Feta and Parmesan Cheese Biscuits

Saturday heralded the first day of Spring, and we awoke to discover the first flowers of the season had sprung to the surface as though they too knew that gentle sunshine and balmy 70-degree days had finally arrived!

We spent most of the day outside, taking walks as my leg allowed, and relaxing on the patio or in the back garden with cups of tea and our respective reading materials.

We did slip indoors just long enough for lunch at Whole Foods, though... :-) Our favorite weekend treat!

Roasted squash with onions and black olives, baked tofu, braised mushrooms, spicy collard greens, and spinach-broccoli-mushroom lasagna - heavenly! (I assure you I had plenty of leftovers to bring home... :-)

On Saturday night, since we had both worked late on St. Patrick's day, and weren't able to celebrate at all on the holiday itself, we also felt a wee bit duty bound (such a hardship, you know... :-) to experiment with some green coloring and our favorite New Belgium Brewery Mothership Wit Ale, and raise a toast with green beer!

On Sunday, though, the temperatures plummeted again - seriously plummeted. Maryland, several states north of us, enjoyed temperatures 20 degrees above our poor, shivering deep-south backyards. To add to the un-springlike weather, biting winds and torrential rains joined the collection of wintry weather. I also found myself by my lonesome for the day, as Zach had an ER clinical rotation all day Sunday, until 10PM at night. To cheer myself up, after a whirlwind bout of housecleaning (rainy days are, after all, extraordinarily good for housecleaning, lacking the temptation to lure you outside the house and away from the broom), I decided to spare Zach an afternoon of antiquing and set off myself in search of vintage Pyrex! I decided, musing as I browsed the pleasantly cluttered shelves of a large antiques shop, that I enjoy the thrill of the search as much as the delights of a satisfying purchase - the moment when your eyes sort through the piles of depression-glass plates and fiesta-ware (all beautiful and grand finds in their own right) and alight upon a single baking dish, or perhaps a small mug, that you've been questing for all along... I was quite well behaved, turning aside two 40's era bowls (scratched and overpriced) and four 70's era pieces (I loved them, but they were also, sadly, in poor condition) to simply bring home this one, simple bowl, from the late 60's-early 70's, in flawless condition and for only 4 dollars! Thankfully for our economics, I'm easy to please... :-)

Upon arriving home, what better way to chase away the chill winds and have a treat awaiting Zach arrival home, than to bake?

Hmmm, how about something savory, with fragrant basil, to hint of the warm, gardening days to come... and swirled with cheese, to comfort and tantalize...

Feta and Parmesan Cheese Biscuits

*Note: This recipe makes at least a dozen biscuits, as they are just the right shape and size for tucking into lunch-bags, heating up for an afternoon snack, or carrying along on a picnic! If you don't want quite so very many biscuits, though, feel free to halve the recipe...

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup light, nonhydrogenated vegan margaine (such as Smart Balance Light)
1 T dried basil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup skim milk
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 egg whites

~ Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Coat muffin cups with cooking spray.
~ Using a food processor, pulse the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt together just 2 or 3 times until mixed.
~ Add the vegan marg, and continue quick pulses on the food processor until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
~ Pour the flour mixture into a large mixing bowl, and gently fold in the basil, feta cheese, and Parmesan cheese until just combined.
~ In a small bowl, beat together the milk, lemon juice, and egg whites.
~ Make a well in the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet ingredients. Fold the mixture together until just blended.
~ Scoop the dough into the muffin cups, filling the cups 3/4 full.
~ Bake for 20 minutes - until the tops are just turning golden brown! Serve warm, with butter or Smart Balance Light, of course! :-)

On the blog this time last year... Cacao and Raw Coconut Clusters!