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By Root 120 0

my house, perk up my personality, and most in general give myself a feeling of good time, I have often gone to my refrigerator and made a refrigerator soup.

The ingredients are a compilation of anything edible that will fit into a pot and will go with my frozen poultry stock.

A pot of aromatic soup is great ammunition against depression.

THIS WINTER DAY

The kitchen is its readiness

white green and orange things

leak their blood selves in the soup.

Ritual sacrifice that snaps

an odor at my nose and starts

my tongue to march,

slipping in the liquid of its drip.

The day, silver striped

in rain, is balked against

my window and the soup.

Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” So we are told in the Book of Proverbs in the King James Version of the Holy Bible. I know that bread eaten in secret can be wonderful. But if you eat enough, it will be a secret no longer.

I had a family member who was gentle and soft-spoken, with the patience of Job. However, if his wife set the table without putting bread on it, he lost his pretty ways. He would shout, knock the table, and stomp his feet until she placated him with a pan of biscuits, a skillet of corn bread, or a sliced loaf of white bread.

In Proverbs 23:2, we are advised to “… put a knife to thy throat if thou be a person given to appetite.” I do not quite agree that one has to be quite so harsh, but I do know that if you want to be svelte and remain that way, control your appetite in the eating of bread. So, I would advise you to eat one piece of bread with the first serving of a dish, and none when you go back for snacks.

Popovers

2 eggs

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons (¼ stick) butter, melted

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease six custard cups or an iron popover pan.

Beat the eggs slightly in a large bowl.

Add the milk and butter, then add the flour and salt. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.

Pour the batter into very hot custard cups or iron popover pans, filling two-thirds full. Place in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until fully risen and brown.

Serve at once.

SERVES 6. Serving size: 1 popover with omelet, or 2 plain popovers.

If you plan to serve the popovers later, open each popover, place a little savory egg-and-ham omelet inside, and reheat.

Biscuit Quick

When making homemade biscuits, I sift all my dry ingredients together, and then cut the shortening into the mix until it resembles coarse cornmeal. I put it into a zippered bag and into the freezer, where it can stay for up to one year.

When I’m ready to serve biscuits, I take out 2¼ cups of the dry mixture and add 1 cup of milk. I roll it on a floured board and cut out biscuits as I desire.

This tip has saved me a lot of time and some anxiety about getting flour on my clothes, or on my face, or on the floor just as I am about to serve.

Buttermilk Biscuits

From Hallelujah! The Welcome Table

4 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

6 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup lard

2 cups buttermilk

All-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Sift the flour with the salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Cut in the lard until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the buttermilk, and stir until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth. Roll out to a ½-inch thickness and cut into 2-inch rounds. If there is no biscuit cutter at hand, use a water glass. (Turn glass upside down, dust rim in flour, and cut biscuits.)

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 20 to 25 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown.

MAKES 2 DOZEN BISCUITS Serving size: 1 bisquit

Orange Nut Bread

¼ cup vegetable shortening, plus more for pan

2½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

¾ cup milk

¼ cup fresh orange juice

1 egg

1 tablespoon grated orange rind

1 cup chopped nuts

Grease a 9 × 5 × 3-inch loaf pan