Eggs for Easter ~ fun ways to eat your eggs

Soft boiled eggs are a perfectly simple breakfast for Easter

I don't know about you, but at our house, we think that eggs are right up there with bunny rabbits as the best decorations for Easter.  We have eggs everywhere ~ both inside the house & out.  We've got colorful plastic ones, neon ones, hand decorated ones, jumbo ones, mini ones, chocolate ones, hand carved ones & last, but not least, colorful fresh ones. (supplied by friends with chickens ~ thanks to Dan & to Misty!)  I also have a bunch of playful egg cups that my cousin, Susanne, sent me years ago.  Those egg cups make an appearance whenever we eat soft boiled eggs ~ but they take center stage at Easter time.  They are such a whimsical way to display Easter eggs ~ I can't imagine Easter without  them. 

Soft boiled egg & 'toast soldiers'



Playful egg cups make a breakfast so much more fun...

Fresh eggs are the BEST!
 

I always use an 'Egg-Perfect Eggtimer' to cook my eggs.  It takes all the guess work out of when to take the eggs out of the water.  It is my 'go-to' for all hot water boiling of eggs.  I also couldn't live without my 'egg topper',  it makes it so easy to remove the top off a soft boiled egg.   (it's shaped like Micky Mouse's head, so it makes me smile, too)



...the pinker they get.
The longer they soak...
I also like to soak hard boiled eggs in some pickled beet juice to make shocking pink eggs.  They look cool & really brighten up any salad you put them in. I'll try making deviled eggs with them next time.
 
High 5 Lamb (with egg ear muffs)



















                                                                                 
Peeping chick
Easter Egg Bush



Easter Pals
Robins Egg



  Happy Easter ~ from our family to yours!




Easter brunch party

Deviled Eggs ~ Simply Perfect

Simply Perfect Deviled Eggs


I love deviled eggs, I've enjoyed them ever since I was a child.  Now that I think of it, I don't have a childhood holiday memory that doesn't include this food on the table.  Grandma Bunni was the queen of deviled eggs, at least I thought so.  She grew up in an era that always included this tasty morsel at every holiday party, get-together, cocktail party or just because.  If there were friends & family present, you could count on there being a tray of her deviled eggs, just waiting to make their appearance.

She would make them several different ways. Sometimes she used for the creamy bit ~ Best Foods mayo, Miracle Whip or even cream cheese. She then might add (in no particular combination)  minced bits ~ sweet pickles, purple onions, celery, spring onions or capers.  Then she would garnish them with whatever struck her fancy ~ sliced garnish ~ black olives, green olives, pimentos, capers, parsley or paprika.  She would mix & match the creamy bit & minced bits with the sliced garnish ~ according to her mood & what she had in the kitchen.  As I got older, I sometimes took over the preparation of the deviled eggs & I would look to some fancier ingredients/presentations, à la 1980's frou-frou recipes from Bon Appétit or Gourmet magazines.

But of all her/my many combinations, I think the one I like the most is the simplest one she made.  She would make it this way when it was just the two of us ~ for either lunch or dinner.  Sometimes it's the simple things in life that are the best.   Here is the very easy, simple and perfect (at least to me) way to make deviled eggs.  The beauty of this recipe is that you can make just one or one hundred deviled eggs.  When they are this easy to make, there is no need to wait for a special occasion to enjoy these tasty tidbits ~ you just need the longing to enjoy a little taste of home cooking, as it used to be.  I still use Grandma Bunni's white deviled egg plate & still have her old, white hen dish.  They have been a part of eating deviled eggs for as long as I can remember.  Now, J has them as part of his childhood memories, too.  Just as it should be...



Grandma Bunni's Simply Perfect Deviled Eggs

(amounts of servings/ingredients are varied ~ depends on how many you are making)




~           hard boiled eggs, as many as you want (each egg will make two
             deviled eggs)
~           Best Foods or Hellmann's Mayonnaise ~ has to be this kind,
             it's got the perfect flavoring, can be regular or lowfat, but not
             fat free (fat free is sweeter, blah) (it's called Best Foods on the
             west coast & Hellmann's out east ~ don't ask me why, it just is)

~           salt & pepper, to taste
~           paprika & chopped parsley, for garnish




1)          hard boil as many eggs as you want ~ from one egg to as many as
              you need (ie. six eggs will make 12 deviled eggs)

2)         cut each egg in half & pop out the yolk into a bowl

3)         mash yolks with a fork until all yolks are nicely smashed & 'fluffy'

4)         add one heaping teaspoon of mayonnaise per egg yolk
            (or a bit more if you like your deviled egg centers really creamy,
              I like mine a bit firmer ~ so I can really taste the richness of the yolk) 

5)         combine yolks & mayo until well blended & creamy,
            add salt & pepper to taste




6)         put the yolk mixture into the center of each hollowed out egg
            either by spooning it in, or using a baggie with the end cut off,
            or a fancy pastry bag (spooning is easiest)

7)         garnish with paprika & chopped parsley

8)         let them sit in the fridge for at least one hour before serving ~
            so the flavors can develop  


Enjoy!


