wednesday. ben's.

my sister, the good auntie that she is, took taylor to get frozen yogurt the other day. and when i heard about it, i got jealous. so, yesterday, the husband and i took the kiddos up to ben's yogurt & deli to see what it was all about.

who knew we had such a gem just a few blocks away? the topping bar is totally awesome. and the flavors change every week—i had blueberry. um, yum. i refrained from putting sour patch kids on top though and went with fresh blueberries and kiwi from the fruit section of the topping bar (don't worry, they have a good old fashioned candy and cookies section, too.


other flavors this week include:
ALPINE VANILLA
CABLE CAR CHOCOLATE
APPLE PIE
VERRY BERRY SORBET
BLUEBERRY (No sugar added!)

once you pay for your yogurt though, i noticed a sign that said, 'outdoor seating.' and upon further inspection, i realized that they have the cutest patio area i may have ever seen. and they're open until 9 p.m., so you can sit out there in the evening ... soaking up all the cuteness. evening tea with the girls may have to switch to yogurt—they're open later than our local starbucks! i'm waiting for the day they start having live bands in the evening—it's the perfect setting and they'd be crazy not to.

tuesday. pie.

my sister has a ton of rhubarb, and her and her significant other both dislike it very much. so, i borrowed some (and will hopefully continue to do so all summer). i made pie. huckleberry-rhubarb to be exact. and my rhubarb-hating husband happened to LOVE it. i'll be lucky if there's any left when i get home.

here's the how to:
• 4 C chopped rhubarb
• 1-2 C huckleberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 1/3 C sugar
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 double crust pie recipe

1. preheat oven to 450.
2. combine sugar and flour. sprinkle 1/4 of it over pastry in pie plate. Heap rhubarb and huckleberries (mixed) over this mixture. sprinkle with remaining sugar and flour.
   
3. dot with small pieces of butter. cover with top crust (i used a lattice crust).

1. place pie on lowest rack in oven (important so it doesn't burn!). bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, and continue baking for 40 to 45 minutes.

i don't normally have hearts on my pies, but taylor insisted we make it pretty. it was either hearts or pumpkins. hearts made more sense to her since, "mom, it's not a pumpkin pie."

if you can help it, let it cool in the fridge or on the counter before you try it. it will thicken up and hold together so much better. it's super-yummy warm, too, if you just can't wait!

monday. allrecipes.

i love baking. but even more than baking, i love baking with good odds that it'll come out in my favor. and so far, the best thing i've found to up my odds is: allrecipes.com. i'm sure lots of you have heard of it, or used it, but for those that haven't, you're missing out!

perks:
• it's free.
• search by ingredient, recipe title, or keyword.
• all recipes are rated by all reviewers with stars (1 to 5).
• search by rating.
• reviewers add their comments and suggestions for you to read before you attempt it yourself.

i've used this website for soooooooo many recipes i can't even count. and always read reviews and suggestions. you seriously can't go wrong!

thursday. yogurt-making.

making yogurt is so flipping easy! not only that, but it's so flipping good for you. how easy is it you ask? well, if you ask me, anything that only requires one ingredient is pretty darn easy.

milk. real milk. most importantly, non-homogenized. well, and a cup or two of your last batch of yogurt to mix in to get the cultures going. that's it!

1. bring one gallon of milk to 160-180 degrees in a big pot on the stove. this will make a LOT of yogurt. don't let it boil! you'll have to start over. take it off the heat as soon as you get to the right temp (160 is perfect).
   
2. let the milk cool to between 110-120 degrees (shoot for somewhere in the middle).
3. take out 2 cups of milk and add to a medium-sized bowl, and mix in your 1-2 cups of yogurt starter—or dannon plain yogurt if you don't have a start already! mix. feel free to add probiotics from your health food store or super supplements type place.
   
4. add the mixture back into your warm milk pot, and mix well.
5. pour the contents into the inner bowl of your crock pot, put the lid on, wrap it in a couple towels and set it in your oven—no heat on! just turn on the light in your oven.
6. let it sit for 8-12 hours depending on how tart and thick you like it.
7. if you want to make greek-style yogurt, take your final product and strain through cheesecloth or a t-shirt to your desired consistency—I usually strain mine for about 3 hours, making it a sour cream-like texture. see my post on greek yogurt for more info!
   
