Sweet Potato Biscuits: Eastern Shore, Chincoteague Isle, 'Steamer's' Style

And to add to the rather long title..."With a Weston A. Price Flair"

Remember from THE LAST POST WHICH YOU REALLY SHOULD READ FIRST, these biscuits have very little rise to them. It’s Eastern Shore tradition and we are dealing with traditional foods, right? The only variations I am interested in trying are to add some chopped (soaked, of course), pecans to the recipe…Or have finely chopped pecans, mixed with a tad of cinnamon and ginger, to sprinkle on top towards the end of the baking time.

Before I begin, a word about baking. READ THIS or you may find you’ve wasted a lot of time and ingredients in the end!
As I have said twice now, these biscuits are not like regular biscuits…they have very little rise. If you try to fudge by creating a thicker biscuit, you may well find yourself with a burning problem. Sweet Potato biscuits are very, very moist. If you pat or roll them out too thickly, the inside will not cook through.  In attempting to cook them through, the bottoms will burn. If you just can’t stand the idea of sweet potato biscuits not rising, please find a different recipe. Understand that I urge you strongly in this because of my own past failures. The only adjustment to this, which I have used with success, is to watch them very closely and when the bottoms begin to brown, turn every biscuit over. They will look a little different in the end, but the taste is not comprised, the biscuits get done through, and I coat them all with butter as soon as they’re out of the oven anyway, so the difference in their looks isn’t that noticeable.

A word about mixing: If you know about biscuit making, you understand that less dough handling is better. This dough is sticky, really sticky. Be patient, add extra mix sparingly and slowly and just enough to make the dough manageable for the very small amount of kneading you will do. Also, be sure your counter top/rolling cloth is floured, but not too heavily. I would rather add more as needed, even beneath the dough, as I go. (I use my baking mix as my ‘flour’.)

A word about cutting: I use my smallest biscuit cutter. It’s about an inch in diameter. Dip the cutter in baking mix before cutting so it will release the biscuit more easily onto your lightly greased baking sheet, maybe a ¼” apart. Do not twist the cutter, but instead, use a straight up and down motion. This will allow for a tad more rise. When cutting is complete, there is leftover dough. Gently pull it together, pat it back down with as little handling as possible, and cut again. When making large batches like this, you may choose to use only the half the dough from the bowl at once. Repeat cutting and placing biscuits until finished. (Sometimes, I’ll have a tiny bit left at the end which I hand-form into a ‘baby biscuit’ for a lucky grandchild.)

Last word: Use Organic wherever possible.

Okay…I think we’re ready now…

Steamer’s Style, WAPF-Friendly Sweet Potato Biscuits

3 Cups Sweet Potatoes. Mashed, or better, pureed. (Many folks are put off by the ‘little strings’ that accompany marginally mashed sweet potatoes.)

 ¼ Coconut Sugar, or Rapidura, or Raw Sugar –I have listed these in order of my preference. Raw sugar slides  in just barely above white sugar, where processing is concerned. It's a good start for beginners but you'll want to 'graduate' to less processed over time. I highly recommend coconut sugar, which can be found in most health food stores, online, and more recently, even in some mainstream grocers. It has no coconut flavor (it comes from the nectar of the coconut flour, not the coconut itself), a low glycemic index (recommended for diabetics), and can be used measure for measure in place of sugar. Rapidura has a heavier flavor and can be difficult to find but is highly recommended by the Weston A. Price Foundation.

¼ C. Brown/Muscovado Sugar –Muscovado can be found at Fresh Market and some other higher-end markets. It is expensive, but mineral-rich. I always have this on hand to make Thia’s Tibicos. You could also use Rapidura, found online and in some health food stores.

¼ C. ‘Raw’ Honey -I made a wonderful discovery at our latest WAPF meeting, when the president of the local beekeeping organization was the guest speaker. Most honey from small, local beekeepers is raw! And we all know that buying local, especially local honey, is good, good, good!

