A Quiet Easter Sunday

So much of our Easter Sunday passed as it always does but so much of it was different too.  

A soft felted bunny in a basket.

Tiny sweet eggs and a chocolatey bunny or two nestled themselves into little handmade baskets that I put out, along with our other Easter treasures, atop our old wooden table. This is where our sleepy-eyed son always finds his bounty upon waking and remembering it's Easter Sunday. 

A little woven basket filled with spotty eggs.

After coming in from the garden, where we spent time watering and weeding while our teenage son slumbered on (as they do), we three had breakfast together out on our verandah. Leftovers on toast in the warm sunshine! In other years, our verandah would have seen us sitting and sharing a lovely Easter lunch with my husband's family but this year it's not to be. 

A tiny rabbit on a tiny plate.

Instead, for the Grandma who lives close by, we nestled another chocolate bunny, a handmade washcloth and some soap into a little basket and drove to leave it outside her door. We wished her a Happy Easter from a socially-distant afar which is all we can do right now. For the Grandma and Poppy who live so far away, on a peaceful pocket of land in the far north, we set up a Skype session and were able to see them and talk with them from this distance we all now have to endure. While Skype can't replace the hugs I so wish I could give them, it was something in these surreal times.

A drawstring bag for gathering.

We three had our hot cross buns for morning tea (I did indeed make another batch on Saturday) and a simple lunch of toasted sandwiches which were warm and cheesy and just right for this year's Easter. The afternoon saw each of us absorbed in our own pursuits. While my others completed a jigsaw puzzle, read books, rode bikes and kicked footballs, I gladly curled up and watched Gardening Australia's Easter Special on ABC iview, walked Sir Steve dog and did some more sewing with lovely vintage linens. Perhaps the little drawstring bags I made could hold some of next Easter's eggs.

Three little Easter Bunnies.

In the evening, we shared a meal up at our old wooden table, with its display of little Easter bunnies and baskets beside us. Somehow those little baskets weren't holding quite as many chocolatey eggs as they had been in the morning. Hmmm... I'm pretty sure Sir Steve dog didn't steal any for he knows chocolate is not for dogs! 

This year, it was just the three of us but next year I hope wider family will gather here and we'll be truly together again. How are you spending your Easter time?

Meg

First Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns, warm and fresh from my oven, were my Easter imaginings very early on this Good Friday morning. These imaginings ignored my somewhat hopeless record when making breads, rolls or buns that require yeast, kneading and proving. On the very few occasions I have attempted this bread-making caper, I have ended up with a variety of rocks shaped like loaves. Once, when I actually managed to get a dough to rise after placing it in a sunny spot at the top of my front steps, the whole thing managed to roll itself down to the bottom. That certainly knocked ALL the air out of it! But I promptly forgot all this in the midst of my imaginings this morning and this was the result...

A half dozen little hot cross buns.

While one has to ignore the less-than-uniform shape of these little Easter buns and imagine more defined crosses on their tops, made with a paste of flour and water, they are otherwise delicious. They are very light, not the least bit rocky and the little choc-chips inside, which are my substitute for the sultanas and mixed peel that we do not favour, are just sweet enough. With their shiny glaze of a little local honey on top, they are a step in the right direction along my bread-baking road and I couldn't be happier about that given my previous attempts.

 Mixing the dough in my favourite big bowl.

A little ball of dough after kneading on my kitchen bench.

Ready to place in warm spot to rise. 

Light & fluffy dough after hours in the oven.

