{"id":60027,"date":"2016-05-15T00:08:35","date_gmt":"2016-05-15T07:08:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/?p=60027"},"modified":"2016-05-15T00:08:35","modified_gmt":"2016-05-15T07:08:35","slug":"organic-on-a-budget-merit-badge-expert-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/60027","title":{"rendered":"Organic on a Budget Merit Badge, Expert Level"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tThe adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our<\/span> Sisterhood Merit Badge program<\/span><\/span><\/a>, now with\u00a06,962 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far\u20149,905 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! ~MaryJane\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Wondering who I am? I\u2019m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my<\/span> former life<\/span><\/span><\/a> \u2026\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For this week\u2019s Farm Kitchen\/Organic on a Budget Expert Level Merit Badge<\/u><\/a>, I harkened back fondly to when I knew Mr. Wonderful really had fallen for me. It wasn\u2019t that sparkle in his baby blues, it wasn\u2019t when he sat through an opera performance when there was a perfectly good football game on television, it wasn\u2019t when he asked me to go camping and I sneakily turned it into glamping, it wasn\u2019t even when he went to meet my Gramma Barbie.<\/p>\n

No.<\/p>\n

It was when he dreamily told me that he loved me more than biscuits and gravy.<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s when I knew things were getting serious, folks. My guy can eat some biscuits and gravy. Like \u2026 a lot. And in pursuit of all things romantic and poetical, I have perfected my own recipe, organic style, of course.<\/p>\n

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photo by jeffreyw via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

To earn my Expert Level badge, I needed to teach two people my recipe, and\/or gift them a yummy treat. This was to be harder than expected, seeing as how Mr. Wonderful can smell my cooking a mile away. I was concerned there wouldn\u2019t be enough to gift. Ahem.<\/p>\n

Note: nothing says love like having to triple a recipe. Can I get an amen?<\/p>\n

Coconut Biscuits<\/strong><\/p>\n

These oh-so delish biscuits are swoon-worthy with fresh butter and local honey. Or maybe slathered in strawberry freezer jam. But if you\u2019re out of those delights, do as we do: bury dem nuggets of heaven in some sausage gravy.
\n2 cups organic flour
\n1 T baking powder
\n1 1\/2\u00a0t salt
\n6 T cold coconut oil (You can use butter\u00a0if you prefer. I like the health benefits, plus the slightly sweet taste of coconut oil.)
\n1 cup buttermilk (If you\u2019re like me\u2014and I know you are\u2014you\u2019ll be out of buttermilk. Never fear! Add 1 T or so of white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Let sit while you assemble the rest of your ingredients. Voila! Shh. Don\u2019t tell anyone I accidently\/on-purpose haven\u2019t bought buttermilk since 1999.)<\/p>\n

Mix together dry ingredients. (If you are using an oil other than coconut, you can add 1 T of sugar to your mix.) Cut in coconut oil. I like to use a food processor for this part, but you can also use a pastry cutter or even just your fingers. Slowly add in buttermilk until dough forms. Knead no more than 10 times. Flatten slightly and cut with a biscuit cutter, or if you\u2019re like me, the biscuit cutter went the way of your buttermilk, so use a juice glass. Place biscuits in a\u00a0cast-iron pan or on a cookie sheet, just touching a little bit\u2014you know, like an awkward first date. Ha! You can brush the tops with melted butter or a little milk if you like, but if you\u2019re like me (and we\u2019ve established this already), you won\u2019t remember and also you\u2019ll be dying to get these babies cooked. Bake at 450\u00b0F for about 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

Sausage Gravy<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can also make bacon gravy\u2014just, you know \u2026 substitute bacon. Which is kinda good advice for most recipes. Out of salad? Substitute bacon. <\/em>Can\u2019t find the kale smoothie? Substitute bacon.<\/em><\/p>\n