8. flavor however you like and store in mason jars or tupperware in the fridge for 2+ weeks! try fruit, honey, maple syrup, or a spoonful of homemade blackberry jam does the trick for me!

p.s. if you save the whey (the watery stuff that strains out through the cloth, you can use it for lots of things! i.e. add to your vegetable stock, pour over your dog's dinner for extra nutrients, feed it to your flower bulbs, use in place of water when baking ... don't throw it out!

thursday. milk.

mother's day came early for me this year!

i had the lovely experience of taking a class on saturday with one of the owners of spokane family farm (local dairy farm)! topic of the class? how to make greek yogurt and fresh mozzarella! see my next post for more information about THAT part of it! i've known about the local dairy farm for about a year now, it's a great place to take the kids—baby calves, fresh ice cream, milk and cookies, chickens, donkeys, goats, the works! an awesome place to visit on a weekend.

but, aside from being a super-fun place to visit, it's the only place to get 'real' good-for-you milk in spokane. literally. i won't go TOO much into the science behind it (there's a lot). but, i will say, with access to this farm, my family will not be drinking store-bought milk. and for any of you that live in the spokane area—look into it.

as i mentioned, i won't detail you to death. but, here's a bulleted list of reasons i will no longer buy store-bought—bullets don't really count as reading, you can just skim, ha ha—lame pun, totally intended:

• it tastes amazing. and i control the fat content by how much or how little cream i leave on top and shake back in.

• spokane's family farm milk goes from happy cows to your cup in less than 72 hours. this is total time from cow to you buying it in the store. i buy mine from the farm (it's cheaper!), and cuts that time by a LOT.
  

• my kids love it, and it still comes in a regular milk jug just like all milk does, so my kids don't question it with 'how come it looks funny?'

• regular commercial pasteurization includes heating milk past the boiling point, we're talking like in the 245 degree range ... this kills ALL bacteria to extend shelf life, and removing any bacteria, vitamins, or minerals that were good for you.

• because the 'good stuff' was ruined during the process, they add fortified vitamins and other nutrients back in with not-natural ingredients.
  

• spokane's family farm pasteurizes to make your milk safe, but does so at the lowest FDA temperature, 145 degrees—because their milk doesn't need a several-month shelf-life. this lower temperature keeps all the good stuff intact. safe and healthy ... works for me!
  

• i can skim the cream off the top and make things like butter.

• homogenization forces the milk through a series of screens at high pressure to keep the cream from separating and coming to the top. when you drink the processed homogenized milk, your body cannot digest the cream in this unnatural state and the fat in the cream gets absorbed by your stomach lining and passes straight into your blood stream which deposits itself in your arteries.

• the homogenization process physically changes the fat molecules from round to long and sharp. extremely not cool when 'long and sharp' means the fat is more likely to enter your bloodstream and adhere to your arteries causing all kinds of issues.
  

• when you drink non-homogenized milk, ( when the cream is left in its natural state) your body can digest the cream and use the fat that is in the cream for energy and nutrients that your body needs.

• i can make yogurt, cream cheese, mozzarella, and so many other things that you CANNOT make with store-bought milk.
  

and the number one reason i will buy milk from the farm? hearing from an extremely reliable source that the local dairy farmers of a VERY well-known dairy company won't allow their own families to drink the milk that comes out of their cows.

that's a good enough reason for me. it's no wonder people have dairy issues these days.

let me end this post with a disclaimer. i am in no way a scientist. i do not know all. my information comes from research, first-hand sources, experience, and more research. i am not legally stating any of this. it is all my own opinion, and you have every right to yours.

friday. greek yogurt.

my doctor mentioned at my last appointment, that i need to be making sure i'm getting enough protein. i like meat and all, but unless it's fish, i generally have 4-5 bites every other day or so and i'm good. just enough to taste. which is not, apparently, enough for a daily diet. so, he mentioned greek yogurt is really high in protein and has a lot of other benefits, too. but, i'm not one to eat something that doesn't taste good.

who likes pudding?!

now, how about yogurt that seriously tastes and has the texture of pudding, but also has all these other awesome things, too?!

• thicker and creamier texture (like, by A LOT).

• lower in carbohydrates.

• higher in protein (often by DOUBLE what normal yogurt has per cup ... to put into perspective, some can have up to 20 grams in a cup!).

