Holidays - Feeding My Sunshine

Easter and some Birthdays

April 10, 2012 By Alexis Leave a Comment

We’ve been doing a whole lot of celebrating lately. This year my birthday coincided with Easter for the second time ever (the last was in 2007). We made sure to make the most out of this special weekend.

On Saturday we headed out to Wash Park with some friends for an Easter Egg Hunt. Let me tell you, this was intense. Jackson and his friend patiently waited behind the rope for the hunt to start. After the countdown, toddlers swarmed the field, madness ensued and it was all over in a matter of seconds. There surprisingly were no injuries, but I think the church that hosted the hunt would have been prepared – they gave pre-countdown warnings and instructions for fair play. Ha! We stayed for a while after with a picnic lunch and a nice long bike ride.

On Sunday, we headed out early to Second Home for their Pajama Brunch. Jackson was so excited to see the Easter bunny again, and it was extra special that they hosted a small egg hunt for the little diners in the lobby. I was just happy that my birthday started with bottomless mimosas.

After brunch and some Easter basket fun, I opened my birthday present from the hubby – a Canon Rebel T2i DSLR. A few months ago, our point and shoot broke after a bad fall, and I’ve been doing all of my photography with my iPhone. I badly need a camera, but wasn’t sure it was in the cards. I had dropped hints for a few things that I wanted for my birthday and I should have known. My man loves technology. Ask him for anything with an owner’s manual and charger cord and you are likely to get it. I took a few pics of our Easter dinner with it…

I have no idea how to use it, but I’m on my way. The photos above were shot in manual mode and are already leaps and bounds better than my point and shoot (not to mention the iPhone). I’ve signed up to take an online DSLR class and I can’t wait to take my food photography to a better level. Oh, and our Easter menu included: Prosciutto and Asparagus wrapped in phyllo, Rosemary Lamb Chops with Cherry Tomato Relish, Isreali Couscous with Currants and a Chocolate Macaroon Tart to complete the meal. It was divine!

Today is the last day of our celebrating – it’s Ella’s first birthday! On my birthday last year, I went out to dinner with hubby on our last date as parents of one. 24 hours after that I was in labor, and 24 hours after going into labor she was here! It was quite the marathon, but so worth it. Ella has brought so much joy to our lives and makes our little family of four complete. Happy Birthday Ella!

How did you celebrate this weekend?

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: Birthday, Holidays, Photography

Easter Recipe: Spring Pea Soup with Bacon Breadcrumbs

April 6, 2012 By Alexis Leave a Comment

The first time I made this dish, it was our first Easter with Jackson. He was just shy of two months old and my mom was visiting over the Easter holiday. I inherited my love of cooking and entertaining from my mom. When she does it, she goes all out. Even though I was an exhausted new mom, with her help we executed the loveliest Easter meal.

I’ve been thinking about this dish since then and thought it would be good to share since it is a little different than your typical ham and scalloped potatoes holiday meal. This would be perfect as a plated first course or served in a soup tureen on your Easter buffet. Since I made this last night, we ate it for dinner with warm grilled cheese.

The soup is so simple to make and it is the breadcrumb topping that really makes it special. I used leftover ciabatta for my breadcrumbs and I think any bread you have on hand will do. Panko crumbs would work well, but I probably wouldn’t use basic store-brought breadcrumbs. It was really easy to process them in my magic bullet (you could use a food processor).

The soup is silky smooth and contrasts well with the crunch from the topping. The parsley and mint add an unexpected brightness. This is not the heavy pea soup that I have had in the past!

Spring Pea Soup with Bacon Breadcrumbs

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
2lbs fresh or frozen peas, shelled
4 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup heavy cream
3-4 slices of bacon
2 slice of white sandwich bread (or any bread you have on hand), processed into fine crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

Instructions

Spring Pea Soup:

Warm the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the shallots and sauté until softened, but not browned.
Add the peas, broth and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the peas are tender.
Remove from heat and stir in the cream. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Bacon Breadcrumbs:

Using a large frying pan, cook the bacon until crispy on both sides and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
Pour out the bacon fat, but reserve 1 tablespoon and leave it in the pan. On medium heat, add the breadcrumbs to the bacon fat and toast until crispy and browned. Stir frequently for about 8 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Finely chop the cooked bacon and add it to the breadcrumbs along with the mint, parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

To Serve:

Ladle the warm soup into bowls and garnish with the breadcrumb topping.

Notes

This soup can be made in advance. Keep the breadcrumb topping separate and warm it in a non-stick pan to toast it slightly before serving.

Adapted from: Williams Sonoma

Google Recipe View Microformatting by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://feedingmysunshine.com/easter-recipe-spring-pea-soup-with-bacon-breadcrumbs/

What is on your Easter menu this year?

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Bacon, Holidays, Soup

Easy St. Patrick’s Day Treat – Irish Potatoes

March 16, 2012 By Alexis Leave a Comment

Yesterday while Ella was napping, Jackson and I spent the afternoon making one of my favorite sweet treats for St. Patrick’s Day. Most desserts for this holiday involve green food coloring, mint, or some mixture of alcohol and chocolate. This has none of that.

The looks are deceiving. This is a sweet candy made up mostly of coconut, cream cheese and a dusting of cinnamon.

Irish Potatoes aren’t really an Irish dish. They are Irish-Armerican by way of Philadelphia. Growing up in the area, I remember them showing up in candy shops and the supermarket every March. There was a chocolate shop right next to my dentist office that sold Irish Potatoes. We always visited the dentist around St. Patrick’s day apparently, and I thought it was a cruel joke to look at these strange/sweet treats on my way in and out.

Jackson was the perfect helper for this task. We used this recipe from Baked Bree and the only change I made was to mix some cocoa powder in the with cinnamon before rolling. Two parts cinnamon, one part cocoa powder.

After we were done, we both were on a sugar high, needed to change our clothes and mop the floor. Cocoa powder and cinnamon can really get everywhere. But we had fun, and hopefully these candies will last until Saturday. I’m thinking we will have to make them again in a few weeks – just dip them in chocolate instead of the cinnamon and we’ll have coconut cream Easter eggs!