There could very well have been a different outcome of hot cross rocks. Today is not ideal for baking bread. It's actually overcast, showery and cold so there was no warm sunshine in which to sit my dough to rise. (Tomorrow, it's meant to be 31C, but I could not wait.) I ditched the first sachet of yeast, declaring it dead, and used one that smelt like beer when I opened the packet. It seemed like a good omen. I followed Jamie Oliver's recipe, for if I was going to bake buns then I decided I'd rely on an expert. All was kneading together nicely until the time came to cover my little ball of spiced dough, all round and smooth and sitting in my favourite bowl (that seemed like a good omen too) and find somewhere warm for it to rise. I covered it and carefully carried it downstairs and under the house to sit it on top of our hot water system and then realised there was no heat coming off that towering tank of water. So, in desperation, I put it in my oven. Thankfully, I only preheated it to 30C because I subsequently read, while fretting that it wouldn't rise, that yeast begins to die at around 45C. I let my dough sit in the warmth of the oven, switched off and door closed, for a lot longer than the hour recommended. I left it for more like three hours and, despite my 'best' efforts, it rose!  

Dark chocolate chips instead of dried fruits.

After such a long wait, I very happily  kneaded in those chocolate chips, made six little buns and left them to rise once more which, to my amazement, they did! While they were baking, their scrumptious scent wafted through the house. They emerged from the oven golden on top and all soft on the inside. Enjoyably edible and not in the least bit like rocks. Yes!

One sweet little hot cross bun.

Tomorrow, I am going to bake these hot cross buns again for they are now all gone. I'll see if I can shape them a little more uniformly and perhaps I'll pipe those crosses on instead of painting them on with the edge of a spoon. And, with a 31C day forecast, I should have plenty of warm spots for the dough to rise in though I won't be resting it at the top of my front stairs!

Have you been baking for Easter?

Meg

Over the Easter Long Weekend

It was extra quiet here over the Easter extra-long weekend.  Our neighbours either side and over the back have all gone away. Many folk go camping, to the beach or travel to visit family over the four day holiday here in Australia. We stay home and enjoy the slowness of days without work or school. With nowhere pressing to be, we can settle in and relax ...

Friday:

We brought out our special Easter treasures.

(One rabbit & one hare discussing who should get the carrot!)

I finished another sailor top in a mustard-y gold.
(Can't wait to wear it!)

Little zucchini slice muffins were baked.
(Fresh from the oven with a generous dob of butter. Yum!)

Some of us "worked" hard in the garden. 

(Others simply supervised & guarded the plants.  Ahem!)

Saturday:

Cuttings for this garden-bed-in-progress were potted up. 

(Do you like my new watering can?   I do!)

A spot of reading & a little light-hearted viewing were enjoyed.
(I recommend the book:)

Gifted limes from a fellow gardener were gratefully received
(I gave him a cardamon ginger plant as a thank you.)

Sunday:

Little chocolate eggs appeared in our son's Easter basket. 
(Sunday morning's excitement!)

Fresh produce came home from a local Farmers' Market.

(... & The Big Issue to read too:)

 A simple homemade cheesecake was shared at Easter lunch.

(Our family needs very little excuse to have cheesecake.)

Monday:

A little knitting happened while curled up on the lounge.

(My shawl is growing!)

Seed potatoes were planted in grow bags.

(Two delicious varieties - Nicola & Desiree)

This delicious chicken & vegetable pie was made from this recipe.

(I used leftover chicken from Easter lunch & veggies from the Farmers' Market.)

Four days at home, without the tug of other commitments, made time for all of this simple and homely goodness. Some work in our home and garden, some time to become absorbed in our own particular interests and hobbies and unhurried days together. Plus, a little chocolate, of course!

How did you spend your weekend?

Meg

Easter at Home

We plan to close our blue wooden gate and nestle into the peace of our home over the coming Easter holiday. We will bake in the kitchen, read on our beds and on blankets spread out on the grass, play board games at the old wooden table and potter in the garden. 

On Sunday, as is our tradition, little chocolate eggs will be hidden in the garden under leaves and sandpit edges and probably in the mailbox! We will share a lunch with our family around the table on the deck where a hopefully cool breeze will suggest that Autumn has finally come. There will be time for each other and time for ourselves. 

 Sweet, dyed Easter egg made by a much younger boy of mine. 

Whatever else may be happening, or not happening, in the world, here in our own home there will be love and hope and peace this Easter. I hope that, wherever you are in the world and whether or not your beliefs encompass Easter, that you find contentment in your own home over this long weekend.

Meg