• lower in sodium (up to 50% less depending on the brand).

... i finally tried it this morning with breakfast.

... and will never eat regular yogurt again. ever.

friday. rhubarb.

it's now the middle of april, and what do i have to show for it? rhubarb. that's about it right now, but the raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries are slowly coming back to life as we speak. and the garden will be planted ... soon? we'll see how the next few weeks go. the weather's not cooperating, but i'm getting ancy.

my rhubarb, however, is loving life, the sandy soil, and the endless rain we've been having! while everything else is still trying to hibernate and reluctantly ward off spring, my rhubarb is charging ahead, and by next weekend I should have enough for mini-pies! (mini-pies are way cuter than normal-size pies, and they make me feel better about eating a whole one.)

p.s. these pictures are not mine ... i wish they were, but sadly, they are not. maybe after this week, i'll have my own! click to see where they came from.

and, just this morning a new rhubarb recipe magically landed in my email (thank you, karlene!):

rhubarb custard pie.

ingredients.

use deep pie plate - 9" pie

3 eggs

3 tbsp. milk

2 C sugar

1/4 C flour

3/4 tsp. nutmeg

4 C cut up pink rhubarb

1 tbsp. butter

how to.

1. pre-heat oven to 400.
2. beat eggs slightly; add milk.
   
3. mix sugar, flour, and nutmeg; stir into mixture.
   
4. mix in rhubarb.
   
5. pour in pastry-lined pie pan. Dot with butter.
   
6. cover with lattice top and bake at 400 for 50-60 minutes, until nicely browned.

thursday. grapefruit.

pregnant or not, grapefruit happens to be one of my absolute favorite fruits in the whole wide world. and i truly think it could be one of your favorites, too—if you knew how to eat one!

i spent years saying, 'no way' to the mistakenly named 'bitter' fruit. the truth is, the fruit itself is anything but. it's sweet, tart, juicy, and wonderful. it's the rind and the 'membranes' separating each segment that give it that icky flavor. so here's the solution ... don't eat that part!

1. yes, i do, in fact realize i'm dedicating an entire post to how to eat a grapefruit. it's ok, you'll thank me when you try it.
2. watch the video ... it will weird you out, make you think the guy's a total creeper, make you laugh (if you're anything like me), and teach you how to properly eat a grapefruit—for reals.
3. you will probably have the urge to go buy one immediately and try it out. i'm grabbing my keys as i type.
4. if you think this entire post is ridiculous, it's ok. you can still go watch the video and have grapefruit slicing knowledge under your belt for the next time someone asks.
   
5. enjoy .. and humor me. Click here!
   

tuesday. crema di arancello.

what happens when you're pregnant and one teeny little drink of something alcohol-related sounds just lovely? if you're me, you spend sunday afternoon mixing up a batch of this yummy drink, crema di arancello. basically, it's an orange creamsicle flavored alcohol that you keep in the freezer. the best part? it sits for several months to give it even more fruity flavor. which means, no one gets to drink it until i do!

ingredients.

10 blood oranges

2 vanilla beans

3 bottles (750 ml) 100-proof vodka or everclear (i had 105 proof everclear my boss made, hence the recycled whiskey bottle)

4 cups sugar

5 cups water

step one.
wash the oranges with a vegetable brush and hot water to remove any icky stuff; pat the lemons dry. in a large glass jar (1-gallon jar), add your alcohol. scrape two vanilla beans into the alcohol. it looks like dirt. it's not. it smells way better than dirt.

step two.

carefully zest the oranges with a zester or vegetable peeler so there's none of the white stuff on the peel. add the orange zest to the vodka as it is zested. make sure to use only the outer part of the rind. the pith, the white part underneath the rind, is too bitter and will make your cello not nearly as sweet, and really bitter.

step three.

cover the jar and let sit at room temperature for at least 10 days and up to 40 days in a cool dark place (the cupboard works great!). the longer it rests, the better the taste will be. shake or stir a little every few days if you like. as the arancello sits, the alcohol will slowly take on the flavor and rich orange color of the orange zest. when the color is no longer deepening and the rinds look whitish, it is definitely done.

step four (i haven't reached this part yet ... that's why the pictures stop here).

in a large saucepan, combine the sugar and water; cook until dissolved, or until thickened if you want a thicker, sweeter drink, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.