Easy Zabaglione ~ a quick Italian dessert for Easter

Easy Zabaglione & Whipped Cream


My nephew was asking me if I had any recipe ideas for Easter that I could share.  I do.  I'm working on a few that I'm getting ready to post, but I thought I would see what I could find that was Italian, to keep up with the family tradition thing ~ this time for his side of the family.  I found this recipe for Zabaglione that looked good, but I wanted something that was egg-free, low cal & really easy to prepare.  I was inspired to go into the kitchen & see what I could come up with.  I created a recipe that is a spin on Zabaglione.  I think it works as an easy, elegant adult dessert.  So, this post is for my nieces, Leslee, Desy & my nephew, David ~ luckily they are all old enough to drink.  :)


Quick & Easy Zabaglione
serves 2-4

1 small box                 French vanilla instant pudding (sugar free or regular)
1 cup                           milk (fat free, lowfat or regular)
1/2 cup                        Marsala wine
1/4 tsp                         cinnamon
1/2 tsp                         lemon zest

1 cup                           Cool Whip


~                                  favorite cookies
~                                  cinnamon sugar for sprinkling
~                                  whipped cream or Cool Whip 



1)    combine milk, cinnamon, lemon zest & instant pudding in a bowl ~
       combine thoroughly, with a whisk or hand mixer, for approx. 2 minutes

2)    add Marsala wine & gently blend together ~
        refrigerate for a few hours, until set
     
3)    when ready to serve, gently fold in the Cool Whip & spoon into
        pretty glasses

4)    top with whipped cream, one of your favorite cookies &
        a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar


 Enjoy!
   sambayon sabayon zabajone zabaione zabaion

Semla ~ Swedish Almond Cream Pastry Buns


 Semla ~ a Swedish tradition

During the past Christmas season, J & I did some ethnic cooking/eating.  J was studying holiday traditions from various countries & cultures, so I made recipes from those places.  I decided to continue that cooking/eating theme for Shrove Tuesday / Fat Tuesday / Mardi Gras / and now for Easter.  This time I looked to my fathers side of the family for some cooking inspiration.

Perfect with a cup of coffee or tea

On my fathers side of the family, we come from Scandinavian stock ~ my great-grandparents came from Sweden & Norway.  I decided on ~ Easter in Sweden ~ I searched the web & found out about this lovely Swedish bun/pastry called Semla, it's served throughout Sweden this time of year.  It's enjoyed from just before Lent & right through until Easter.  It's a wheat bun, scented with cardamom, filled with almond paste, custard & whipped cream ~ I decided right then & there that I would have to try making it.  Here is the first Semla recipe that caught my eye.  The post has lots of interesting info on this Swedish Lent / Easter-time specialty, past & present. 

The hollowed out inside of the bun is filled with almond paste, custard, crumbled bread, cardamom & topped with whipped cream

I kept on looking for more Semla recipes & after looking at a lot of online recipes, I came to the conclusion that I would definitely have to tweak a basic store bought, wheat bun Semla recipe.  I'm not really a baker & I wanted something NOW, not something I would have to go to the store for, buy a bunch of stuff for, or to stress over.  I wanted to make something that had similar flavors that would allow all of us the chance to enjoy a little bit of Swedish 'Lent / Easter celebration' food.  I was in luck ~ I had a can of whipped cream, tub of Cool Whip & a pop'n'fresh can of wheat pizza dough in the fridge and a jar of almond butter, powdered sugar, vanilla/tapioca pudding cups, almond extract & cardamom in the pantry.  Alright, I was ready to create my Semla!


Semla Petit Four
Since I've never had an actual Semla, I'm not sure how mine compares to the real deal, but I can tell you this batch I made turned out FANTASTIC!!  I will make these again & again.  I love the almond flavor & the combination of all the ingredients is sooo good!  The boys couldn't get enough of these tasty treats & neither could I ~ they lasted all of about 10 minutes.  I even made some pretty, little Semla petit fours out of some of the leftovers.  I just layered a little sliced bun with the almond paste, pudding, whipped cream & sprinkled with some cardamom.  Too cute & delish!! 

