Stinging Nettles and Drop Buttermilk Biscuits #LitHappens #FoodieReads

I was inspired to post this after reading the April selection for our Lit Happens book group. Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures is hosting. As soon as she posted the event in March, I was excited: I have had this book in my library for years and never read it. I was grateful for the nudge. This was one of the books I read while we were on vacation in the mountains.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. I was thrilled to pull The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson off of my to-read pile.

On the Page

This novel follows Cussy Mary, a packhorse librarian who also was one of the blue-skinned people of Kentucky. One of the reasons I love historical fiction: I always learn new things. In this case I learned about the Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s and about the rare blood disorder called methemoglobinemia which renders those afflicted with blue skin.

from amazon.com

Throughout the pages, Cussy Mary who is also called 'Bluet' faces the disturbing prejudices of the Appalachian mountains of Eastern Kentucky. She is hunted by a pastor, attacked and raped during her short-lived marriage, and harassed by the women of the Kentucky Pack Horse library service.

Bluet thinks she can solve her problems by getting rid of her blue skin. I won't go into too much detail about what happens, but let's just say that it doesn't go the way she thinks it will. This is a story of courage, strength, and the power of books.

Foraging and hunting were a necessity for survival in the Kentucky hill towns. "'Rabbit, squirrel, berries, and lots of poke sallet…same as most when we can find it,' I ticked off. 'Pa sometimes trades his game, and hunts roots and herbs to exchange for eggs, corn, and tomatoes. Sometimes we have turkey or wild boar.' I didn’t tell him that lately there hadn’t been much of anything with Pa’s sickness, other than the rare sack of rabbits he’d surprised me with."

Stinging Nettles

Nettles were mentioned in a couple of passages. "Supper. I licked my lips, tasting. There’d been so little of it lately. Tonight I’d hunt for nettles to have soup."

And "I cooked a pot of nettles on Friday, hoping for Pa’s return. The bright-green broth simmered atop the stove as the June breeze slipped into the warm cabin, stirring the earthy scents, the long day beckoning the dusk."

If I were able to get my hands on some nettles, I would have tried a nettle soup. Instead, these photos were from a previous Spring.

If you've been reading my blog regularly, you'll know how I often end up with less than usual ingredients. I have to chuckle with an exchange I had online with friend who is now an adult but used to babysit my boys when he was a teenager. Regarding my peanut gallery not thinking they should be eating something that required gloves to touch, he quipped, "I think the peanut gallery has an excellent point." Shhh....

Then, knowing how much he despises squash, I asked if he would rather take his chances with the nettles or eat squash. Surprisingly, he answered: "Oh, give me squash 10/10 times. I’m still traumatized by the nettles we had in our backyard as a kid." I promised I wasn't laughing at him. I lied. But that's a story for another day.

And, again, without stinging nettles to prep, I went a different route. Inspired by this passage - "In a minute, she pressed a jam-packed biscuit into my hand and ordered me to eat. I pushed it away. 'I’ll not take your food.' I wouldn’t dare. It would be thieving, and all because of my vanity. The thought knotted my belly, and I pressed a fist into it" - I decided to make...

Drop Buttermilk Biscuits

I used this drop buttermilk biscuit as a comparison with a laminated drop biscuit in a Culinary Cam YouTube video. See that here...or there. Here are my Laminated Biscuits!

Ingredients

makes approximately 9

• 2 cups flour

• 1 Tablespoon baking powder

• 1 Tablespoon organic granulated sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup buttermilk (or whole milk if you don't have any buttermilk)

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter

• Also needed: baking sheet; silicone baking mat or parchment paper

Procedure

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Stir in buttermilk and melted butter. Once everything is combined, let stand for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Use a spoon to drop batter onto baking sheets. Place in oven and bake for 12 minutes. If you want them a little bit more browned, bake for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving. Serve hot slathered by your favorite jam.

In addition to sharing this with #LitHappens, I am adding this to the April #FoodieReads link-up.