Let the syrup cool, then add it to the arancello mixture from above. add an additional bottle of alcohol. allow to rest for another 10 to 40 days.

step five.

after the rest period, strain the liquid through a cheese cloth or coffee filter and bottle: discard the orange zest. keep in the freezer until ready to serve.

the best part of having 10 zested blood oranges? fresh-squeezed OJ!

monday. hot butter rum.

it's that time of year. cold, windy, the promise of that swirly, whirly white fluffy stuff. what better way to get warm than rum? i mean, really? is there any better drink this time of year than hot butter rum? nope. at least not for me!

p.s. this picture isn't what it actually looks like, but apple cider butter rum looked dang good, too! i was lazy and didn't take pictures this weekend. might have to post this recipe later this week!

the husband left on another hunting excursion friday, and i thought i'd make a batch to have ready for his homecoming! have the fire blazing in the living room, steaming hot butter rum, lights turned down ... and the two crazies building a fort right in the middle of it, squealing and running around like little loons. Who wouldn't want to come home to that?!

anyway, hot butter rum batter is way easy to make, and so good. buy extra rum ... this batch makes enough for 100 servings, but stores in the freezer quite nicely for up to six months (recipe from allrecipes.com)!

ingredients.

1 lb. butter
1 lb. brown sugar
1 lb. confectioners' sugar
1 qt. vanilla ice cream, softened
1 TBS ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg

how-to.

1. melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.
   
2. blend in brown sugar and confectioners' sugar. remove from heat, and whisk in the ice cream, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
   
3. pour mixture into a plastic container, seal, and freeze.
   

later in the day ...

1. measure 1 TBS Hot Buttered Rum Batter and 1 oz. of rum (or more depending on the day you've had) into your favorite mug.
   
2. fill your cup with boiling water, stir, and sprinkle top of drink with nutmeg and/or cinnamon.

wednesday. baked acorn squash.

somewhere around 30 acorn squash currently reside on my garden floor. at least half of them, ready to be picked. who knew six little tiny plants would turn into such craziness ...

with that, i present, the greatest recipe for squash ... EVER. Also, the easiest! (thank you ree drummond, aka the pioneer woman)!
ingredients.

2 whole acorn squash
kosher salt
1-2 T butter
2-3 T brown sugar
pure maple syrup

how to.

1. preheat oven to 400.
2. halve each squash, then scrape out the seeds and stringy icky stuff. place the halves, flesh side up, on a baking sheet and sprinkle each half with salt.
3. add a generous tablespoon of butter to the center of each squash followed by 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons of brown sugar. drizzle squash with maple syrup. um, i've started drooling by this point.
   
4. pour 2 cups water in the bottom of the baking pan.
5. cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. remove foil and bake an additional 30-45 minutes, or until squash is golden brown.
6. in the last 5 minutes of baking, turn on the broiler and allow tops to get a little more brown and the butter/sugar mixture to bubble.

my kids detest squash ... and they each ate half when i made this. although, i can't quite bring myself to qualify this as 'vegetable,' it makes an awesome dessert!

tuesday. the kitchen engine.

awww ... date night!
having never taken a cooking class, last night's Gnocchi from Scratch class at, The Kitchen Engine, was a whole new experience ... and SO. MUCH. FUN! (it's at the flour mill downtown!)

not only do you get to learn a ton of new tips and tricks to make life easier in the kitchen ... it's like watching the food network for an hour and a half, and then getting to eat the food! they have a pretty sweet set-up where they walk you through making everything (the lady wasn't standing there the whole time ... just every time i tried to take a picture! then again, when you're the manager, you can do whatever you want!):


and on the other side of the store is an actual kitchen appliance store with all kinds of fun stuff to look through—complete with 20-ish different kinds of salt you can purchase ... who knew there were that many kinds to begin with?!

the husband and i learned how to make a bunch of new stuff ... AND got to hang out together! what could be better?!

here's what we made:
• bruschetta
• gnocchi ... bathed in butter and garlic
• pesto alfredo sauce (from scratch!) of which we topped the gnocchi with, then added tomatoes, basalmic reduction, and pancetta!

and the visual ...
something new and fun to try ... and they have TONS of class options every week. i will most definitely be returning!

monday. honeysuckle syrup.

i know it's not thursday, so it's not food-day, but i had so much fun making this yesterday that i can't help but share! my grandma used to have two honeysuckle bushes in her backyard, and as kids we used to pull out the stems on the blossoms to get the tiniest drop of nectar—so worth it! i can't even begin to explain the amazing smell and taste of these little guys!


well, just another reason to love my yard—i have thousands of honeysuckle blossoms vining their way up the side of my house this time of year. so taylor and i decided to do something productive with them.


i showed her the ways of 'stem-pulling' ...


