twd: sweet cream biscuits

As I posted on facebook yesterday, some days, the desire to be a barista nearly overwhelms me.

I'm having a bit of a writerly crisis these days. The kind of writing I've been trained to do (scholarly, literary criticism) increasingly seems pointless to me. And, I feel like I'm not good at it. Or maybe I lack the desire to be good at it. Or maybe my position, primarily an introduction college writing professor at a nearly open access two year college, seems so far divorced from the theoretical suppositions this kind of writing demands that I just can't bridge the chasm.

Such days call for simple comforts.

A warm biscuit, spread with still-warm homemade jam. A mug of hot cafe au lait.

When I arrived home this afternoon, disgruntled and confused, I turned on the oven. I tossed frozen strawberries and sugar in a pan on the stovetop. I opened Baking: From My Home to Yours. I mixed together simple ingredients, cut out five biscuits (I made a half recipe), slipped them in the warm oven, all as the fruit bubbled into jam. I heated and frothed milk and brewed coffee. Within twenty-five minutes, I sat down with my new copy of Saveur (the mac and cheese on the cover is swoon-worthy, btw), and cleared my mind.

Melissa of Love at First Bite selected this recipe, which is simple and delicious. My biscuits didn't raise very high, but the flavor was delicious. I usually make Mark Bittman's yogurt biscuits--tangy and light and also much less fattening--but Dorie's biscuits are a wonderful addition to my quick bread list of favorites.