Monday, March 30, 2020

Isolation Biscuits

Photo by Jamie Schler @lifesafeast
I saw this recipe on Twitter, and although I'm totally bummed that I can't make them here in the truck, I am saving the recipe for when I get home.

Look at those amazing biscuits! What are they, three, four inches tall?  I need to rip those golden brown tops off and slather them with butter or jam.

And that's what Jamie Schler, the woman who posted the recipe, said you should do. 

Here is her recipe.  She said she's been making these for forty years (talk about time tested!) and from the looks of them, it seems like she's perfected the recipe.  If you make them, please let me know how delicious they really are.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups (270 grams) all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (115 grams) unsalted butter, slightly softened
2/3 cup (160 ml) cold milk
Extra flour for work surface

Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) before starting.

To measure the flour, stir the flour to lighten it before spooning it up & placing it in the measuring cup. Fill to the top/mounded then, using a long flat surface like the back of a knife blade, level the flour across the top of the cup.

Place the flour in a large bowl. Add the baking powder and salt to the flour and stir to blend. Cut the butter into cubes and to the flour in the bowl then toss to cover the butter cubes in the flour. Using your fingertips, rub the butter and flour together rather vigorously until the butter has been completely incorporated into the flour and the mixture resembles damp sand or cornmeal.

Add the milk, about a third at a time, mixing vigorously into the flour with a fork until the dough forms into a rough ball & there is no more dry flour/butter mixture. Gather the dough together and place on a floured work surface, dusting the dough itself with a little flour. Knead the dough very, very briefly only until you have a homogenous and smooth dough.

Using a rolling pin and a very light touch (roll the dough without pressing down on the rolling pin into the dough with pressure), roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/2-inch (1 cm). The dough should be light and fluffy, not packed. Using a round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out small rounds (press straight down then up, not twisting the cutter) and place on an ungreased cookie or baking sheet.

Place the cookie/baking sheets with the biscuits in the preheated oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.  The biscuits will have risen, the layers slightly separating, and the tops and the bottoms (carefully lift one up and look) will be a nice golden brown.

Eat hot or warm with butter.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
2019: 
The Color Purple

2018: Inch By Inch Design
2017: Flashback To French Blooms
2016: Crooking Its Bright Red Finger
2015: This Is Why
2014: Fill'er Up!
2013: Texas! Texas! Margaret...
2012: He Forgets He Lives With A Maven
2011: Does Anyone Notice The Shoes Of A “Very Important Person”?
2010: Do You Think Raquel Owns A Dog And Gets Enough Potassium?
2009: No Need To Do Anything Drastic; There Will Always Be Re-Runs 
2008: Beautifully Retro
2007: Ready, Set, Go!!
2006: Giving New Meaning To An Ambulance Chaser
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!


Monday, March 23, 2020

When Life Gives You Lemons

Well, it's the beginning of a brand new week for us.  That really has no meaning during this pandemic, though.  The Coronavirus doesn't know the difference between weekdays and weekends.  Many people will start this week sheltering-in-place, in quarantine, in a hospital bed, or worse.

I'm 52 years old and I've never seen anything like what's happening right now.  I've never been in a store where shelves were bare, I've never had to isolate myself in my home for fear of getting sick, I've never had to stay six to ten feet away from friends and family. I've never seen people hoard toilet paper.  Good thing Ed and I are so used to being three feet apart all the time, this thing is going to be easy for us.  

I'm a homebody, so nothing makes me happier than being told to stay home.  The shelter-in-place suggestion is just another day for me, and it's not a big deal.  But I've been reading a lot of stuff online and have seen Tweets, Instagram stories, internet memes, and Facebook posts joking (and not joking) about how difficult it is for people to stay home.  Especially people with kids.  

I don't get this at all.  Sure, I'm a natural hibernator so it's easy for me, but can people really not stay home??  Don't they know how to read a book, play a game, work a hobby, watch TV and movies?  There is SO much to do at home.  We have the internet, cable TV with 500+ channels, Amazon Prime, Netflix.  Back in the day, we had 13 channels that went off the air for the night.  TV went to sleep like we did. 

