Carrie and I enjoyed an Easter meal of apricot baked ham, mashed potatoes, asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes and Paska for dinner this evening, all prepared by Carrie (I did the dishes). Neither Carrie nor I were really feeling like it was Easter until the sweet and citrus-y aroma of Paska (Russian-Mennonite Easter bread) began to come from our oven yesterday and we spontaneously began singing "Up from the grave he arose!" as the Paska arose in our kitchen (I know, one day early but what can you do when the Spirit moves?!).
The spiral candle holder on the centre of our table is a Lent marker - through the days of Lent and Holy Week we moved the candle ever closer to the centre along with a wooden figure of Jesus carrying the cross (not pictured here). Today we lit the candle as we celebrated the resurrection. This piece is also an Advent calendar when the outer portion of the spiral is removed so that there are the right number of days for Advent, and we have a little wooden figure of Mary on the donkey that follows the candle through the Advent season.
Christ is risen! ...he is risen indeed! Happy Easter everyone!
Asparagus and Sun-dried Tomatoes
3 lbs fresh asparagus, trimmed
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/3 cup chicken broth
3 tbsps olive oil
4 tsps grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, patted dry and chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
Place asparagus in a steamer basket; place in a large saucepan over 1 in of water. Bring to a boil; cover and steam for 6-8 minutes or until crisp-tender.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the broth, oil, lemon peel, and salt.
Transfer asparagus to a serving platter; drizzle with butter mixture. Sprinkle with pepper; top with tomatoes and basil.
Apricot Baked Ham
1/2 fully cooked bone-in-ham (5-7 lbs)
20 whole cloves (we used less)
1/2 cup apricot preserves
3 tbsps ground mustard
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
Place ham on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Score the surface of the ham, making diamond shapes 1/2" deep; insert a clove in each diamond. Combine preserves and mustard; spread over ham. Pat brown sugar into apricot mixture. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes per pound or until a meat thermometer reads 140.
*Both recipes from Taste of Home Holiday - Easter Recipe Cards edition
1 comment:
Looks good! And I extra-love that I can picture where you're sitting and what your place looks like and that I saw the actual lent-marker in action! Happy Easter!
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