An Artsy Easter

An Artsy Easter

 

 

 

 

Happy Easter Everyone!

Welcome to our Artsy Easter

(We shot this in 2021)

This Easter is actually based on cleaning out the attic and going through many storage containers in our attic, in an attempt to get rid of some of this and pass it on to our daughter and son.

My Purse, and a few Pretty Pots and Sweets

This is Veronica’s Old Easter Basket

I filled it with some Chocolate Eggs and a few of her past Easter Collectibles.

An Old Dragonfly Pot of Mine

(I’ve discovered that it is easier to get rid of things when you disguise them as a gift.)  🙂

Veronica’s Beatrix Potter Book and some of her Collectibles

Veronica’s Bunny She Painted in Hawaii

As a Girl Scout outing we went to a pottery painting class and each girl picked out something to paint, the items were then fired.  Veronica chose this bunny.  When I initially told her that I had some Easter things to pass on to her from her childhood, she wasn’t interested.  That is when I took a photo of this bunny and sent it to her explaining that since she wasn’t interested in any of this then perhaps some little girl at Goodwill, will. 

It was then that she wrote back, “BUNNY!  I REMEMBER BUNNY!  I WANT BUNNY!” 

(Yeah, we mom’s know just what buttons to push.)  🙂

Needless to say, she ended up taking everything that I wanted her to. 

Veronica’s collection started with me buying her a few things each year for Easter.  My mother also started giving her keepsakes so that she could have a nice collection to display every year, even bringing them into her adult life.  Perhaps even passing them down to her children.

I believe it was my mother who bought her this book.

We Also Have a Thing for Marshmallow Eggs

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This Beautiful Book was also Veronica’s

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Sugar Free Peeps

This is MY Easter Treat!

Some people can’t stand Peeps.  I however, grew up on them every Easter because my mother loved them.  Although they didn’t have the ‘Sugar Free’ variety back in the day, they do now! 

Hence, my special Peeps Sweets!

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Enjoying Everything Easter and PINK!

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Easter Morning

Good Morning and Happy Easter

How About an Easter Bunny Eggy in a Basket?

(For those of you that don’t know what ‘Eggy in a Basket’ is, it is a fried piece of toast with a cooked egg in the center of it.  Sometimes, a cookie cutter is used to create a shape for the center of the bread. Here we used a rabbit shape.  It is actually quite good and enjoyed by both children and adults alike.)

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Wild Garlic Chives Growing for Easter

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SPRING IS HERE

We love our backyard and spend as much time as possible out here.  Especially around the holidays where we can really make an effort to spruce up the place with plants and pots.

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Here is yet another one of Veronica’s Easter Baskets

When our children were young we didn’t have a lot of money.  I bought these very cheap baskets and spray painted them white.  I then used a sponge and dabbed some pink paint all around it to give it that look.  I did the same thing for an Easter basket for Brodie, except I used a blue paint to dot around the basket for him.

She remembered the basket, and happily excepted it.

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Cranberry Beans

These beans were far too beautiful to just eat.  I loved how long they were.  I envisioned placing them into a clear glass vase with pretty pink roses in the center with the beans surrounding them.  Kind of like a craft project.  So, I put a glass in the center of the vase and filled it with water for the roses.  But before I added the roses, I placed the beans all around the glass, then inserted the roses.  I loved it!

You Can See The Results Here

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It’s About Time to Set up For Easter Dinner

We pulled out what prints and paintings that we had stored in the attic and brought them down to display.  When Veronica moved out years ago she took her really nice paintings with her.  These are some that she left behind.  They are from her earlier days.  She has come quite a long way since then.  Fine Arts Major that she is.  🙂

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Veronica was thrilled that we also found her old artist tiles that she made from years ago in the attic.  She created them, painted them, and then had them fired.

More Self Portraits of our Family Artist

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The Painting on the Left is of my Monk  🙂

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Veronica’s Creepy Painting

(Veronica swears that she didn’t paint it.  She thinks a friend of hers from the past painted it.  It isn’t hers or Brodie’s handwriting, so perhaps so.)

