through my mind, and maybe they were good-is, but I was also sleeping and did not wake up and write them down. I remember "having"  those conversations. I just don't remember what they were.  Rats!  Now I will just have to wing it.  We shall see.

One of the major things I have learned this last three weeks is that the old gray cells are not what they used to be!  However, this classwork is a gift from God and I plan to use it to the best that I can.  During the class with Hermano B. I was able to say things that I did not know where they came from. He was so kind about it and said I did great.  People are really kind for the most part, is all that I can say.  Adiós.

Ironing!

Do you iron your clothes?  I do, sometimes.  Today I fell in love with ironing, though!  There is a beautiful blouse that has been hanging in my closet since my angel sister sent it to me.  When it came out of the packaging there were lots of creases in it and I just never got to pressing them out.

A few weeks ago I thought I could not stand to have that lovely peach blouse staring me in the face, unable to wear it a moment longer, so I took it off the hanger and put it in the washing machine with other clothes.  I thought perhaps if I washed it, dried it in the dryer, and immediately removed it from the dryer that the creases would be gone.  Not so!

This morning I woke up at 3 o'clock again but this time I felt sort of invigorated.  Not really a lot invigorated, but at least not logy and draggy feeling.  After all, I had gone to bed at 7 o'clock last night due to headache and general ickiness, so I should have been rested.  So, I decided to iron my maroon-y red and white tiny checked shirt to wear to the office today.  I have a wonderful navy skirt, (with POCKETS!!!) and the new Starry Night knee socks so I thought that would be an okay outfit for today.  We are welcoming new missionaries tonight and I always hope I don't put them off with my grooming and general appearance, so red, white, and blue was going to be the way of it today.  As I went to the rack to get the checked shirt I saw the peach shirt!  I did go through with ironing the checked shirt but then got out the peach shirt.

May I say that I LOVE a steam iron! I had no idea.  I checked the fiber content of the blouse, turned the heat to synthetics and filled the iron with water.  It took a few good squirts of steam as I worked, but all the creases are pressed out and the blouse is ready to wear.  I imagine it will go very well with the navy skirt and it just makes me happy to finally be wearing it.  Those clothes my sister sent me surround me with love and just make every day lovely because of that.

Blouses in order pressed-red checked, peach, plaid.  Yes, they are hanging in the rack in the bathroom. Sorry.

Well, off to swim now.  But I will be back at the iron again soon!  I got three blouses ready to go this morning and, if we did not live in an apartment, I would have put all the rest of my clothes in the washing machine so I could yank them out of the dryer and get right to ironing again in a few minutes.

Do you suppose this love affair with the iron and freshly pressed clothes will last?  Me, neither, but we can hope...

Munchie Monday: Roasted Cauliflower, Sort Of

Last night I needed to go to the nearby Grocery Outlet (a place I can walk with my stroller to hold the groceries on the way home. I can also put on my headset and listen to a book. Currently the book is Monsieur Pamplemousse by Michael Bond who also wrote Paddington Bear.  Enjoyable. 

When I got to the store there was a big display of large heads of cauliflower so I picked one up.  Today I turned it into roasted cauliflower.

This is what I did:

Cut/sliced cauliflower about 1/4 inch thick and placed in a large bowl. Drizzled the cauliflower with olive oil then used a long-handled wooden spoon to coat all the cauliflower with the oil.  Sprinkled on the last two teaspoons of the homemade Greek seasoning then stirred well.

Baked in a pre-heated 375 degree F oven for 30 minutes, turning once at about 20 minutes.  After 30 minutes I shut of the heat but left the cauliflower in the oven for another half hour.  This is what it looks like.  It tastes GREAT!  I will have to exercise extreme self-control not to eat it all before bedtime...

Food Friday: Quick and Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup in Instant Pot

This soup was remarkably quick and easy to make and was just enough for two meals for two people.

Broccoli Cheese Soup in the Instant Pot

2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 strip celery, diced
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
3 cups broccoli florets
1 1/3 cups evaporated milk
2/3 cup 2% milk
2 cups grated cheese
2 teaspoons homemade Greek seasoning salt

Turn the Instant Pot on to the sauté function.  Add butter to start melting then add the onion, carrot, and celery and stir well with a long handled wooded spoon for a couple of minutes.

Stir in the whole wheat flour then add the broccoli and vegetable broth. Stir until well combined.  

Add the evaporated milk and 2% milk, the grated cheese, and the Greek seasoning salt.

Stir well.  Cancel the sauté function and re-set to the soup function.  Set the timer to 5 minutes.  Put on the cover and turn the pressure gauge to "pressure".  When the timer goes off, let the steam release naturally for about fifteen minutes.  When the steam has released, remove cover, stir, and taste to correct seasoning.

This was just about perfect for my taste, and it was ok by Dear One's taste buds.  There was just enough left over for one more small meal.  This is good because more than twice in a row and Dear One objects/calls it leftovers and prefers not...!

The Instant Pot wins again!

Mission Knitting: Celtic Knot Looped Scarf

Recently I saw a pattern for a Celtic Knot Looped Scarf.  I thought it would be fun to knit so I stopped working on the afghan again to work on this scarf.  Since it is not much of a winter here, it may not be needed at all by the time I finish it but I do have a recipient in mind!  I am hurrying with it. I hope to finish it before the yarn for my next project arrives!

This is using Loops and Threads Madrid yarn.

350 yards in 7 ounces/ 320 m in 200 g.

Color Primary(?)

Needles suggested: US 10.5/6.5 mm.  It is classed as bulky yarn and is made in Turkey.

100% acrylic and machine washable and dryable.

I am using US 11 needles.  I cast on 36 stitches and knit 9 inches before dividing for the knot strips.

This is where I am today: