Garlic Dill Cheese Biscuits

I’m a firm believer in the theory that dill makes everything better. Now, I may have made that theory up…but I still stand behind it.

And the combo of dill, garlic and cheese? THE BEST.

The other night, we had leftover chili for dinner. However, I decided to spice it up a bit with homemade biscuits. I had bought a huge bunch of dill, so I chopped some up and added it, along with some garlic, to my favorite biscuit recipe.

And it was good…Matt and I polished off nearly the entire batch between the 2 of us. There’s your warning.

Garlic Dill Cheese Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup cold butter
1 cup plus one tablespoon buttermilk
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp fresh chopped dill

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Oil a baking sheet. (This is important, as these suckers like to stick.)

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar & garlic powder. Slice the cold butter into the flour mixture. Use a pastry blender (or two kitchen knives, or your hands) to cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have a coarse, grainy mixture

Stir in grated cheese and dill. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour the buttermilk into it. Stir just until moistened. The dough should be of a consistency like drop cookie dough or just a bit stiffer. If it is not moist enough, add another tablespoon of buttermilk.

Spoon the dough into rounded mounds on the baking sheet, leaving room for expansion.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the biscuits just begin to brown. I actually ended up turning my oven down to in between 400 and 425 as my first batch nearly burned at 425, so watch them carefully. Remove the biscuits from the baking sheet and place them on a wire rack to cool.

Peasant Soup

I returned to boot camp this morning, after a month-long hiatus that involved a lot less working out than I was used to, and a lot more consumption of bad food. Consequently, I felt really inspired afterwards to start eating a little bit healthier again. I hadn’t bought a significant amount of fresh produce in awhile so I decided to hit H&W, stock up on veggies and make a hearty vegetable soup today.

This is, without question, one of my favorite soup recipes. I don’t even know how many times I’ve made it. I got it from my Canadian Living Vegetarian cookbook (which might just be my favorite cookbook…I’ve made almost everything in it) and the picture alone is what sold me on the soup. It was just so colorful and it looked so delicious so I knew I had to try it. Soon enough, it became a staple in my house.

It’s called Peasant Soup, but it really is very similar to minestrone. It’s hearty, delicious and 100% vegan. Enjoy!

Peasant Soup
(Adapted from the Canadian Living Vegetarian Cookbook)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
1/2 an onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1/2 cup dried green lentils, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup fusilli pasta
1 can (19 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
vegetable broth (optional)

Directions:

In large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat; fry celery, carrots, onion, garlic, salt, dill and turmeric, stirring occasionally, until softened (about 6 minutes).

Stir in tomatoes, lentils, and 4½ cups water (I usually use half water/half vegetable broth). Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, in large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente (according to directions on box).

Drain pasta and add to soup along with beans and parsley; simmer for 5 minutes (Only do this is you plan on eating all the soup that day, otherwise the pasta soaks up all the liquid when you refrigerate the leftovers. I generally just make the pasta separate and add it as I want it.)


You can also add more salt and/or pepper to suit your tastes.

Chicken Soup

I love homemade soups. In fact, aside from desserts involving pumpkin, soup is kind of my culinary obsession right now. Making soup from scratch is much easier than people think and generally better for you – especially if you make your own stock – as you can control what goes into it (most importantly: the amount of salt). You just need the time…however, it’s a perfect way to make use of a lazy Sunday. Plus, your house will smell amazing.

I’m also a little obsessed with making my own stock. It’s so ridiculously simple and a great way to use up the parts of vegetables and meat that normally get thrown out. You can also make a whole bunch and freeze it, then just use it as you need it.

Today, I made chicken stock. I had roasted a chicken on the weekend and kept the bones and leftover meat in order to make a yummy chicken soup. My mom makes a mean turkey soup (usually after big family dinners) as a way to use up leftover meat and bones, and it’s one of my very favourite dishes she makes. It’s full of flavour and LOTS of dill.

What can I say? We’re Ukrainian.

Chicken Stock
I don’t really have a specific recipe for stock, as I kind of just like to throw in whatever I have, but here’s a basic guideline.

Ingredients:

bones/carcass of 1 roasted chicken, meat removed
2 unpeeled onions, coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks with leaves, coarsely chopped
2 unpeeled carrots, coarsely chopped
1 head of garlic (unpeeled), separated into cloves
6-8 sprigs of parsley
2 sprigs of thyme (or a tsp or so of dried thyme)
2 bay leaves
10-15 whole peppercorns

Directions:

In a stock pot, combine chicken, onions, celery, carrot, parsley, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns. Pour in 14 cups of water; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, skimming occasionally, for about 3-4 hours.

Use a slotted spoon to discard the majority of the chicken & vegetables. Strain stock through cheesecloth-lined sieve (or just a regular old strainer) into large bowl, pressing remaining vegetables to extract liquid. Refrigerate until fat congeals on surface, about 8 hours. Lift off fat and discard. Use as needed.

The stock can also be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

Dillicious Ukrainian Chicken Soup
My spin on my mother's great soup.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons canola oil
half a medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 quarts chicken stock
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
LOTS of fresh dill

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cooked egg noodles (optional)

Directions:

Coat a soup pot with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, carrots, celery and a tbsp or 2 of dill. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Pour in the chicken stock (and more dill) and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the chicken (and more dill) and simmer for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper (and any other spices you want – dill is nice).

Add noodles to serve (I don’t put the noodles to cook directly in the soup as they soak up a lot of the broth).

Enjoy!!


P.S. To accompany the soup, I also made these biscuits. They’re pretty much to die for. You should go make some. Now.