Happy Easter week from the kitchen!

However you decide to spend Easter Sunday, I do hope there’s food involved. As a child growing up, I remember my mom making baked ham, mashed potatoes, corn and baked beans. Also, we had filling and gravy and pickled or deviled eggs. It was a comfort food feast and was made more special because the ham was from our farm-raised pigs and the corn and potatoes from the field that we all helped to harvest.

My Mom was always prepared with Easter baskets filled with goodies. No small feat with eight children. My Easter menu this year is grilled ham, baked beans, baked potatoes and corn that we put up last summer. I have always enjoyed making quiche on Easter morning for the early-risers. Quiche is an easy main dish for breakfast along with fresh fruit and baked doughnuts or buttermilk biscuits.

May you all have a blessed Easter and as always, eat well my friends.

Bodacious biscuits

• 4 cups all purpose flour

• 1 tsp salt

• 6 tsp’s baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 6 TBSPs solid shortening or cold butter

• 2 cups buttermilk

Mix together all the dry ingredients. Using a fork, blend in the butter until crumbly. Add milk and mix together gently. On a floured counter, knead the dough a few times then fold over in half. Fold over again. And again. (You are creating the layers) Roll the dough out to 1 inch thick. Cut the biscuits using a round cutter. Do not twist the cutter. Brush each biscuit with milk or cream. Bake in a sprayed cast iron skillet at 450 for 10-12 minutes. I bake my biscuits touching each other so they stand up nicely. I also brush with honey for some added flavor. (Makes approximately nine biscuits).

Baked cinnamon sugar doughnuts

• 1.5 cups apple cider (reduced to 1/2 cup)

• 2 cups flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 3/4 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp apple pie spice

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 2 TBSPs melted butter

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1 tsp vanilla

Topping

• 1 cup sugar

• 3/4 tsp cinnamon

• 3/4 tsp apple pie spice

• 6 TBSPs melted butter

In a small saucepan, boil the cider until it’s reduced to half cup. Set aside. In a mixing bowl put the flour, soda, powder, spices and salt. Add in the rest of the ingredients including the cooled cider. Mix well. Pour batter into a large zip lock bag or icing bag. Cut a hole in bag and squeeze the batter in to sprayed doughnut pans 3/4th full. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Cool for a couple minutes then remove to cooling racks. For the topping, mix together the sugar, cinnamon and spice in a bowl. Melt the butter in another bowl. Dip the doughnuts in the melted butter then toss in the sugar mixture. Best eaten the same day.

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Bev Kauffman, of Lewistown, operated a catering business in Juniata County for nearly 20 years. She has authored the cookbook, “Preserving the Past: In the Kitchen with Bev Kauffman” in 2013 and is currently working on a second cookbook.