A month of brunches: week 5

For my last installment of Brunch Month, I return to Thug Kitchen's excellent recipes, because they often have a bit of a brunchy, Southern twang to them, and because they are delicious.

I've always liked the idea of biscuits and gravy, but whenever I order them, the waitress brings me some crazy warmed Elmer's glue with deer turds in it, all smothering a pale-looking hockey puck.  Have you had this experience too? Enter Thug Kitchen's Lentil Gravy and Biscuits, which go perfectly with a simple side of vinegar-laced greens.

I used the Lentil Gravy directly from their book/blog, here. However, I didn't want to have to wash my blender because I am lazy, so I just mashed them up a little bit with a hand masher in the pan for a chunkier version:

I also added a teaspoon of liquid smoke, because it is nice.





The whole wheat biscuits we made are similar to those in the Thug Kitchen Cookbook, but with some adaptations.  Here's what my husband did:

Whole Wheat Biscuits

Makes about 8

1 cup dairy or non-dairy milk + more if needed
1/2 tsp  apple cider vinegar
1 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tsp (10 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup solid, refined coconut oil

In small glass, stir together 1 cup  milk and vinegar.

In medium bowl, sift together two flours, baking powder, sugar and salt. Crumble oil into flour mixture a tablespoon at a time, using your fingers to break up pieces so they’re just bigger than a pea. Make a well in center; pour in milk mixture. Stir just until shaggy dough is formed. (Don’t overmix or you’ll have tough biscuits.) If mixture is too dry to stick together, add a tablespoon or two of milk.

Turn out dough onto floured surface. Pat into rough rectangle that’s about 8 inches by 5 inches (20 cm by 12.5 cm) and about 1-1/2 inches (4 cm) thick.

Using open end of a glass or a round biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits (you should have about 8).

Bake biscuits on parchment-lined baking sheet in preheated 425 F oven until bottoms are golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool 1 minute.

And finally, the greens.  Keep it simple.

Vinegary Greens

Serves 8 as a side

coconut, grapeseed, or olive oil

8 cups finely chopped kale, collards, or mustard greens

1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup other thinly sliced vegetables (carrots, zucchini, radishes, mushrooms...)

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

salt and cayenne pepper to taste

In a large skillet, warm the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and chopped vegetables (not greens) and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the greens (in batches, if necessary) and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted and bright green.  Remove from heat and stir in vinegar.  Season with salt and cayenne and serve.