Have A Nice Easter

Easter at our house is non religious occasion. We celebrate by having a family gathering and enjoying one another's company over some good food. Since spring is the time that the earth renews itself, the egg is an important part of our feast. The egg is universal. It has been a symbol of life and renewal in families of many cultures and of many different beliefs for thousands of years.

Every year I make Hungarian Pickled Eggs from an old family recipe. These eggs are a beautiful pink color because they are pickled in canned beet juice. The beet slices with their juice are placed in a large jar to which hard boiled eggs and vinegar are added. I also add several cloves, some pickling spices, and ringlets of sliced onion. One must wait almost a week for the eggs to pickle. They will be done tomorrow. The taste is unique and delicious! I can't wait.

My husband likes ham, so a hickory smoked ham with glaze will grace our table. Several types of bread and mustards will make for real good ham sandwiches and I made a batch a Swedish cucumber salad as a companion side dish.

Spring is not only about remewal. It is also about freshness or newness so I am very excited about the jars of pickled asparagus that I bought. I didn't even know there was such a thing as pickled asparagus but boy, is it good! So something new will be placed on the table for everyone to try. Another family favorite we will enjoy tomorrow is steamed artichokes with lemon/garlic dipping butter. Cheeses, crackers, Jalapeno stuffed olives and a basket filled with chocolates and jellybeans will complete our table.

Someone recently asked me when I had last seen the movie, Gandhi. I hadn't seen it for a long time, so when I ran across the two-disc collector's edition with Ben Kingsley, I bought it. We've all had to endure four years of a terrible war - watching Gandhi on Easter seems apropos. I hope it will help us to renew our dedication to World Peace and the practice of non-violent protest.

We are going to watch Gandhi while we have dessert - homemade Pineapple Upside-Down cake.

Good thoughts - Good company- Good Food

*Note - The photo above was taken of an Easter wreath that I made several years ago for my father-in-law while he was in a convalescent hospital. I put the Peace Sign into the wreath when I took the picture last year. The Peace Sign dates back to Bush One - Gulf War One.

I wish you and yours a wonderful spring holiday.

..................PEACE....................
....Kitchen Window Woman....