1 & ½  Sticks (3/4 Cup) Butter, melted. If you can get your hands on GRASS-FED, all the better!

3 Good Pinches Sea Salt - I use Celtic, but that’s not extremely important. Just stay away from nutrient depraved processed salt.

1-½ tsp. baking powder-If I have homemade on hand, I use it, but this time, I didn’t. I used Rumford because it is aluminum-free.

5 Cups Homemade Baking Mix – Will need more on hand for limited kneading and then, for cutting.

Preheat Oven to 450. Lightly Grease baking sheet(s). (I use the pump-up spray bottle sold by Pampered Chef and add my own olive oil.)

~Mix all EXCEPT Baking mix together.

~Add enough Baking Mix to handle dough-Will be quite sticky. Remember, the less handled, the better. You may want to refer to tips above this recipe. (For quick drop-biscuits, use less biscuit mix. However, I don’t really recommend making drop biscuits for this recipe as the biscuits are inherently flatter than typical white biscuits anyway.)

~Pour sticky dough onto floured surface. If it needs to have more mix added for sake of handling, do so now. Once it’s at a point where it can be handled, knead about 5 times, no more. (If it’s sticking to your hands, try wetting them a tad with cold water rather than adding more and more mix.)

~Pat dough to a max of ½”.

~Cut biscuits according to directions given before this recipe.

~Place on baking sheet about ¼ in. apart.

~Bake 16 minutes. **Keep a keen eye on them to prevent bottom-burn! Some say when you start to smell them, it’s time to take them out-or even 'too late'!…If I start to smell mine, I know it’s time to at least check them.** For tips about not burning, see above this recipe.

~Remove from oven and place immediately on cooling rack.(You will want paper towels or a paper bag beneath the cooling rack for the next step.)

~ Brush tops with butter. You may use melted butter and a brush, or simply unwrap part of a butter stick, hold the wrapped end, and rub gently over biscuit tops.

~ Wait until completely cool before storing. If you need room on cooling rack for additional batches as they come out of the oven, transfer the semi-cooled biscuits to a wax-paper lined counter-top.

~Store in air-tight container. Some think they’re actually better in a few days. I know if you can manage to keep them, they keep well for a week. I’m told they may be frozen, but have never made it that far. I would be a little concerned about whether or not they would dry out. If you have input on this, I’d be happy to hear it!
Hope you enjoy as much as my family has!

Traditional Tuesdays/Cooking Traditional Foods

Ice Cream Sunday! -Happy Dad's Day!

I don't know that I'll get this posted today. I write in the gap of time where we are ready for church but it isn't time to go...quite yet. This afternoon, we have a family gathering here...It's all my husband asked for this Father's Day. So, I made homemade ice cream.

We've been having such an adventure with ice creams in the past few weeks that I thought it only fair to share my recipes with you, and to weave it all into my most recent posts about coconut, I am going to include a coconut ice cream recipe! It's actually more of a pineapple-coconut recipe and if you want authentic pina-colada taste, you can add a touch of rum. I'll tell you how.

To start, I use the Cuisinart. I don't remember how to use the ice cream makers that use salt. I was so very happy to see this evolution in ice cream making because it's the easiest thing since Ezekiel sprouted grain breads. It cost us well under $100. and got the one with two ice cream bowls. It was my birthday present at the beginning of this month and may well be the most-used birthday gift I've ever used, barring shoes.

Because we drink raw milk, but understand that there are those who are either squeamish about it or not able to access/afford it, I am including how to make the ice creams with both raw milk/cream and non-raw milk/cream.  
If you don't use raw, I strongly encourage organic, hormone-and antibiotic-free milk. If you can pay the extra, there are also companies that offer GENTLY-pasteurized milk, meaning they pasteurized at lower temperatures, killing all the bacteria (sorry, even the beneficial ones), but at least leaving some of the enzymes alive to do your gut a little bit of good.
I will also include changes to the Cuisinart recipe in regard to sweeteners. I do not use stevia. I have no reason for this except that my family doesn't care for it. If you know the equivalents, and like it, by all means, do use it.

