We all deal with stress, disappointment, and defeat in different ways. At least I assume we do. Unless you tell me that you, too, head straight for your kitchen to fry up all the bacon and chop all the onions in the house. While knocking back a couple goat cheese biscuits.

To each her own, I guess.

After 5 months of marathon training, I’m down “only” 2.5 pounds (after losing the 13 I gained over the first 2.5 months), down a full pants-size, ran a personal record 15 miles at a personal record pace… and then here I am, heavy one ugly gray boot. For a minimum of 4 weeks.

“But what about my crazy expensive marathon?! It’s 60 days away!” The sad, blank stare I got back verified one thing: An orthopedic surgeon’s office would be the best place ever for a tequila shot dispenser.

So I limped to the kitchen in my unlimited edition Soul-Crushing Grey boot. And I ate goat cheese biscuits for lunch. Goat cheese and carbs alone won’t numb the disappointment so I did the only thing I knew how to do.

I dumped the last of the bacon into a pan and grabbed another biscuit.

And then I started hacking away at the onions while thinking about all the other things that we could have done with the money I spent on airfare and onsite lodging and Body Glide and park tickets. And race fees and shoes and Gu.

And seriously. THOSE &^%$#@! PARK TICKETS.

But I can run far. And run pretty fast. Even though right now, I feel like a Mechwarrior when I walk.

And I can totally dominate a pan of biscuits.

Tender drop biscuits infused with tangy goat cheese and lots and lots of black pepper. They’re not a cure-all. But they sure won’t make a bad situation worse.

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Goat Cheese & Black Pepper Biscuits

A soft, peppery biscuit made with tangy goat cheese and yogurt.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 heaping tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 2 oz goat cheese
• 1 cup buttermilk (or if desperate like me, scavenge your fridge for 3/4 cup fat-free greek yogurt + 1/4 cup 2% milk)
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 and place a 10-in cast iron skillet in the oven to heat.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper.
3. Take a fork and crumble the goat cheese into the dry ingredients.
4. Cut 4 Tbsp of the butter into small cubes and add to the bowl.
5. Cut the butter and goat cheese into the dry ingredients until there are no big pieces left (this takes 90 seconds by hand).
6. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the "buttermilk" and then stir until all powdery traces are gone.
7. Remove the skillet from the oven and add 1 Tbsp butter, swirling to coat the bottom.
8. Drop biscuits by heaping large spoonful (I got 10 biscuits) into the skillet.
9. Melt the last Tbsp of butter and brush over top.
10. Bake ~15 minutes, just until biscuits brown on top.
11. Devour immediately. Or the next day. There are no wrong answers here.

Notes

Yields: 10 servings

Slightly adapted from Cook Like a Champion

Estimated time: 45 minutes