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Oriental Lilies

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Gordon Grilling our Delicious Lamb

This was truly a very delicious meal.

We don’t eat lamb that often so this was very special.

The Aroma Was Amazing

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You Can See How Pretty The Lamb Is Here

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It just isn’t spring without some little flower pot in sight.

This one is being used as a napkin ring.  I painted it many years ago, and several more like them.

Our Beautiful Artsy Easter Table

It Was Just The Two of Us This Year

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Just a Few of My Favorite Easter Things

It Just Isn’t Easter Without Deviled eggs

This year I tried to make them look as if they were two halves of an Egg with a Chick Hatching.

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It’s Time to EAT!

Gordon Did an Amazing Job on Everything

Our Delicious Lamb, Plated

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Our Cranberry and Roman Beans with Pearl Onions

The one thing we forgot to place on the table was our delicious Carrot Slaw.

Oh well, we usually forget something.  🙂

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Our Easter Dinner Plates

After we took pictures we did remember the Carrot Slaw.

Happy Easter

Julie and Gordon

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Let’s Not Forget Dessert

This is actually just a Carrot Cake that I purchased from our local grocery store.

It was delicious!  In addition to some Carrot Juice.

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Another Tasty Easter Under Our Belts

See ya’ Next Year!

Julie and Gordon

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Recipes Start Here

Julie’s Deviled Eggs

To me, there is no Easter without them.

We will always have Deviled Eggs at every Easter no matter what other foods that we may create and serve. 

But, this year I did do them a bit different.  At least in appearance.

Notice the cut marks?  I wanted to make the eggs look as if a chick is hatching from them.  So, I used a paring knife to cut zig-zaggy cuts.  I then squeezed the yellow yolks out of them and placed them into a bowl, while leaving the egg whites to place into an egg plate.  I love this egg plate as it looks like a basket.  The indentations are also smaller and round, so that the eggs can stand on end, and not lay flat.

I have given my Deviled Egg recipe so many times on this website but, I will add it yet again for those that are just now finding our website Easter post. 

All that I do is to boil eggs in a pot of water for about 15 minutes on a high heat.  I then remove them and place them into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.  Usually, I place them into the refrigerator overnight and make them the following day once they are nice and cold.

It is best to use eggs that are over a week old in your refrigerator as once they are boiled they are much easier to peel. 

I then peel the outer shell and discard it, keeping the hard boiled egg intact.  In this case, I used the paring knife to create a zig-zaggy pattern and then removed the yellow yolk and placed it into a bowl.  I then placed the egg whites into an egg plate.

Like So…..

In order to make the filling, I use the yellow yolks, mayonnaise, yellow mustard, freshly ground black pepper, Tabasco sauce ( a few dashes), spoonfuls of pickle relish, and even some sweet pickle juice to add some flavor.  Sometimes I add some Turmeric, it gives them a vibrant golden color.  Turmeric also kills cancer cells.

I then just stir it all together and then place into the empty egg whites.

I may not make the most beautiful of Deviled Eggs, but they are delicious!

Here I Added the Egg Tops

Dot With a Sprinkling of Paprika

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Baked Golden Beets

Above is the beautifully displayed baked Golden Beets.

They are garnished with Red Beet chips.

Here are the Golden Beets as we bought them with stems attached.

Shown are some dried Red Beet chips we used as a garnish.

To begin, slice off the stems and the upper part of the beet.

Displayed are what they should look like.

Now, peel off the outer skin of the beet.

Slice the beets into quarter sections trying to keep them all about the same size for even cooking.

Wrap the sectioned beets into aluminum foil adding a touch of water then seal the pouch tightly.

Bake the beets in your oven for about 45 min. at 400’F or until fork tender.

Remove the beets from their pouches when cool to the touch.

Slice the beets into more manageable pieces and top with some of the dried Red Beets that have been crushed into smaller pieces.

This is a great side dish for any occasion.