I actually think there's something wrong with people who don't know how to relax, chill out, and just be alone with themselves. Or their family.  There's something wrong with the need to socialize, to go out, and to do do do all the time.  What are you afraid of if you miss the gym for a few weeks?  Go outside and do jumping jacks.  Why must you go out for dinner or drinks?  And if you just can't sit still, God help you, clean out your closets.  Bake.  Make and freeze soups.  Organize your pantry.  There's stuff to do, people.

One big problem I see - which is not just a problem during this pandemic, but a problem in general - is people don't cook.  These poor souls live on DoorDash, fast food drive-throughs, Chinese takeout, and frozen pizza.  If a restaurant is closing their dining rooms to protect their workers and the general public, why would you order delivery from them?   The person preparing your meal could be sick, or maybe they didn't wash their hands.  No way.  I'm not taking that chance.  And you shouldn't either.  Learn how to cook or eat a bowl of cereal, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

We are back on the road this week and we've already been to a shipper that asked Coronavirus-related questions - Do you have a cough or fever?  Have you been diagnosed with the Coronavirus or have you be in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with the virus? Are you self-quarantining?   Well, I'm not self-quarantining since I'm at your gate in an 18-wheeler to pick up freight.  But, no to the other questions.

Ed and I are self-isolating.  My friend made a distinction between the quarantine and isolation thing - if you're sick, you quarantine, if you're staying home or away from others of your own free will, you're self-isolating.  Other than going into the truckstop to pay for fuel or signing paperwork at a customer, we haven't interacted with any other people.  And when we get back to the truck, we wipe down everything (pen, folder, phone, etc.) with a Clorox wipe, then wash our hands.  Or use hand sanitizer.  We're not taking any chances.

This isn't a joke.  This is serious.  The media isn't making it more than it is, and people who think what's happening is a plot to hurt Trump are morons.  People are sick and dying all over the world, and they don't give a shit about Trump.  And you shouldn't either.  Listen to the scientists, the doctors, the nurses, the specialists, the CDC, the intelligent people.  The ones on the front lines.  The truth-tellers.  Because this is a life or death situation.

And since we have to make adjustments to our way of life, let's all try to be vigilant about the social distancing, the handwashing, and whatever else is necessary to help each other through this pandemic.  We have to follow the direction of those who know more about this virus (or medicine in general) than we do.  We have to do our very best.

Let's make some lemonade.




~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2019: Istanbul Cobble

2018: Circulating The Morning Air In The Lonestar State
2017: It's The Real OLD Thing
2016: Stopping In Style
2015: Patiently Waiting
2014: Find Out Where You Can Dine With Giraffes
2013: Sputtering With Excitement
2012: Water May Not Be The Only Liquid Nourishing These Flowers
2011: Nappy Time
2010: Dick. Not A Dick. Which One Are You?
2009: First The Poultry, Now This
2008: California Moon
2007: Ryno And Rob
2006: Living The Dream
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn't start until May 2005!

Sunday, March 08, 2020

A Year Long Carnival

Ed and I took a little Sunday drive up to Globe, Arizona and came across a parking lot carnival when we stopped to get coffee.  The sun was setting, the moon that night would be full, and there were families milling around waiting their turn for the rides.  The Ferris wheel was not only illuminated with its own lights, but the setting sun was shining on it, making it glow. 

From one year to the next, you never know where life will take you. Like a carnival, it's a little crazy, and like the cars rotating on a Ferris wheel, there are ups and downs. 

I feel a little bit like I'm riding one this year, but I can see the ground, so I'm not worried.


Yet.



2012: Looking For A Coffee Fix
2011: Container Port, You Are No Friend Of Mine
2010: Encased In Plastic
2009: No Lifeguard On Duty
2008: Palm Sketches
2007: You Know Who You Are
2006: I Fear The Family
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!