Easter Basket Case

Hello there.  I just thought I’d share a few ideas to make your Easter a little extra special this year, if you don’t mind…
But first I need a moment to collect my thoughts.

Last year my little girl was only about a month old and I can’t seem to wrap my brain around the fact that a year has passed since her first Easter.  That, and the fact that it has now been 3 years since my son’s first real one.  It’s driving me a little nutty, actually.  Last year my daughter slept through the festivities, but this year she will get to play.

The kids will wake up to their baskets left in the hallway by Mr. Bunny.  (I hope the lady will be as excited as her big brother was with his first one.)

Then we will have the famous egg hunt in our yard.

My daughter will follow her big brother around like a tipsy, little puppy and steal the eggs out of his basket.  He will hate it and complain and we will watch as she either hides them again or puts them all in her mouth and quite possibly has her first taste of chocolate, just as her brother did 3 years before.

Big brother will have the best time, surrounded by the magic of the Big Bunny and his incredible hiding abilities.

Mommy and Daddy will sip champagne, sit back and marvel at the fact that we have two children who can walk and play together.  We will think,  

 

I don’t come from a very religious family, but Easter was always a special time for us.  We always had an Easter basket that rivaled any Christmas stocking, from the time I was a baby up until adulthood.

And we spent it together, mostly at Wrightsville Beach.

This is me on the left, my brother in the center, and my cousin, Quinn at Wrightsville Beach.

I have so many fond memories of drawing on delicate, hard-boiled eggs with crayons before dropping them into plastic cups of food coloring, having a contest to see who had the prettiest egg, and the egg hunts my brother and I had in that tiny, spur-filled yard.  Sometimes my parents would forget where the eggs were hidden and learned they needed to take notes.  I, always the boss, would race ahead to find the most eggs as my younger brother gathered cheating hints from the rest of the family.

In Davidson, this is me, Sarah Gigantino, and brother Jake.

Now I’m a mother with two kids of my own and want to help create memories for them.  I want them to remember the pine cones that hurt their feet in the yard, the magic egg that is always hidden in the rosemary plant by the back door, and the feeling they had when one of them was announced as the winner that year.  I can’t wait to see their faces early Sunday morning as they see their baskets filled to the brim with all of their favorite things.  (If they’re anything like me, they will have had chocolate for breakfast before the adults had their coffee.)

From the left-Charlie Gigantino, brother Jake, me, and Sarah Gigantino in Davidson.

This year I am excited.  I’m excited that I get to celebrate another holiday with my little family, and that when they have children of their own some day, they will have plenty of memories to draw from to create their own traditions.

That, and I just needed to collect my thoughts.
Thank you for not minding…

You can refer to the Easter recipe list I posted last year, by clicking here.

You’ll find recipes for things like fruit gummy candies…

champagne gelatin jigglers…

agave marshmallows…

and spring pea custard-

…among other things. (I even give you a little info on making natural, food-based egg dyes.  But since my life this year is a heck of a lot crazier than it was last year, we will be dying our eggs using Kool Aid.  There is already citric acid in the packets so you don’t have to add any vinegar to make the color stick to your eggs.  And to me, the colored Easter egg is a much better home for all the chemicals and dyes that Kool Aid has to offer.)

You can also check out my recipe for turning my agave marshmallows into your own Marshmallow Peeps by clicking here.  My son had a great time with these last year and we will definitely be doing them again next week.

But this year I have a couple more things to add to my list.

We will definitely be having my Carrot Cake Scones Easter morning.  These suckers are freakin’ fantastic.

Or maybe you want a sweet-savory scone like the Ham and Cheddar Scones I served my family last year on Easter Sunday.

If you’re eating the Leg of Lamb Roast as many of us do, then you may wanna try this easy Whole Grain Mustard-Brown Sugar Marinade.

Or…if you want a different twist on the usual Lamb dinner, try my Lamb Caponata with Balsamic Vinegar, Pine nuts and Raisins.

Maybe you need something special for lunch… my Pizza with Prosciutto, Asparagus and Caramelized Onion-Peach Jam is perfect for that.

But then again, so is my Spaghetti with Champagne, Prosciutto and Fresh Mozzarella…

Or maybe you just want to take your time on some Braised Artichokes before your big dinner

that may, or may not include some delicious Slow Roasted Carrots with Honey and Feta,

or the equally yummy version with Beets and Parsnips.

However you choose to celebrate Easter, whether it’s for religious reasons or simply because it’s another excuse to spend time with your family, I hope it is as wonderful and special as I know mine will be.

Cheers!