So, if you are not a stickler for having to follow traditional recipes to the letter & you want to try a Swedish Lent / Easter inspired pasty bun, give my adapted Semla recipe a try.  I'm sure you will love it as much as we do.


Quick & Easy Swedish Semla
makes 6 buns

Ingredients
Semla 'Buns'
1 can       refrigerated pizza dough, cut/divided into 6 pieces (buns) ~
                bake at 350 degrees until 'buns' are done & golden, cool
                before cutting/filling

Easy 'Almond Paste'
2 tbsp       almond butter
8 tbsp       powdered sugar
1/4 tsp      almond extract (or to taste)
~                pinch of cardamom

Quick 'Custard'
2              vanilla/tapioca pudding cups
~              powdered cardamom
~              can of whipped cream or tub of cool whip (regular/lowfat/fat free)



 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Directions
1)   make easy almond paste by mixing almond butter, powdered sugar,
       almond extract & a pinch of cardamom ~ together until smooth

2)   cut out a triangle 'lid' from each cooled bun & hollow out as much of the
       inside of the bun as you can.  Crumble the pulled out bread in a bowl &
       mix with one heaping tbsp almond paste mixture & one heaping tbsp
       pudding ~ blend all well  (add a little milk or whipped cream it too dry)

3)   fill the hollowed out bun with the almond/pudding mix, then top
       generously with whipped cream/cool whip & sprinkle with a little
      cardamom

4)    replace the bun lid, resting it gently on top of the whipped cream &
       sprinkle filled bun with a little powdered sugar

5)    repeat process with remaining buns

6)    if using canned whipped cream ~ enjoy immediately
        if using Cool Whip ~ store in fridge until ready to eat ~ use within one day  

**  If you wanted to make this even easier, just use store bought, unsplit buns or rolls ~ either from the bakery self-serve case or maybe even using some Kings Hawaiian Rolls ~ Ooo, I'll have to try that myself next time :)


Spinach Pesto & Spinach Strawberry Salad~Meatless Monday

Spinach Pesto

Spinach Pesto ~ One word ~ YUMMY! This is an excellent dish.  The vibrant green color is amazing.  J loves it!   He really enjoys eating his spinach & this dinner always disappears quick.  I love it when it's so easy to get him to eat his veggies.  I use whatever pasta I have handy.  Try this wonderful recipe over at Real Simple. I have to throw in a little bit of dried basil, along with the spinach.  It just isn't pesto (to me, anyway) without some basil.




Spinach Strawberry Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette

Spinach Strawberry Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette ~ What an easy way to eat your spinach. I don't know why strawberries with spinach trips my trigger so, but it does.  I guess it reminds me of the salads I used to make when I lived in Los Angeles.  I remember driving past large plots of strawberries & being able to just pull over on the side of the road to buy flats of fresh strawberries ~ still warm from being picked from the field.  Of course, that was in the late 80's/early 90's.  I'm sure all those fields, that were tucked in between housing developments, sprinkled here & there, in & among the foothills of L.A., are all long gone...OK, enough strolling down memory lane.  Let's eat!  :) 

I cheated with the salad dressing ~ I just added some strawberry jam to the bottled Italian dressing to make the 'Strawberry Vinaigrette'.  I say ~ Why not?  It makes this salad so very quick & easy to throw together.  It's also the easiest way to change up a salad dressing to suit whatever fruit you're using.  Use this 'doctored-up' dressing in any salad you're making ~ spinach, any other salad greens, pasta or grains.  It's especially good for when the different fruits come into season.  (I also like any excuse to keep different jams in the fridge. heehee)  Just change the fruit jam you are using to match the fresh fruit you are putting in the salad.  ~  Use blueberry jam with fresh blueberries, orange marmalade with oranges...you get the drift.  If I use a fat free Italian dressing, it even makes it diet friendly.  Gotta love that!



Spinach Strawberry Salad
with Easy Strawberry Vinaigrette
serves 2-3 (or one very hungry person, that would be me!)


1 bag                baby spinach, prewashed
1 1/2 cups        sliced strawberries
1/2 cup             walnuts, toasted & chopped
1/4 cup             Parmesan cheese, grated


1/4 cup             your favorite bottled Italian dressing (regular, fat free, lowfat)
1 tbsp               strawberry jam

~                      salt & pepper, to taste



Toss first 4 ingredients in salad bowl 

Blend Italian salad dressing with strawberry jam in small jar ~ Shake up until well blended 

Add dressing to spinach salad & toss to coat. Salt & pepper, to taste.

Enjoy!




Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies & Chocolate Chip Cookies ~ made with almond flour, gluten-free

Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies & Chocolate Chip Cookies ~ Gluten-Free

I just made the most amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies, as well as Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies!!  They are healthy, gluten-free, easy to make & oh, so delicious!  I was looking at a post by Mama Pea, over at ~ Peas & Thank You ~ & once again found myself running right into my kitchen (at 10 pm) to make another of her fab recipes.  This time it was for her recipe for Caveman Cookies.  It's a Paleo Diet friendly chocolate chip cookie that is made with almond flour.  This is a perfect recipe to use almond flour in, it makes these cookies dynamite!! 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Since I could only bake half the cookie dough at a time, I decided to add a few things to the remaining cookie dough to see if I could change it into an Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookie.  It worked perfectly, except that by adding the oatmeal it was no longer Paleo Diet friendly ~ I can live with that.  




The cookies are really moist & tender, with a nice, light chewy texture.  When you store them (if you don't eat them all first) layer them between waxed paper.  The original Caveman Cookie recipe looked like it would be a bit too sweet for me, so I used a little less honey than Mama Pea's recipe called for & I added some water in its place.  Worked like a charm!   Here is my recipe for ~ Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies ~  adapted from the Caveman Cookie recipe.

Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies


Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies ~ Gluten-Free
makes approx. 24 cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups almond flour
  • 1/3 cup oatmeal ~ gluten free, quick cooking
  • 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped & toasted (toasting optional)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 2/3 cup almond butter
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix first 6 ingredients in bowl until thoroughly combined.  In another large bowl, cream next five ingredients until thoroughly blended.

Combine almond mixture with wet mixture, gradually, until dough forms (if dough is too dry, add extra water ~ a tsp at a time).  Fold in raisins.

Drop heaping teaspoons of dough, 1 inch apart, on parchment paper covered cookie sheet.

Bake 11-12 minutes, or until set.  Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then move to cooling rack.

Store in air tight container, once cookies are cool, layering cookies between wax paper.


Enjoy!



Just Desserts

I was going through some of my old food photos & came across some sweet treats that I thought would be good for a little temptation...er, I mean ~ inspiration.  Enjoy!

Low-Fat Black Bean Brownies, Vegan & Gluten-Free ~ Very unusual  recipe, a dense & almost fudge-like brownie.  It's made with black beans, bananas & gluten-free oatmeal.  I sprinkled some chocolate chips on top, just before baking & added a drizzle of chocolate syrup when serving.  (just upping the chocolate factor)  I bet walnuts would be good in them, too.  J liked them, but then, he likes anything with chocolate.  He had no clue that they had black beans in them, you won't either ~ you just can't tell.  After spending a few days in the fridge, the brownies tasted even better.  It's an easy way to get more veg/fruit slipped into the meal. I will make them again. :)



Granola Bars/Cookies ~ with Chocolate, Almonds & Dried Cranberries ~ This was featured in our Sunday paper awhile back.  They were good, but too rich/sweet for a true granola bar. I ended up cutting them into 1" cookie 'bites' & we enjoyed them so much more.  That way they're a perfect  little treat with a cup of tea, coffee, milk or for an after school snack.   As a cookie, they would be a nice addition to any holiday cookie tray.   To make them a fancier 'cookie', I would drizzle some melted milk/dark chocolate chips on them when they're done cooling.  I do love my chocolate...  :)



Quick Peach Cobbler ~ This is a super simple dessert recipe from the Betty Crocker website.  I made a few changes ~ I used skim milk, Heart Healthy Bisquick & sprinkled some oatmeal on top, just before baking.  Easy way to cut the calories a bit & up the fiber. This is such an easy way to make this classic dessert.  




Black Eyed Pea Tabbouleh Salad ~ Gluten-Free Twist


Black Eyed Pea Tabbouleh ~ This gluten-free version (using black eyed peas instead of the traditional bulgur wheat) gets it's fresh taste from using fruit in the salad, instead of the expected veggies. 

tabouli taboule tabbouleh tabouleh tabbouli

Have you ever had one of those days, when you get a craving that hits you from out of nowhere?  I was craving tabbouleh yesterday, big time, but I was fresh out of bulgur wheat.  Darn!  I did have a big bunch of parsley in the fridge & it continued calling my name.  I had to figure out a way to satisfy my hunger, using what I had available.  After rummaging around in the pantry & the veggie/fruit bins, I came up with a colorful assortment of ingredients to work with.  Now that I think about it, I bet I was actually craving the parsley.  I guess my body wanted a bit of spring detoxing.  Happy to say, I came up with a wonderful salad that was full of flavor, color, & all-around goodness.  Since I substituted black eyed peas for the bulgur wheat, it became gluten-free.  Cool.  I really think this salad can be used as a lighter tasting stand-in for traditional tabbouleh.  Who says black eyed peas are only for eating at New Years, in Hoppin' John or Texas Caviar?  I'll definitely be making this salad again, as well as adding more black eyed peas to our diet ~ so glad I was out of bulgur wheat.  :) 

