Easter-A Day to Celebrate Spring

Easter holds many happy childhood memories for me. Some that are specifically related to the holiday like dying eggs or decorating the house, but many more that are generally related to the coming of Spring. That wonderful time when the sun feels warmer and the outdoors feels alive again. When this change in weather occurs I am always reminded of the past by the scents and sights of Spring. I walk past a yard that is being mulched and I think about going to gardening stores with my mom to pick out things to plant and of course to order a giant pile of mulch. The new grass reminds me of the much coveted feeling of putting one's bare feet in the grass for the first time after Winter. As a child the weeks around Easter were a time when I was still in school, but the promise of Summer vacation was within reach. A wonderful time of excitement and expectation and the Easter holiday was the preview. A chance to sample all the wonderful things that Summer will bring.

Even now with no promise of a Summer vacation I still enjoy celebrating Easter. For me it has become a day to stop and recognize that Spring is here with all the wonderful feelings of new life and a clean slate that this particular season holds. Plus who doesn't enjoy having a reason to make a special meal.

I was pretty excited to plan a menu for this Easter and decided to try a couple new things. Thanks to some prep-work these were ready on Sunday morning.

We dyed the eggs using vegetable and fruit pigments, the best results came from onion skins and blueberries, but we also tried beets and spinach. The scones were actually supposed to be a Russian Easter Bread, a first for us. This was one of my attempts to add some Russian Easter traditions into our holiday. However, the dough ended up not rising, so my mother made a quick save by turning them into mini-scones! 

Continuing on the theme of blending some Russian traditions into our holiday, brunch was blini with a variety of toppings: smoked salmon, cream cheese, stewed blueberries (from dyeing the eggs), jam, and eggs. During the meal we even played a Russian Easter game. While American children search for hidden eggs on Easter morning, Russian children play a slightly more aggressive game. One person holds an egg and the other attempts to crack the opponents eggs with their own egg, but without damaging their own egg. Whoever doesn’t have a cracked egg gets both eggs and eats them. 

Since the weather was beautiful yesterday and we had just finished a very filling brunch, a walk seemed like a natural choice.  Our first idea was to check if the cherry blossoms were out, but it looks like one more week until DC is filled with their blooms.  Instead we headed down towards the mall and wandered through several of the small gardens between the Smithsonian’s museums.

After we got back we laid out a cheese board and some smoked blue fish for an afternoon snack. Apparently we were so excited to consume it that I didn’t even take a photo of it, but it was delicious.

As you might imagine after that a long break was required before anyone even wanted to think about eating again. But eventually around 8pm we reconvened for a dinner of scallops, asparagus and a new mushroom tart. It was a tasty dinner, but we were all so full that we could barely enjoy it. Clearly we should have gotten an earlier start to the day or planned fewer dishes.

I mentioned earlier that I was trying some new dishes out and the mushroom tart was one of them. I love mushrooms and goat cheese so the idea of a pretty tart consisting of both sounded perfect. However, the recipe is a work in progress. We used an all whole-wheat crust and it was a bit strong for the tart and the mushrooms were less flavorful than we hoped. It will require some tinkering, but eventually I will share a mushroom tart recipe.

Finally I couldn’t do Easter without some sweets (even if I should have). I made my homemade bounty bars in the shape of eggs and the chocolate coconut pie I made for New Year’s. We manage somehow to sample them, but not much more so we have dessert for the week now.

I would love to hear how you all spent Easter. Let me know in the comments below. And if you were hoping for the chocolate coconut pie recipe check back in a few days please.