Gluten Free Quick Cheese Biscuits

Happy 5th day of Christmas!

I arrived back home in Sorrento on Friday after some time with the family in Savona for Christmas. I've spent the last two and a half days sleeping and indulging in what Netflix has to offer. I'm also in the midst of finishing Christmas cards which at this point in my life I can't ever imagine getting out to the post before Christmas Day! So, I've decided to embrace the 12 days of Christmas a bit more fully in a few different ways... one being that I've decided it's totally acceptable to send out cards between December 25 and January 1 (or even a bit later!). Accept it friends!

Today I managed to make a lovely pot of Chicken Vegetable Rice soup (I've been waiting to have time to make soups since fall arrived long ago) and a batch of Cheese Biscuits which you'll find the receipe for below. The original biscuit recipe was not gluten free but I adapted it slightly to make it so (I love to experiment with my baking and tend to make gluten free options for potlucks... it's always nice to have options!). To make it "non gluten free" just use your regular flour and omit the xanthan gum. 

It's been good to sleep, good to make cards and good to cook. 

Happy baking and resting, friends!

Gluten Free Quick Cheese Biscuits

(inspired by Canadian Living's recipe) 

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups all-purpose gluten free flour

1 ½ tsp xanthan gum

4 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp dried parsley

½ tsp salt

½ tsp garlic powder (I omitted)

¼ cup butter, cubed

1 cup shredded old Cheddar cheese

1 cup milk

In large bowl, whisk together flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, sugar, parsley, salt and garlic powder. Using pastry blender or two knives, cut in butteruntil mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add Cheddar cheese and milk, mixing with fork until ragged moist dough forms. Drop by ¼ cupfuls, 1 ½ inches apart, onto greased (or parchment paper lined) baking sheet.

Bake in centre of 425F oven for 13-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

*To make not gluten free, replace the all-purpose gluten free flour with your basic all-purpose flour and omit xanthan gum. Continue with recipe as directed.

On Rest

It's hard sometimes working in this lovely fast paced world... in this lovely fast paced workplace.
It's hard sometimes to know that all I need to do is rest... to pause... to be quiet for but a moment.
And to also know that it's so hard to make sure it actually happens.
It's hard to make sure that I keep that time sacred and to ask that others be respectful of that sacred time.

I know it's not impossible to do this and have this time.

I'm grateful for the many mentors that I have to teach me how to do this by their example. It's by watching them take time to rest and pray that I am reminded of how important it is and how much my soul yearns for and needs that time. And I know that Jesus found that time, even though it was hard to come by. Hard to carve out those sacred moments of alone time.

And sometimes I'm good at trying. Sometimes I find myself on my deck with a book (which ends up not being as wonderful as I imagined it might be) and settle down in a chair and the phone rings, a guest needs help finding a camping spot. And so I go, because my time is not only my own but more importantly because I care. And I care deeply for the people who come to this place and their time here.

But then I try again... deck, chair, heavy eyes... this time with the cherry chocolate chunk Haagen-Dazs ice cream (aka: a little bit of heaven!). A bit of deliciousness to enjoy during the few moments of quiet.

In the next few weeks I hope to find more mini-moments for the restful, sacred, needed places of quiet and alone time.  And I hope to find more moments of conversation, sharing and laughter with friends. Why? Because I need to for my self-care and overall well-being and because I need to show myself that I can engage in work and ministry that calls for my time and attention minute after minute and also have the ability to pause.
To breathe.
To stop.
To rest.
To pray.
To sleep.
To be.

That I can find the balance and that the balance can be good.

(this may take a lot of cherry chocolate chunk ice cream! :) )