Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Biscuit Maker's Granddaughter



On the eighth day before Christmas.......

.........Buttermilk biscuits were made for supper using my grandmother's red, wooden handled pastry cutter.

If this little gadget could talk it would tell of all the many batches of biscuits it has helped "cut" through the years. My grandmother made biscuits in the morning and once again in the evening without fail. She had a little pantry o
ff her kitchen with a window that overlooked a handmade bird feeder. The shelf was low since my grandmother was a little woman with a stature of only five feet. On it rested a wooden board, a wooden rolling pin, the wooden handled pastry cutter and the biscuit cutter. Every morning she put together the ingredients for her biscuits, tossed a dusting of flour over the wooden surface and began the timeless movements of creating.....a humble batch of biscuits.

When my brothers, sister and I barreled into her house later on during the day, we could always anticipate finding cold biscuits setting on a plate on the kitchen counter. To us no other snack would be as special. It was only later, as a grown-up woman, that I realized she had a way of making the simple things seem divine even in a treat of leftover biscuits.



I love the heritage of carrying on the task of biscuit making. I by no means make them every day, but I can not think of any better way to say love than in a batch of biscuits!

3 comments:

Hill upon Hill said...

Baking twice a day without fail, isn't that lovely. Too many distractions for us nowadays. Now biscuits I think are what we call scones? Our biscuits are what you call cookies.

Cathy said...

You have got me "a thinking". I don't know what is exactly comparable to our biscuits for you. We also make scones, but they are made with a tad of sugar and heavy cream.Our cookies are heavily laden with sugar so I would not call a biscuit a cookie. Biscuits are served as one would serve bread, along with the meal.I could give the recipe if you are interested.

Hill upon Hill said...

I think we would possibly call them dumplings, but then again maybe not, dumplings get put on top of casseroles and become moist. We do put savoury scones on top of casseroles or pies.....

Grits and biscuits, now what is the difference there?

a chickadee

 I have taken to afternoon walks in the fields along the side of the woodlands. Today I carried along a small pair of binoculars hoping to c...