Easter 2013

This year's Easter prep continued our annual tradition of investigating a new egg-dying process, this one using shave cream.

The first step is to spread shave cream on a pan and smooth it out.

Then, liberally sprinkle with desired food color. We used the neon variety.



Swirl to marbleize.



Roll egg in colored cream to coat.



Let dry on a rack.



After an appropriate length of time (some sources recommended a few minutes, others as long as overnight) rinse off.



 

 

The result was not as bold as we'd hoped, but prettily pastel for an Easter centerpiece.



Shave cream must be removed between each step before attempting new color combinations.



Since I hate to waste anything, I didn't want to just toss the marbleized shave cream in the trash. Realizing I was wearing a white apron, I decided to apply the colored shave cream to it. In the end, I liked my apron better than the eggs.



Easter dawned bright, clear, sunny, and warm - worth mentioning because it's only the second Easter thus described in my 13 Oregon Easter memory. This is what Easter is supposed to be like!

Emily, at 15, still enjoys receiving a Easter basket. (Sarah, off at college, received hers via care package earlier in the week.) At our house, the Easter Bunny hides the baskets, and recipients must search and find the basket before enjoying its contents. Emily's was hidden quite well this year, and it took quite some time, and a generous hint before it was discovered. She was happy to finally get it and tear into what it held.

 

It was just the three of us this year, so our schedule was our own. Larry, home from work only since 8:30, awoke to join us for Brunch before retiring again for a few hours.

This year's menu included pork roast and gravy, yellow rice, fruit salad,and blueberry muffins...

... as well as our traditional spinach nests topped with a baked egg.

This favorite is started by cooking onion, garlic and mushrooms, then adding spinach for one of my favorite combinations.



After dividing into buttered ramekins, an egg is broken onto the top of each, baked, and garnished with shredded parm. A classic Easter Brunch offering!



Dessert, much later in the day - and the only dish I didn't make - was carrot cake.



The good thing about doing a holiday brunch is that the rest of the day is wide open and as lazy as you'd like. We watched some TV, read a bit, did some inevitable laundry, and took a walk at the Nature Park. There, I was thrilled to see the first of the season's trilliums, one of my favorite native flowers. So fleeting, they only bloom now and then disappear for another year. What a lovely Easter gift!