Broccoli Biscuit Squares

May 2026 and the catering work had taken on a new dimension. Art's health had been declining—nothing acute, just the accumulated weight of his sixties catching up, a back problem that made the physical work of large events harder than it had been. He pulled me aside after a spring event and said he'd been thinking about what the business looked like when he wasn't running it anymore.

He said he wasn't trying to hand anything off yet, just starting to think about it. He said I was the person who held the cultural knowledge side of what they did, and that if he ever stepped back he'd want to know that part of it continued. I said I'd be willing to have that conversation when it was real. He said he appreciated that. He said it was years off. I said I'd still be here.

The thought stayed with me. What the work could be if it was mine to shape—not just the execution of menus for events but the actual design of what Cherokee food culture programming looked like in the community. The workshops, the sourcing relationships, the language connections Lily had been documenting. It was a large thought and I held it without forcing it anywhere specific.

Made a spring meal at the barn: ramp and wild onion frittata with eggs from a neighbor's chickens, fresh cornbread from stone-ground meal, a pot of the last of the winter's dried beans cooked with smoked meat. Madison came—she was a sophomore at Northeastern State now, studying education, and she came out to the land whenever she was in the area. She ate quietly and carefully and when she left she took a jar of dried ramps I pressed on her. She said she'd use them. I said I know you will.

That meal at the barn — the frittata, the cornbread, the beans, Madison quietly eating and then carrying ramps home with her — settled into me as the kind of evening I want to keep making space for. When I go to put something like it on paper for other people to cook, these broccoli biscuit squares come close to the spirit of it: savory, egg-bound, baked in a pan and cut into pieces to share, the kind of thing that feeds a table without asking much of anyone. It’s not wild ramps, but it’s the same idea — simple ingredients held together, warm from the oven, passed around.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 12

Ingredients

3 cups fresh broccoli florets, finely chopped
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup whole milk
2 cups biscuit baking mix (such as Bisquick)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish well with butter or nonstick spray.
Steam the broccoli. Place chopped broccoli in a microwave-safe bowl with 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and microwave on high for 2 minutes until just tender. Drain any excess moisture thoroughly and set aside to cool slightly.
Mix the base. In a large bowl, whisk together the beaten eggs, milk, and melted butter. Stir in the biscuit mix, garlic powder, salt, and pepper until a thick batter forms.
Fold in the filling. Add the broccoli, diced onion, and shredded cheddar to the batter and stir until evenly distributed throughout.
Spread and bake. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish — it will be thick. Bake for 28—32 minutes until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Rest and cut. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before cutting into squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Broccoli Biscuit Squares — The Kind of Barn Meal That Holds a Big Thought