Things to Do - Feature Cooking With Purpose People to See:

Column Feature-Things to Do: By Kandy Derden Things to Do Editor Cooking With a Purpose

It’s time. Let’s go!

But first, please allow me to give you a word of advice: make your reservations early.

It seems everyone is planning a trip this summer. And by everybody, I do mean every single one. As a result, hotels, resorts and campsites are filling up quickly. Yes I can honestly say, during the past few weeks, I have not spoken with anyone who is not planning a summer trip. For me, the summer begins with a response to the historical command stating, “Go west, young man!”

My reasons for this trip are a bit different than theirs, but I am heading west nonetheless. I am going with a Disaster Relief Recovery Team to an area affected by the forest fire last fall. The details have not been finalized yet, but I do know I will be cooking for our team of volunteers.

This creates a new problem for me. You see, we will be in a high altitude area which requires some adjustments to cooking methods, particularly baking. I’ve done my research and the availability of high altitude recipes is limited. However, I did find a few which I plan to try. If you live at sea level, this might not interest you, but it is good to know such things exist.

PERFECT HIGH ALTITUDE BISCUITS

4 c. flour scant 2 tablespoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt 1 c. (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter cut into pieces 1 & 1/2 c. buttermilk, cold

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add butter and use a pastry blender until crumbs are the size of peas, using care not to overmix. Pour in buttermilk. With a wooden spoon or hard spatula, incorporate just until mixed. Again, don’t overmix. Lightly flour a flat surface. Transfer dough onto flour. The dough will look like it is falling apart, but that is normal. Shape the dough and lightly roll it into a ball. Roll out to about 1/2”thick. Fold and roll again to about 3/4” thick. Fold again and roll to about 1” thick. Cut into biscuits. Tip: use a pizza cutter to cut into squares in order to prevent overworking the scraps of dough created by cutting them in circles. Bake 1” apart on parchment-lined cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes or until done. Brush tops with melted butter if desired. Enjoy with gravy or jam. At this point, you may be thinking this is somewhat out of the norm for the type of recipe I generally discuss this time of year. You would be correct. However, rather than telling you about another picnic recipe, I figured you will be needing a hearty breakfast food to fuel your family for all the wonderful adventures which await your upcoming visit. Ready?

Set . . .

GO!