... and then we gathered enough to make honeysuckle syrup (they hold the most nectar at night and early in the morning!)
ingredients.
4 C. loosely-packed honeysuckle blossoms (no stems or leaves!)
4 C. granulated sugar
juice from one lemon
water

how to.

1. cover the blossoms in a bowl with cool water and let stand at room temp overnight.
2. strain blossom-water into a saucepan and add sugar and lemon juice.
3. boil for 1-2 minutes, lower to a simmer for 15-20 minutes—or until syrupy.
4. let cool for 10-15 minutes and pour into glass jars. keeps in the fridge forever!

how to use syrup.

1. mix 1-1/4 C. of honeysuckle syrup with 12 lemons and 3 quarts of water. mix well and add sugar as needed.
   
2. mint leaves would be great with this, too!
   

thursday. donut gallery.

more biscuit donuts ... mmmmm ... see previous post for recipe(s).

brennan enjoying cinnamon-y and sugar-y donut holes ...


someone took away the donut holes ...


up close and personal ...

thursday. jam & mashed tater pancakes.

so this last weekend proved to be quite productive, both inside and out. and by productive, i mean, we played outside in the yard and garden all weekend and ate good food. that's my kind of weekend.

mmmmmm ... strawberry huckleberry jam ...


i'd been receiving complaints the last couple weeks from the peanut gallery that there wasn't any strawberry freezer jam left and that the store stuff doesn't taste as good. so, i mustered up the strength this weekend to make a batch. if you've never made freezer jam, it's about the easiest thing to make ... other than the pb & j sandwich you put it on (or in my case, the spoon i shovel it onto).

i like to put it in glass jelly jars because they're cute and fun to give away, but plastic ones work, too. all in all, it takes about an hour to make enough jam to last your family the whole year. sure-jell pectin recipe is the best—the one right off the box. i added huckleberries to this years' and then couldn't find my food processor blade (i put it somewhere i WOULDN'T lose it) to puree them in, so it's chunkier than normal, but still good! i highly recommend it (they have no sugar added recipes too)!

the highlight of my weekend, however, was my mashed potato pancakes. they sure don't look like much, but there's not much that tops em'. my dad makes em' best, but i did my best to compete! remember when i said they don't look like much? they really don't. it's hard to take a decent picture of a flat pancake ... i did my darndest and it just didn't quite work. but still, you get the idea.


homemade mashed tater pancakes.

ingredients.
10-12 yukon gold potatoes
1/2 C sour cream with ranch dressing packet mixed in
butter—as much or as little as you'd like
salt & pepper to taste
1 egg
2-3 tbs flour

how-to for mashed tater pancakes ...

1. Boil a big ol' pot of water with some salt thrown in (you can add garlic cloves to the water, too, if you like). Toss the potatoes in the boiling water and let them boil until tender enough to mash—check with a fork after 10-15 minutes.
2. Drain water, leaving just the taters, and mash. Add sour cream, butter, salt & pepper, and mix with electric mixer.
3. taste. adjust flavors as needed, and then refrigerate overnight (or make a double batch, eat some for dinner and save the rest for the next day for pancakes!)
4. add egg and flour and mix well.
   
5. xcoop small pancake-size dollops onto a hot oiled griddle or skillet. let cook for 1-2 minutes (until brown) and flip to the other side.
6. once flipped, add a slice of cheese to melt.
7. if you're not hungry yet, you shouldn't be reading this blog. this is the epitome of comfort food!
   

mashed potatoes take on a whole new meaning ...

thursday. bavarian cream donuts.

this might be the easiest 'fancy' recipe you'll ever meet. prepare yourself. 30 minutes and you, too, can have warm, soft, squishy, gooey, chocolate-y, rich bavarian cream-filled donuts. one of my favorite girlfriends mentioned that she makes donuts from canned biscuits (yeah, like, the $0.38 for 8 ones!) and uses cinnamon, sugar, frosting, and/or sprinkles on top for her three girls. BRILLIANT!


with that idea in mind, i went on the hunt for a custard filled, chocolate-topped recipe. i took the one i found, and took out all the non-fat, fat-free ingredients that were holding it back from being perfectly delectable—this is what came of it! try it out, they're yummy!

