Egg Hunts with the Kids

The kiddos did two egg hunts this year -- one organized by some friends and another by a local rec center. As always, the search itself surpassed the prizes!

Photo Friday: Easter Best

March 27, 2016

Dying Easter Eggs for the First-ish Time

Last week was the second time that Edith had dyed Easter eggs, but the first time I had as an adult. Last Easter was out of the ordinary -- Atticus had been born three days before, and we didn't color eggs before his arrival. When my in-laws arrived on that Sunday with a full holiday meal, they also brought supplies to color eggs with Edith outside. I was told she had fun, although I stayed inside with our newborn.

I almost skipped it again this year, although I'm glad now that I didn't. I did, however, skip the egg-dying kits and opted for this recipe: 1/2 cup of boiling water, 1 teaspoon of vinegar and 10-20 drops of food coloring. The eggs were vibrant enough for my tastes.

Edith first colored the eggs with crayons, but of course the dye was the star of the show. She mostly just liked spooning the colored water over the eggs. Only a toddler could stretch out coloring a dozen eggs into an activity that probably lasted a couple of hours!

She had so much fun, I'm wondering if we shouldn't color eggs a few times a year just for the heck of it. Always during the week before we plan to eat egg salad, of course.

(PS: Easter is over, but I have to mention a quick quirk of Atticus's birth. How many kids can say they celebrated Easter twice before their first birthday?)

Easter at Home

I've said over and over that one of the best things about living in Ohio again is being so close to our families. That's especially true at every holiday.

But this Easter was even more special -- it's the first one that I've spent with my family in Defiance for at least a decade, as far as I can remember. When we lived in Columbus before, it seemed to make more sense to stay local since we both had to work the next day and Paul's family is nearby.

Maybe the difference now is that the 150 miles between Columbus and Defiance don't seem so long compared to that 500-mile trip between New York and Ohio. Or maybe spending Easter in Defiance was more appealing this year since I don't have to work the next day!

Either way, I'm glad to have the option again for this holiday and all of the ones that follow.

Where Religious Traditions Meet

After I put Wednesday's blog post about Borough Park to bed, I came across an interesting New York Times article about how the neighborhood changes as Passover approaches. There's even a shout-out to the kugel blade I had mentioned.

With Passover beginning Saturday, Easter on Sunday and Orthodox Easter the following weekend, I'm reminded once again about how much I didn't know that I didn't know about other religions before moving to New York. Actually, I knew that I didn't know quite a bit. In reality, I didn't know much, much more.

I've learned about Jewish holidays from both my own and Paul's co-workers. One co-worker of mine is Orthodox, so I've learned to say "Merry Christmas" to her one week late, and I've found out about her vegan Lenten diet.

At the same time, I think I've been able to explain a little bit about Catholicism. I've brought up at least once that Catholics are indeed Christian. And I've described exactly what and when Catholics can eat during Lent -- no meat on Fridays and Ash Wednesday, no eating between meals on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

I wrote about it last December, but the same thing still applies: Happy holidays, no matter what you celebrate.

Our European Kitchen

I haven't spent Easter with my own family in about six years, and it's been two years since we spent the day with Paul's. But even though it was just the two of us in our tiny kitchen, Paul and I did our best to make it seem like that wasn't the case. For lunch we went to Greece, and for supper we prepared a French feast.

Paul was really yesterday's star chef, but I spent a good a bit of the day by the stove -- and the microwave -- as well. I'm a huge fan of couscous, so for lunch I came up with a Greek-inspired dish with spinach, yogurt, feta cheese and olives. It's a one-dish meal that took less than 20 minutes. Mom would be proud.


I'm not a huge fan of ham, so for a couple of weeks Paul and I had been planning a meal that was as un-Easterish as possible. He made a delicious coq au vin, cooking the chicken in a dutch oven filled with wine, pearl onions, carrots, mushroms and other bits of deliciousness.

Instead of mashed potatoes, Paul smashed together cooked turnips and parsnips. It was suprisingly sweet and yummy topped with the leftover wine in which the chicken had been stirring.

So what did I concoct? Paul misses his mom's popovers but agreed to let me attempt them in a muffin tin. They turned out even better than expected. I let Paul choose the dessert I'd be baking, so long as his choice was French and fruity. A blueberry tart fit the bill. Paul raved over it, but in fact it was a little burnt.


Needless to say, we have lots of leftovers and will shortly be eating Easter Dinner Part 2. Or should I say, Part Deux?