Luckily, I had notes from the Easter bunny on where to find them: it took a while for the boys to get the hang of finding the eggs, and Galina was hungry!
Easter breakfast consisted of the dyed eggs, Igor's kulich, and my sweet cheese spread (Pascha). I bought new yeast last week, so kulich making was not as stressful as in years past. Easter lunch, however, still needs some work. Although Galina made her usual fantastic salads, I tried baking a fresh ham and making Azerbaijani rice pilaf (with almonds, raisins, and orange zest), both recipes from Please to the Table. The pilaf was good (Igor was intrigued by the orange zest), but the ham wasn't ready until after church, so we actually ended up having a vegetarian Easter lunch. I guess a poetic justice for not abstaining from meat during Lent.
We went to church after lunch, and Nikita was so excited to go. He actually went to bed early the night before, thinking we were going to the midnight mass (we didn't make it). You know it's been a long time we've been to the Russian Orthodox church when Nikita comments, "Papa, they speak Russian here!" Even though I have not converted to the religion, I have to admit that I felt a sense of peace while kissing the icons. We always say that we should go more often; maybe Nikita will get us to do so.
All in all, Easter was a quiet affair, but it was tough trying to get the boys to eat real food with all the candy from the Easter bunny: chocolates, Kinder eggs (though the toys inside were more interesting for the boys), Peeps (when did they become pink?), Jelly Bellies. In the afternoon, our neighbor came by with even more candy for the boys as well as Easter gel window stickers. Ivan really liked the stickers, but I had to take them away when I found him tearing them apart.
Things to remember for next year:
- Buy Jelly Bellies for the boys because Easter chocolate just doesn't taste good. I'd try making my own, but a friend told me the chocolates taste stale the day after they're made - how sad! Besides, Nikita really likes figuring out the flavors of the Jelly Bellies.
- Try out the Cook's Illustrated recipe for fresh ham - with kosher Coca Cola. The roast pork actually turned out well this year, but I have lots of leftovers to play with. Last night, I made pork stir fry with pineapple and red pepper (another intriguing dish for Igor and his mom); I'm going to make posole next.
- Dye eggs in only red onion skins - or beets. I'm going to have to experiment with this between now and next Easter: there has got to be a way to naturally dye the eggs blood red. Right now, the white eggs simply turn brown (I used TONS of skins from yellow and red onions), making me wonder why I don't just buy brown eggs. At least the eggs weren't overcooked.