I went over to Livestrong.com & got the scoop on all the items (parsley, black eyed peas, oranges, red grapes, purple onion, balsamic vinegar, walnuts, mint, & extra virgin olive oil) that I used to make the salad.  I was really pleased to see how much healthy goodness went into my impromptu lunch salad.  This recipe is a keeper, it reminds me of what is served in some of the restaurants I used to go to when I lived in Los Angeles.  California has access to such great produce, year round, it's easy to see why they like to use it in fresh dishes, like this.    Enjoy!



Black Eyed Pea Tabbouleh Salad
serves 2-3
  
1 can          black eyed peas, rinsed & drained
3 cups        fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup       red grapes, cut in half
1                 orange, peeled & cut into chunks
1/4 cup       purple onion, rinsed & cut into thin strips (or to taste)
1/2 cup       walnuts, chopped
1 tsp           dried mint, crushed (or more if you like a more pronounced mint flavor)
                   (or 5 fresh mint leaves, chopped) 


Dressing (double if you like a  lot of dressing on your tabbouleh)
1 tbsp          extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp          balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp          orange juice 

~                  salt & pepper, to taste


1)    toss first 7 ingredients in large bowl

2)    in a small jar shake until blended ~ olive oil, vinegar & orange juice
       & pour over the tabbouleh

3)    toss all together until combined, salt & pepper to taste



Creative Leftovers ~ Irish Soda Bread & Corned Beef Seitan

Strawberry Shortcake ~ made with leftover Irish Soda Bread ~ This was amazing!  The soda bread was perfect as a stand-in for traditional shortcake. I just cubed up the leftover soda bread & spooned sugared strawberries over the top.  We like to pour a little half & half (or milk) over our strawberry shortcake, as well as a bit of whipped cream.  It was a perfect dessert to go with the warm temps we have been enjoying this past week.



Remember the Irish Soda Bread and the Vegan Corned Beef & Cabbage I posted about last week?  Well, I had some leftovers from that St. Patrick's Day meal & I always get creative with my 'leftovers'.  When I get through tinkering, you'd never know you were eating the same thing for the second (or third) time.  You could easily use regular Corned Beef, if that is what you have hanging around ~ it would taste amazing no matter which type of Corned Beef  (vegan or regular) you use.




Grilled Open-Faced Vegetarian Corned Beef & Swiss Sandwich with Roasted Red Peppers ~ made with leftover Vegan Corned Beef Seitan ~ I basically started making a grilled Swiss cheese sandwich, but didn't put the two slices of bread together.  Instead I topped each slice of  melted Swiss cheese/bread with some hot, sliced corned beef seitan & then added diced roasted red peppers with a bit of yellow mustard & parsley.  It was sooo good!



Grilled Vegetarian Reuben ~ made with the leftover Vegan Corned Beef Seitan ~ This is addicting!  I thin sliced the corned beef seitan with my mandolin slicer & then cooked the thin slices in a single layer, in a medium hot pan, with a bit of oil - just until it started to get a bit golden.  I heated some sauerkraut & grilled some bread with Swiss cheese & layered it all together with some Thousand Island dressing & mustard.  I served it with some pickled green tomatoes that I made at the end of last summer.  Man, this was crazy good!!!

All ready to assemble...

Slicing it thin...














Vegetarian Reuben with homemade Pickled Green Tomatoes ~ Awesome!!



Vegetarian Pâté ~ made with leftover Vegan Corned Beef Seitan ~ This was so easy to make.  Just take some slices of the corned beef seitan, mash it up with a fork, until you get it fairly smooth.  Then add some of your favorite mayo, a little at a time, until you get a thick, creamy blend.  Since the corned beef seitan is already spiced, you don't have to add any more spices - but get creative if you feel like it.  If you are using regular corned beef, I would use a food processor to blend it, otherwise you would be there all day trying to get it smooth.  :)  I was inspired to make this vegetarian pâté after I made a regular chicken liver pâté, for my Mad Men Cocktail Party post.



I hope these photos give you some ideas on what to do with some of your St. Patrick's Day leftovers.  Now, I'm guessing there are no leftovers of this, hanging around in your fridge... and if there are, I'm sure you know exactly what to do with them.  :)








 
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