Cuisinart recommends the following for Vanilla Ice Cream:
1 C. Milk
3/4 C. Sugar
'Pinch' of  finely ground Sea Salt
(I don't know about you, but I've watched Emeril and others with their 'pinches' and their 'pinches' are much larger than mine. So, bowing to their expertise, I now use larger pinches. -MY 'pinch' is 10 twists of my salt mill. I say, let your pinch be what you decide tastes best.)
    ~Whisk until the sugar & salt blend with the milk, then stir in:
2 C. Heavy Cream
1Tbs Vanilla Extract (Try paste, you may never go back.)

Store in refrigerator at least 2 hours or overnight. Follow your ice cream maker instructions for freezing. After it's done, (Cuisinart takes about 20 minutes), put in freezer-proof, covered container and freeze at least 2 hours for firmer consistency.  

RAW MILK Vanilla Ice Cream w/alternate sweetener


I suspect that due to the active enzymes in raw milk, the final product tends to come out less firm than that made with pasteurized milk. Whatever the reason, Wardeh of GNOWFGLINS teaches to use all cream instead of using part milk and part cream to aid in firmness. Regardless of which ice cream recipe we use or what ingredients, we freeze the final product for at least 2 hours prior to eating because we like a firmer ice cream unless we have a machine for soft-serve, which we don't.

If you have goat milk, you can easily substitute it for at least 2 of the cups of the dairy required in the recipe. I have to recommend against canned goat milk. I don't understand why, but my husband and I agree that it tastes a little like dirt. Fresh, raw goat milk looks surprisingly 'cleaner' than raw cow milk, (although they are equally clean), because it is a bright white color. It tastes wonderful. Goat milk from cartons in the stores is probably better than canned, but I haven't tasted it or checked for additives, etc...You be the judge of your own comfort level there. Goat milk has such tiny fat globules that the whole milk is 'self-homogenized', with all that good-for-you fat naturally mixed right in. It is the milk of preference for many who have struggled with milk allergies. Because the fat (cream) is mixed in, there may actually be no need for additional cream, even though I did include a cup of cow's cream in a recent batch of goat milk maple-walnut ice cream, (recipe coming up). The votes call it the creamiest yet

Another milk option is coconut milk. When I made Coconut Ice Cream, I used 2 Cups of Coconut Milk and 1 C. of raw cream.

Yet another option for that cup of milk called for in the recipe is yogurt. So far, I have used plain, whole, organic yogurt. I have used my own home-made yogurt as well as Stonyfield's. Both have worked well.  I use 1 C. Yogurt to 2 C. Cream. Expect a bit of a 'twang' in your final product. If you'd like less pucker, but still want the beneficial enzymes of yogurt, use only 1/2 C. yogurt mixed with 1/2 C. Cream, (to take the place of the Cup of milk called for in the recipe.)
Since my daughters are still a little mistrusting of raw milk, I make a special batch of this yogurt ice cream for the grandkids. This makes me feel pretty good...They're not getting some of the worst culprits in milk today, and at the same time, they are getting some gut-healthy bacteria.

Now, for the sugar alternatives. This is a great area for experimentation. I say this because I've been experimenting like crazy and so far, nothing has come up as a loser. I don't yet have the guts to downsize the amount, but you probably could. I generally use the same amount of whatever sweetener I am using as the amount of sugar called for in the recipe. Here is a list of the types of sweeteners I've used thus far:
Raw Sugar (Not the best substitute, but I used in the first batch because it is about a half-step better than refined sugar and I wasn't sure how the recipe would react to changes. The results with this gave me the gumption to be more adventurous.)
Coconut Crystals/Coconut Sugar (Doesn't taste like coconut)
Raw Honey
Maple Syrup (used in Maple-Walnut ice cream that blew us all away!)
Coconut Syrup (Doesn't taste like coconut)
Muscavado
Sorghum Molasses