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 Our Easter Carrot Slaw

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Ingredients:

1 10 oz. Bag Carrot Sticks

2 Lg. Purple Carrots – peeled and sliced

2 Lg. Yellow Carrots – peeled and shredded

1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper – diced

1/2 Red Bell Pepper – diced

3 Green Onions – sliced thinly

~1/4 Cup Malt Vinegar

~1/4 Cup Cider Vinegar

~1/4 Cup Rice Vinegar

~1/4 Cup White Vinegar

2 Tbsp. Aji-Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Seasoning

2 Tbsp. Honey

1 Tbsp. Celery Salt

1 Tbsp. Mustard Seeds

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Freshly Ground Pepper to taste

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The Crinkle Cut slicer makes great crinkle cut carrots.

Empty the bag of carrot sticks into a large bowl.

Peel the carrots to be used being sure to slice off the ends as shown.

Use the Crinkle Cut Tool to Slice the Purple Carrots

We placed them in their own bowl to set them aside.

Now it’s time to shred the Yellow Carrots into the bowl.

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Now add the Crinkle Cut Carrots to the bowl.

Slice your bell peppers in half and remove the stems and seeds.

Mix the carrots in the bowl together.

Slice, then dice the Yellow Bell Pepper as shown.

Add the Yellow Bell Pepper dices to the other ingredients.

Do the same with the Red Bell Pepper.

Slice off the root ends of the green onions then slice it thinly as shown.

Add the onions to the bowl.

Mix all the ingredients.

Here are our mustard seeds and celery salt we used.

Love Ya Gordon!  🙂

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Time to Make the Dressing

Place the Malt Vinegar, and Cider Vinegar’s to a medium sized bowl.

Then add your Rice, and White Vinegars to the bowl.

Now, add the Aji-Mirin and honey to the bowl.

Beautiful Golden

Time to add your celery salt and mustard seeds to the bowl.

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Then add your Olive Oil ….

…freshly ground pepper to the bowl and stir together all the ingredients. 

Taste the mixture to see if it is partially sweet and tart and to you liking. If not add more honey or one of the vinegar’s to get it just right.

Once the honey has dissolved into the vinegar’s add it to the carrot mixture.

Stir all the ingredients together a few times as you let it sit for a few hours to 24 hours to let the carrots begin to pickle.  The longer it sits the better it will taste.

Perfect Easter Side Dish

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Cranberry and Roman Beans with Pearl Onions

and Snap Peas

Ingredients:

~30 Red Pearl Onions
1 ½ Cups Cranberry Beans – Shelled
1 Can “Roman Beans”
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves
½ Shallot – Minced
½ Tbsp Dried Basil
½ Tbsp. Dried Thyme
¼ Tbsp. Red Pepper Flakes
4 Bay Leaves

12-13 Snap Peas as a garnish

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More of our Ingredients, Pictured

Place your Red Pearl Onions in a pot of water and begin to boil them for about 5 min.

Here are the beautiful Cranberry bean pods

Rinse the bean pods then remove the beans as shown and place into a bowl.

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After the onions have boiled for 5 min. remove them into a colander and rinse them with cold water until lukewarm to stop the cooking process.

When cooled, slice off the root end and squeeze out the onion.

Here are all the onions after they were cooked.

Remove the onions from their exterior skins and place on a plate as shown.

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Remove the Roman Beans from the can and rinse them using a colander.

Remove three garlic cloves and use half of a large shallot.

Here are the garlic, and half a shallot ready for slicing.

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Place the Cranberry beans in a medium pot of slightly salted water. The water should be just an inch or
more over the beans.

Place about 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil into a medium pot.

Here are all the Red Pearl Onions from above, in the pot.

Here are the Roman and Cranberry Beans at the ready with the other seasonings. On the left of the
picture you can see the nice leg of lamb grilling.

Place your onions over medium heat and begin the cooking process.

Add your whole garlic cloves and minced shallots to the pot.

Add your dried basil and dried thyme to the pot.