Easiest Donuts EVER.

ingredients.

2 cans jumbo buttermilk biscuits (no flaky biscuits or you'll just end up with oil-soaked garbage can liners!)
canola oil (enough to fill your skillet with about 1/2" worth)
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 1/2 C milk
8 oz. cool whip
1 can milk chocolate frosting (unless you're feeling fancy. then you can make your own frosting.)

make the filling.

1. mix pudding mix and milk together in a large bowl, whisk. add cool whip and mix until combined.
   
2. keep filling in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

get those donuts going.

1. pour oil into your skillet, to about half an inch. turn the heat on medium, and let heat for about five minutes.
   
2. put your super-fancy pants, $0.38 jumbo buttermilk biscuits into the oil and let them brown on one side (about a minute). flip the babies over, and let the other side fry to golden perfection. if the oil doesn't bubble around the biscuits when they're plunged into the hot oil ... it's not hot enough. turn up the heat!
3. once they look all lovely and done, take them out (don't burn yourself!) and put them on a plate lined with paper towels ... you know, to make them healthy(er?).
   

fill em' up.

1. two ways to do this part: use a cake decorating bag with a wide-tip on it. or, if you're like me, and don't have those nifty tools, cut the corner off of a zip-loc™ bag and fill er' up!
2. poke holes in the side of each donut. for this, i have a handy-dandy tool that works perfectly ... it's called a finger (just make sure hands are clean)! If that's not sanitary enough for you, a vegetable skewer works rather well.
3. put the pudding-filling tool into the donut and squeeze until each donut puffs up and you know it's cram-packed and will make a mess when you eat it.

final touch.

1. a donut isn't a donut without some kind of frosting. scoop the can of frosting into a bowl and heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds.
2. swirl the tops of each donut with the frosting.

now, whenever you have breakfast guests, you can show off and make fresh, warm donuts ... just don't tell em' your secret!

P.S. there are about a million ways to make biscuit donuts. make holes in them and coat them with cinnamon and sugar, frosting, powdered sugar, jelly-filled ... the possibilities are endless!

thursday. monkey bread.

many of us have little monkeys running around. and more often than not, those monkeys are hungry ... and whining about being hungry ... and wanting to help make something to make them not hungry.

monkey bread is the solution. and unless you're like me, who honest-to-goodness thought the easiest way to make it was to actually make the dough from scratch—yes, I'm brilliant, I know. NOT. it's REALLY easy to make. and the monkeys can help out without driving you batty!

monkey bread.

ingredients.

• 3 (12 oz) tubes refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (ummm, yeah, instead of making dough from SCRATCH!)
• 1 C sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 C butter
• 1 C packed brown sugar
• 1/2 C huckleberries (or any other yummy berry you think you'd like to try—huckleberries rock, though.)

how to.

1. preheat oven to 350 and grease one 9 inch tube pan.
2. mix sugar and cinnamon in a large ziploc bag. kiddos love doing this part. just make sure the bag is zipped, or you'll be cleaning sugary cinnamon from every surface from here to timbuktu.
3. cut biscuits into quarters. shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. again, this is a perfect job for the starved, whiney kiddos.
4. arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan and alternate sprinkling huckleberries between layers. but, try to keep the berries towards the middle and away from actually touching the pan, they'll taste better that way. continue until all biscuits are sugar-fied (is that even a word?) and placed in the pan.
5. in a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat until it turns into caramelly goodness. boil for one minute. pour over the biscuits.
6. bake at 350 for 35 minutes—now is a great time to send monkeys outside to make mudpies, play tag, or whatever else those little whipper-snappers might have in mind. p.s. warn them that if they whine before the bread is ready, they don't get any. it makes for a quiet house. promise.
7. let the yummy goodness cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate—if you don't grease the pan well enough ... this part will not end well. lucky for you, your monkeys are probably so hungry by now that they don't care if it's not a perfect tube shape.
8. let the monkeys have at it.

here's a closer-up shot ... mmmmmmm.