Easter Traditions

Today we continued the Enns tradition of breakfast out on Good Friday. Growing up, this was the only time I can remember that we ever ate breakfast out - after all, what could be better for you and more economical than porridge?! ;)

There is one other tradition I remember fondly from my growing up days. This one comes from my Mennonite heritage. Paska!

For those of you who haven't been blessed with pasta all of your life, I'll explain... It's a sweet yeast bread made with orange and lemon and then iced. Due to the huge amount of time required to make it (rising 3x) I can be thankful that we only enjoy it this time of year. I did, however, make a full recipe (5 loaves worth) so that we could freeze and toast it for just a couple more weeks - if it lasts that long. 

Here are my lemon and orange about to be pureed with warm milk and butter.

When Ryder heard the word 'bread' he perked up and became a very keen helper!

First the salt.

Then the sugar.

With over 8 cups of flour, I sure am glad that I stocked up last time we were at Costco.

Maybe it's time for a bigger KitchenAid?

Risen dough for the second time - can you tell that it's getting late?
 

I ran out of loaf pans, so we ended up with some mini loaves. 

 And then this morning, just for fun, I experimented by making my own powdered sugar for the icing. I had seen something on Pinterest about homemade brown and powdered sugars and since the regular stuff is so much cheaper and more readily accessible, I gave it a whirl. Our Vitamix did a great job of powdering the sugar and with butter, whole milk, and a splash of homemade vanilla, they were frosted and ready to eat in no time.

Traditionally, it's decorated with coconut and jelly beans, then slathered with butter, but I had to substitute Carrot Cake M&Ms for jellybeans since we didn't have any at the house. 

Paska anyone?