buckwheat poppy seed jam biscuits.

I didn’t think it was possible to make a biscuit better but apparently it is.

You do it by subbing some of the traditional all-white flour for buckwheat or spelt.  This provides some nuttiness and a toothsome quality to the biscuits that I find addicting.  

And then you add a dollop of jam to the crater you create with your thumb in the middle of the biscuit.  This crater of jam ensures that that the biscuit is a singular dish, a portable handheld treat that can be eaten for breakfast as you are walking to work.  

This is my dream breakfast biscuit. 

Buckwheat Poppy Seed Jam Biscuits

Recipe from Apt. 2B Baking

Yield 10-12 biscuits

12 ounces all-purpose flour

8 ounces buckwheat or spelt flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

8 ounces cold butter, cut into cubes

1 ¼ -1 ½ cups buttermilk

About 6 ounces jam

Preheat oven to 350º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds.

Add the butter and cut it in with a pastry cutter or your fingers. Keep mixing until the mixture looks mealy with a few pea and lima bean sized hunks of butter remaining.

Make a well in the center of the mixture and add in 1 1/4c of the buttermilk. Gently mix the dough together, making sure that all of the flour mixture gets moistened. If the dough is dry or crumbly continue to add the additional buttermilk 1T at a time until the mixture mostly comes together.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, it's okay if the dough comes out of the bowl in a few pieces, and pat it out into a circle 1 1/2''-2'' tall. Cut the biscuits with a floured 2 1/2'' biscuit cutter or drinking glass. Gently pat the scraps together and cut one more round of biscuits. Place the cut biscuits on a lined baking sheet.

Use your thumb to gently make a tablespoon sized indent in the middle of each biscuit, then very gently, while supporting the sides of the biscuit, use your thumb to push down and make the hole deeper. Aim to make the hole a little wider at the bottom than the top and push down almost to the bottom of the biscuit. Fill each indentation with a tablespoon of jam.

Bake for 35-40min or until the biscuits are golden and crisp on the outside.

zucchini parmesan.

Should you decide (like me) that because the weather feels remarkably fall-like for July (was last week perfect or was last week perfect), that you want to go all in and just consume comfort food, might I suggest this dish.  An excellent way to utilize that summer produce (notably zucchini which everyone is bored of by early August) in a way that feels remarkably rich and comforting.   

While it is comforting, this is not particularly rich.  It is not loaded with cheese (though there is some), its not filled with oil or eggs.  It's a simple baked dish filled with layers of roasted zucchini and tomato sauce.  I don't know how it happens to taste so decadent (but not in  a I can only eat one bite kind of way) but it does!  And it's awesome.   

Zucchini Parmesan

Recipe adapted from the NYTimes

The original recipe called for making fresh tomato sauce with farmers market tomatoes.  Normally I'm into that thing but when I make fresh sauce, it's an all weekend affair involving 20 pounds of tomatoes and a lot of cursing.  I wasn't going to do that for this dish.  I used canned tomatoes and it was great.  Though if you want to use fresh, by all means do so.    

For the Sauce

1 28 oz can tomatoes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste)

Salt and pepper

⅛ teaspoon sugar

2 sprigs fresh basil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1 cup ricotta (optional)

For the Zucchini Parmesan

2 to 2¼ pounds zucchini

 Salt and pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (pepperoncini), to taste

¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan

To make tomato sauce, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add 

garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute, and add tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar and basil sprigs. Increase heat to medium-high. When tomatoes are bubbling briskly, stir and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until tomatoes have cooked down and are beginning to stick to pan, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on consistency. Remove basil sprigs; taste and adjust seasoning. Stir in chopped basil and ricotta (if using).

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment. Trim ends off zucchini and cut in half crosswise, then into lengthwise slices, about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick. Season on both sides with salt and pepper and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Arrange zucchini slices on baking sheets in one layer and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Roast for 12 minutes, until lightly browned and easily pierced with a knife. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 375 degrees.

To assemble the dish, oil a 2-quart gratin with olive oil. Spread 1/4 cup tomato sauce over bottom of dish. Arrange a third of the zucchini in an even layer over tomato sauce. Spoon a third of remaining sauce over zucchini and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Repeat with 2 more layers, ending with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Drizzle on remaining tablespoon olive oil. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until bubbling and browned on the top and edges. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.