Gluten-Free Tea Biscuits

Today, I accomplished a few things, but most notably, I made a successful batch of Gluten Free Tea Biscuits. I think these are the first tea biscuits I have eaten in 15 years! They turned out very yummy. A little dense, but I will play with the flour ratios next time. For those who would like to try them, here is the recipe.

Mom’s Tea Biscuits

Dough:

          - 4 cups flour *

          - 1/2 - 2/3 cup white sugar

          - 8 Tbsp. baking powder

          - 1 tsp salt

          - 1/2 cup cold margarine

          - 2 eggs

          - 1   1/3 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in margarine until crumbly.

Make a well in the centre.

In a small bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Stir in milk. Pour into well.

Stir with a fork to form soft dough.

Turn out on lightly floured surface.

Knead 10 times. Press into large pan. Or cut 3” circles from 1” think dough. Place circles in large pan, touching.

Bake in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes until risen and browned slightly.

Cool and split into biscuits.

*For Gluten free, replace flour with an all-purpose gluten free flour mixture.

One possibility is 2 cups White Rice Flour, 1 cup Tapioca starch, 1 cup Potato starch. Add 1 tsp Xanthan gum for each cup of flour.

Remember to use GF flour when kneading the dough.

Try them out and let me know how it goes!

Organizing the Kitchen

Since becoming a mom in late March, my life and priorities have changed. I no longer live for my work. I live for my son. I have been criticized by a few for spending too much time with him (he is only 4 months old!) and have been told I will regret "spoiling" him down the road, but I am following my instincts. I LOVE watching him grow and change and interact with the world!

BUT being so busy with him has made me realize that I need to get the rest of my world in order to make things easier on myself.

So the first job I took on was my kitchen. Specifically, I decided that my cupboards were not set up in a way that helped me. We bought our home from my husband's parents about a year ago. We all lived together for a few months until they moved to Florida last winter. While they were here, we slowly replaced her belongings for mine. That meant that my kitchen cupboards stayed the way she had organized them many moons ago.

The problem with that was that she loved to cook and I love to bake. I have WAY more baking supplies than she did and she had a lot more cooking-type spices than I do. Also, with my Celiac disease, I have a ton of different Gluten-Free mixes and flours to do my own baking.

SO I emptied everything out of the cupboards, focusing on three specific areas. I pitched a lot. Recycling and garbage bags were filled. I went out and bought a nice set of canisters for my flours to replace the dollarstore bins, hand-me-down canisters with broken seals and the various Bulk Barn bags. I also pulled out the label maker and went to town.

Total cost: about $65
Time: Completed in one day, with breaks for meals, a trip to the store and various baby related stops.

Goal-organized areas for
      1) Baking supplies- specifically flour, spices, sugars
      2) Storage Containers- not a jumbled, mismatched mess
      3) Cooking Spices- needed to be easier to find
      4) Baking Mixes- lots of boxes
      5) Mixing Bowls- needed to be accessible

Here is my finished product!

In the main part of my kitchen, this cupboard holds:
Left- Basket of Cooking Spices, Plastic Storage containers, various larger storage containers
Right- Basket of Gluten-Free mixes, crackers and cookies, granola and 
other boxed items.























Below my counters, this cupboard used to be a mess of plasticware, etc. Now it holds:
-colanders, mixing bowls, measuring cups
-bins of:
       -baby bottles
       -cookie cutters
       -icing bags and tips













And finally, I have a separate pantry area (it was designed to be a closet, but they built in cupboards and a countertop!)


In this cupboard you will find:
-labelled flour bins
-baskets for baking spices and other cupplies
-various other baking supplies.


My cookbooks are on a shelf to the right and my Kitchenaid mixer also sits on this countertop. It makes a convenient  mixing area that keeps things together.

I am linking up with "I'm an Organizing Junkie" this month. Check out all the fabulous ideas for keeping your house in order!


  Off to the next project!