Chocolate Ice Cream:

You can use either Cocoa Powder or Carob Powder. Carob is caffeine-free and just happened to be all I had in the cupboard when I was ready to make the chocolate ice cream. I had used the end of my cocoa powder to make chocolate bean fudge, (which will need tweaking before I feed to family or share here-good but not good enough). I guess I could have waited to make the chocolate ice cream once I realized I had no more cocoa, but I had promised the grandchildren, so I was committed...as well as too lazy to pack them all up into the car just to go get 1 measly can of cocoa powder. So, I chanced it on the carob, which I have never, personally, liked as well as cocoa.
Boy, am I glad I took the chance. It turned out heavenly. You are the first to know it's not actually cocoa but carob. I didn't omit the information on purpose, it's just that no one asked, and I didn't think about it until I reviewed my re-written recipe.


NON-Raw Chocolate Ice Cream:
1 C. Organic, Whole fat Yogurt 
Fill 1/2 of a 1/3 C. measuring cup w/ Muscavado Sugar
Fill the other half of the 1/3 C. measure w/Sorghum Molasses (OR, instead of using these 2 ingredients, just use 1/3 C. Dark Brown sugar)
1/2 C. Raw Sugar (or other sugar substitute of your choice)

Pinch of Salt (My 'pinch' is 10 twists of the (sea) salt mill.)
Whisk all the above together until sugar and salt are dissolved.
 Add:
3/4 C. Carob or Cocoa, whisk well.
Add:
2 C. Heavy Whipping Cream & 1/2 Tbs. Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Paste (Best!)


Store in refrigerator at least 2 hours or overnight. Follow your ice cream maker instructions for freezing. After it's done, (Cuisinart takes about 20 minutes), put in freezer-proof, covered container and freeze at least 2 hours for firmer consistency.

RAW Chocolate Ice Cream:
The same as above, EXCEPT:
OMIT Yogurt
Use 3 C. Raw CREAM (If you don't have enough cream, can mix w/heavy cream from store.)
 I do recommend that you try the muscavado sugar & molasses rather than the Dark Brown sugar, which is not as unrefined as one may think, although just about anything's better than white refined. But in addition to this, these natural sugars impart a final depth of taste that is truly gourmet and can hardly be described as anything less than heaven-sent.

Raw Coconut Ice Cream:
Use the Vanilla Ice Cream recipe, BUT
Use 2 Cups Coconut Milk - WHOLE FAT!
1 C. Raw Cream

In last 5 minutes of freezing, add:
1/2 C. chopped, fresh, pineapple, drained and patted dry
1/2 C. unsweetened coconut

Freeze according to ice cream maker directions. (Cuisinart takes about 20 min. total.) If desired, 1 oz. rum may be added in last 30 seconds of freezing time.  
This renders this dessert an 'adults only' delicacy since, unlike when cooking with liquors, the alcohol does not evaporate.

Raw Goat Milk, Maple-Walnut Ice Cream:
Use either Vanilla Ice Cream recipe, BUT:
-Use 2 C. Raw Goat Milk & 1 C. Raw or Heavy Cream
-Use Maple Syrup in place of Sugar
-Use Maple Extract instead of Vanilla
-In last 5 min. of freezing, ADD 1/2 C. walnuts.



As I wrote earlier, I use a Cuisinart. I am not familiar with the workings of other ice cream makers, how much their bowls hold, how long it takes to freeze with them, etc. Please pay attention to the directions on your particular maker, and adjust accordingly. The recipes here make about 32 oz. of ice cream. I use saved yogurt containers for storage...I'm sure you can understand why freezer burn is not a problem here. ;~)


P.S. Although the ingredients can make or break these recipes on a good-for-you basis, be well-aware that in regard to calories, these are not weight-loss recipes!