Sunday night + Biscuits

Plain, tangy, slightly lumpy and grainy, where you have to stir in the separated whey on top yogurt.  I am quite particular about the kind of yogurt I like. It's one of those foods whose health benefits has been severely changed, distorted and marketed the hell out of to the point of it becoming bad for you. Like 30 grams of sugar, chemical flavors, and always saying they're better than other Leading Yogurt brands. (Yoplait won't even say what's in their yogurt on their website.) It's like politics: if you're good, you don't need to be nasty about your competitors. And don't get me wrong, I don't have a perfect diet.

Anyway, a good trick I learned in the good state of Wisconsin one time was to check the sugar levels of even the most organic, raw yogurt on the supermarket shelves, especially the fruit or other special flavored kind. They can be near up to 30 themselves. So buy(/make your own) plain yogurts and add the fruit or other flavors yourself. Common sense. Of course, splurge when you want to, in moderation. Plus then, you'll have it on hand to make very tasty biscuits!

A long term goal of mine is to know how to cook or bake without needing a recipe. Of course, cooking is easier, baking harder. I have down pat now a great non-gluten-free, non-vegan dough recipe from memory.
-- 1 cup flour
-- a little less than 1/2 tsp. of sea salt or to taste
Sift together.
-- 5.5 - 6 tablespoons, very cold unsalted butter, diced into small cubes (You'll learn the best way to do this.)
Cut this into flour mixture until you have a crumble-like texture. "They" always say pea-sized pieces but that only sort of makes sense.
-- 3+ tablespoons of ice-cold water
Add water until your dough becomes a ball. Flatten into disk, wrap completely or cover in bowl with plastic wrap or something else that could be more environmentally friendly, and let rest in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. (The recipe I learned from says 30, but I've pushed it and it hasn't been negatively affected that I've noticed.) Roll out as needed. The disk can also be frozen for future use.

This makes one 9" pie crust.

I use my hands to do all the mixing. Not opposed to food processors or utensils.

Now for biscuits, it's a spin on this. 2 cups of flour gives you 12+ biscuits depending on the size you make them. + you'll need about 2 tsp. of (non-aluminum) baking powder for them to rise. (Goal: learn about baking powder.) You can use eggs and milk as your liquids-- or just yogurt for a most moist, delicious biscuit. Add as much yogurt as needed for your dough to again, become a ball. You can also cut it with water. Don't overwork dough. On a floured surface, pat until about 1/2" thick. Cut into disks with cup or cutter.

**A biscuit tip I learned in the great city of Chicago is to place biscuits on cookie sheet/pan/whatever you have, touching eachother. This keeps 'em plumper and maybe even moister.

I really like the idea and practice of baking just by knowing texture and your own tastes. I've found that some of the women I've met from South America are excellent bakers, just by experimenting with liquids and solids and not following recipes.

Next: Gluten-free and vegan versions!