Zucchini Cheddar Biscuits

Termination dust on the Chugach. The body still in winter mode. A pediatric burn case Tuesday. I came home and made adobo and did not write a blog post.

Lourdes is 76. She is slower. She still cooks. She still tells me to find a husband even though I have one.

I made tinola Sunday. The chicken-ginger soup, the body-warming dish. The body wanted it.

I skipped the blog this week. Some weeks the kitchen is enough.

I read for forty minutes before sleep. The reading was the small surrender. The surrender was the rest.

The neighbors invited us over for a small dinner Thursday. They are an Iñupiaq family — Aana and her grandson Joe. We ate caribou stew and rice. I brought lumpia. The kitchens of Anchorage have always been the small UN. The food is the proof.

Angela texted me a photo of the kids. I texted back a heart. The exchange took thirty seconds. The thirty seconds was the keeping.

The salmon in the freezer is from August. Joseph's catch. The bag is labeled in his handwriting — "for Grace." I will use it next week.

Pete and I had a long phone conversation Tuesday. We talked about the family — his and mine. The talking was the keeping.

The Anchorage sky was the Anchorage sky. The mountains were the mountains. The inlet was the inlet. The geography was the geography.

The Filipino Community newsletter announced the Saturday gathering. I will be on lumpia duty. I am always on lumpia duty.

I had a long phone call with Dr. Reeves on Wednesday. We talked about pacing and rest and the way the body keeps a log of what it has carried. Dr. Reeves said, "Grace. The body remembers. The mind forgets. The cooking is the bridge." I wrote the line down. The line is now on a sticky note above the kitchen sink.

I read a chapter of a novel before bed each night this week. The novel was about a Filipina nurse in California. The novel was good. The novel was, in some way, my own life adjacent.

The break room had cake Tuesday. Someone's birthday. We ate the cake. We did not ask whose birthday. The cake was the cake.

I made tea late at night. The tea was the small comfort. The comfort was the marker.

I drove home Tuesday evening and the sun set at three forty-five and the highway was already iced at the bridges and the radio was on a station I did not recognize and I did not change it.

The grocery store had no calamansi. I substituted lime. The substitution was acceptable. The acceptable is the working version of perfect.

Lourdes called me twice this week. The first call was about a church event. The second was about a recipe variation she had remembered from her childhood. The remembering was the gift.

I made coffee at six AM. The coffee was the start. The start was always the same.

I took inventory of the freezer Sunday. The freezer had: twelve quarts of broth, eight pounds of adobo in vacuum bags, six pounds of sinigang base, fourteen lumpia trays at fifty rolls each, three pounds of marinated beef for caldereta, and a small bag of pandan leaves Tita Nening had sent me. The inventory was the proof of preparation. The preparation was the proof of love.

The Filipino Community newsletter announced a fundraiser for typhoon relief in Samar. I committed to making three hundred lumpia. The number is the number. The number has always been the number. Three hundred is what I make. The math has stopped surprising me.

The tinola did its work on Sunday — it always does — but by midweek I still needed something to make with my hands, something that asked for attention without demanding too much. These Zucchini Cheddar Biscuits have become that thing for me: pull out the grater, shred the zucchini, work the butter in until the dough looks right. Dr. Reeves said the cooking is the bridge, and I think he meant exactly this — the small, careful steps that bring the body back to itself after a pediatric burn case and an iced bridge on the highway and a freezer full of salmon labeled “for Grace.” These are the biscuits I made Thursday night, the same night Aana and Joe had us over, and I brought them warm in a towel-wrapped pan.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 12 biscuits

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1 medium), squeezed dry in a clean towel
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup cold buttermilk, plus 1–2 tablespoons more if needed
1 tablespoon buttermilk or melted butter, for brushing

Instructions

Heat the oven. Preheat to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Prep the zucchini. Grate zucchini on the large holes of a box grater. Wrap in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze firmly until most of the moisture is out. You want about 3/4 cup of dry shreds.
Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Cut in the butter. Add the cold butter cubes to the flour mixture. Using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, work the butter in until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining. Work quickly — cold butter is what makes these tender.
Add zucchini and cheese. Toss the dried zucchini shreds and shredded cheddar into the flour-butter mixture and stir gently to distribute.
Add buttermilk. Pour in 3/4 cup cold buttermilk and stir with a fork just until the dough comes together. If it looks dry, add buttermilk one tablespoon at a time. Do not overmix.
Shape and cut. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat gently into a 3/4-inch thick rectangle. Fold once, pat again, then use a 2-inch round cutter or a sharp knife to cut 12 biscuits. Place on the prepared baking sheet, edges nearly touching for soft sides.
Brush and bake. Brush the tops with buttermilk or melted butter. Bake for 18–22 minutes, until golden on top and cooked through. The bottoms should be deep gold.
Rest briefly. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before serving. Best eaten warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Zucchini Cheddar Biscuits — The Warmth You Make When the Body Asks for It