FOOD for Thought

This post is about a week past due however I decided to share it anyway and what better way to start than with a doodle. As with most holidays, I usually have a wrap-up post to share food, crafts or whatever it may be. 

This years Easter table was set in light pink and navy along with some natural accents. The fresh moss was actually taken off one of our trees which was a fun last minute idea. 

This is our traditional Easter Bread. 

The crumb topping is our favorite part of these loaves of Cardamom Bread. 

Deviled eggs are a must.

I made some with relish and some without and used a sprinkle of paprika to differentiate the two choices which worked well.

Oven roasted asparagus.

Ham, tossed salad and lemon meringue pie.

Also a Pea Salad with cashews and water chestnuts. 

Another wonderful Easter with a traditional family dinner.

Happy Saturday!

Easter sweets & sweet Surprises

Easter was certainly different this year with COVID-19 and the social distancing rules that are still in place however we managed to make the best of it. Easter church service was virtual as it has been since this all started and Easter Dinner was another Tele~Sunday Supper which is our new Sunday tradition. One thing that did not change much though was our Easter Menu. The only difference was it was a Dinner for Two. 

Let's start with dessert first, shall we! We had a medley of sweets which included Easter sugar cookies, lemon bars and a simple Angel Food cake with whipped cream on the side { for those of us that like to pile it on! }. The fun part about all the dessert was that we gave some of the lemon bars and cookies away to neighbors and family. 

As for our dinner, it was a hard choice between lamb and ham however we finally decided on ham which we do not have as often.  We also had simple but traditional sides of potatoes, asparagus, deviled eggs, fruit salad and carrots which was plenty since it was just the two of us. 

On Saturday, while I was preparing for Easter, something caught my eye as I walked past the windows by the front door. I opened the door and found a sweet surprise sitting on our front porch. It was a mason jar full of beautiful tulips and daffodils. A Grand Surprise to be sure! The thoughtful and cheerful bouquet was from our dear longtime friends. The flowers looked wonderful on our Easter table and they remind me of our friends every time I walk by. 

Our dinner for two was nice and it was great to have leftovers for a couple of days plus a pot of ham soup. The dessert is going fast so it looks like I will be baking again this weekend. As for next year, we look forward to celebrating Easter all together! 

Happy Thursday!

Eggshell Flower Vases

Simple but sweet flowers adorned our Easter table this year.

The flowers were from a bouquet which was a Grand Surprise I received from Miss E about a week ago. A few flowers were beginning to wilt however the little purple flowers still looked pretty good so I decided to snip some for my  eggshell vases. 

They were perfect and added a little pop of color to my neutral vintage Easter table. They also dry nicely so we get to enjoy them a little longer!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Easter Chick Cupcakes

These sweet cupcakes were on my baking list for Easter however I almost didn't have enough time to make them. 

Fortunately, I did find a little time on Saturday evening to bake the cupcakes and then had just enough time to decorate them before our family arrived for Easter Dinner on Sunday.

I think they turned out pretty cute even though the decorating was a bit rushed.

They were a fun addition to our Easter dessert selection.

Happy Monday!

Easter 2018 ~ Sweets

Easter was so early this year that I felt a little behind. Partly because my to~do list was a bit longer than I had time for, as usual. However, I like to prioritize which helps so at least that way the most important things get finished in case I do run out of time.

I always have a big list of desserts I want to try but never seem to have time to make them all and this year was no different. Due to the short timeline, I decided to choose the desserts that were quickest and easiest to make.

One thing I really wanted to make were mints so used my favorite recipe, mixed them up early and put them in the refrigerator until we were ready to mold them. Later Miss E chipped in and finished the mints by rolling them into balls and then flattening them with a fork which formed them into perfect disks. Ordinarily I press the mints into molds but this method worked great and looked very cute. 

Of course we had to have Lemon Meringue Pies, which I offered to make, and mom made Angel Food Cake, which is also a must for our Easter dinner. 

These festive Macaroon Nests were as fun to make as they were to eat. 

We had a wonderful family Easter and now look forward to April birthdays!

Happy Tuesday!

Easter 2018 ~ Appetizers

Our Easter dinner menu is usually about same each year no matter who in the family is hosting and as tradition would have it I kept it the same. Ham, potato salad, asparagus, marinated carrot salad, fruit salad and cardamom Easter bread are some of the mainstays of our meal so to change things up a bit I like to serve new appetizers.

These one bite appetizers were packed with flavor. 

I served fresh veggies with this beautiful hummus. It was delicious and such a pretty color for spring. 

Assorted crackers were added to the roulade platter along with a cute little knife to serve up this delicious basil cheese . 

The Mango Basil Prosciutto wraps were so good and easy to make. This would make a great summer snack as well. 

These appetizers got good reviews on Easter so I am sure they will show up again soon.

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Easter 2017 ~ festive food

It is always hard to whittle down the holiday menus to a somewhat reasonable length when there are so many tasty traditional "must have" items as well as the optional but "oh so fun" choices that are so festive.

Easter Bunny Hummus Bread Bowl

The bread I picked for the Bunny Bread Bowl was a bit out of proportion in relation to the roll for the head which was disappointing. Though after some thought, I decided it might work to trim the loaf down to a more proportional size which worked out ok. In spite of the color difference I think our little bunny was still pretty cute. 

Deviled Egg Chicks

My deviled egg plate is flat in the middle however I wanted the "chicks" to stand upright so I cut out 4 clear Costco egg carton sections keeping them attached in the middle. It worked great. 

Angel Food Cupcakes

We usually have an Angel Food Cake for Easter however I had never tried making cupcakes. They were easy and turned out well but we decided we prefer the traditional tube cake version.  

Marinated Carrot Salad

Always a favorite! 

{ or at least one of my favorites }

Lemon Curd Mousse Parfaits ~ gluten free

{ Lemon Meringue Pie ~ back right }

Potted Carrots in Hummus

These little pots of hummus and carrots were just too cute! The little flower pots were some I painted several years ago for My Favorite Things Tea Party. They were perfect for the carrots. 

Happy Tuesday!

Portuguese Easter Bread

This is an amazing sweet bread that I usually only bake once a year for Easter. The round loaves contain a hint of cardamom and the crumb topping includes a smidgeon of nutmeg. 

This bread is a family favorite!

Have a wonderful Monday!