Here you can see the dried herbs with the onions.

Now add your Red Pepper Flakes and your Bay Leaves to the pot. Cook these ingredients until the garlic
is slightly browned and the shallots become caramelized.

When the onions and garlic are cooked, add the Cranberry and Roman Beans in water to the pot

Cook the beans for about 20 – 25 min. or until tender.

Here is another look at the cooking beans in the pot.

Pictured are the cooked beans.

Place the beans in a bowl and add some Snap Peas vertically as a nice
garnish.

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Pictured above are the lamb chops, and leg of lamb we used. They were expensive, but don’t let that
scare you away from cooking them as they are grilled just like any other red meat.

 

Here are the spices we used as they needed to be bold. I like these steak seasonings because they
provide a good amount of flavor which lamb can handle.

I unpackaged the lamb, gave it a rinse to remove any old blood and bone fragments. Then I placed it on
a cookie tray to help transport it to the grill. You can see the pre-seasoning it came with.

Using your Chef knife, slice through the plastic holding the lamb chops keeping them in two’s.

Do this for all the lamb chops. I feel cutting them like this makes them easier to grill and lets you place
more seasoning on them.

Here is a great picture of the fat and meat of the lamb chop.

The fat provides the meat a great deal of
flavor.

Place the lamb chops on the tray with your leg of lamb.

Use a nice large cast iron skillet to cook the lamb chops.

Start by placing three tablespoons of peanut oil into the pan, as this oil has a high burning point.

Season the leg of lamb with the seasonings as shown.

Then season the lamb chops on all sides with the seasoning. Use a good amount as shown as it will
enhance the meat through the surrounding fat.

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Heat your grill to medium high and place your cast iron skillet over the flame.

After about 5 min. for the
peanut oil is hot, place the lamb chops fat side down onto the skillet.

You should hear the fat sizzling in the pan.

If not, remove it and heat the pan further. This fat side is also called the presentation side or
the side that will be facing up on the plate. Usually this side is cooked first.

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Here is a closer look at the lamb chops in the pan.

Heat the other side of your grill to medium high heat and when at temperature, place your leg of lamb on the grill.

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When you have seared the lamb chops to your desired doneness, remove them with your tongs.

You just want the lamb chops to cook in the pan for about 8 min. or until browned.

When you have seared the lamb chops to your desired doneness, place them on the grill.

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The leg of lamb is not very thick so It won’t take long to cook either.

After about 8 min. or so, you can lift it up and see if it is nicely browned.

After about 5 min. or more, flip the lamb chop onto another side. You should begin nice browning on the chop as shown.

Here you can see the nice sear the pan gave to the fat side of the lamb chops. Now, place them on their side directly on the grill where the pan was located.

Here you can see me at the final stages of grilling the lamb.

When done, let the lamb rest at least 8 to
10 minutes to allow the heated juices to return to the center of the meat.

 

The lamb was place on a bed of micro-greens.

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Lamb Balsamic Reduction Sauce

Ingredients:

1 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

3 Tbsp. Balsamic Glaze

2 Tbsp. White Balsamic Reduction

2 1/2 heaping Tbsp. savory Balsamic Sweet Onion Jam

1 heaping Tbsp. Lingonberries Jam

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Place the Balsamic Vinegar into a small pot.

Then add your Balsamic Glaze to the pot.

Now, add your White Balsamic Reduction to the pot.

Turn your heat onto medium high heat and begin to cook the ingredients. 

Then add your Balsamic Sweet Onion Jam…

and lastly your Lingonberries Jam to the pot.

Whisk all the ingredients together and bring them to a boil stirring constantly.  Then turn down the heat and let the ingredients cook over medium heat for about another 5 min.  The ingredients should become thick like gravy when done.  Place the sauce into a gravy boat making a great display.  Use this as a dipping sauce for the Lamb as it will help cut through the gaminess of the meat.

Here are the lamb chops displayed on a bed of micro-greens.

Here is our beautiful table of food we prepared for Easter.

Happy Easter to All