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Archive for the ‘Karen’s Recipes to Share’ Category
Easter Traditions: Chocolate
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Chocolate bunnies and eggs are as much a part of Easter as a ham dinner or Easter egg hunt. But is this chocolate fetish a modern invention, or do its roots go deeper than that?
In the ecclesiastical calendar, Easter follows immediately after the end of Lent, a time when Catholics and some Protestant denominations refrain from certain foods and festivities in honor of Jesus’s 40 days of fasting in the desert. Rich foods like eggs, milk, cheese, and most meats have traditionally been popular choices for abstaining since the early Middle Ages, and chocolate was added to the list once it was introduced to Europe by the Spanish in the 16th and 17th century. Following the enforced abstinence of Lent, many people enjoyed celebrating Easter with a return to all the delicious foods that they had been missing, and eventually this became a tradition of eating chocolate at Easter time. In addition, chocolate was seen as a luxury item for many centuries, making it a natural choice for the traditional gift-giving that occurred during many Spring festivals.
The chocolate eggs and bunnies that are so popular these days are a more recent addition to Easter lore. As we have seen in our previous discussion of Easter traditions, eggs and rabbits have strong symbolic ties to the holiday through the pagan goddess Eostre and the rabbit’s natural fertility. This made them a natural choice for shaped hard chocolate candies, which were not invented until the 1850′s. Decades later, the Industrial Revolution enabled the chocolate making process to expand into mass production, and with the higher availability of chocolate eggs and bunnies at Easter time began the establishment of it as a widespread tradition.
This concludes our series on Easter traditions. Please enjoy the following recipe from Karen Hood’s wonderful cookbook Easter Delights. It is the perfect way to enjoy the tradition of chocolate this Easter.
Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Eggs
Children love chocolate-covered peanut butter eggs,
so these will disappear quickly.
Ingredients:
¼ c. butter
¼ c. brown sugar, firmly packed
¾ c. powdered sugar
½ c. creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pkg. semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tbs. shortening
Directions:
- In 1-quart microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter and brown sugar on full power for 1 to 1½ minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or until brown sugar is melted.
- Stir in powdered sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla.
- Shape by teaspoonfuls into egg shapes; chill.
- In double boiler or heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips and shortening over low heat.
- With wooden pick, dip each egg into chocolate mixture, coating completely.
- Place on wax paper-lined baking sheets.
- Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
© Karen Jean Matsko Hood 2011
Order your copy of Easter Delights today!
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Easter Traditions: The Symbolism of the Egg
Friday, March 18, 2011
Decorating and hunting for Easter eggs is a huge part of celebrating the Spring holiday. In many cultures around the world, the egg has been a symbol of immortality, fertility, and rebirth since ancient times. The ancient Persians, for example, painted eggs during their celebration of the Spring Equinox, and there is evidence that the symbolism of the egg was important as far back as the Neolithic era 7000 years ago. The correlation is not hard to see: many newborn animals are hatched from eggs, and Spring is the time of year for most animals to give birth.
Many of the Easter games and activities involving eggs that we participate in today date back to customs in Medieval Europe. Decorating eggs was popular at this time, and the tradition was eventually carried to America with the first German settlers. Hunting for eggs and egg rolling games also come from medieval times. Furthermore, the name of the holiday itself comes from the pagan deity Ostara, known as Eostre to the Anglo-Saxons, goddess of the dawn and rebirth of the year. As Ostara, she appeared as a beautiful maiden carrying a basket of eggs and accompanied by a rabbit; as Eostre, her symbol was a rabbit that laid eggs itself.
Stay tuned for the third part of this series, in which we discuss the importance of chocolate in the Easter tradition. In the meantime, please enjoy this sample recipe from Karen Hood’s fabulous cookbook Easter Delights. It is a unique way to enjoy the rich symbolism of the egg during your Easter celebration this year. With more than 250 delicious recipes, Easter Delights will make planning for this holiday easy and fun!
Poached Eggs in Roman Red Sauce
The red sauce in this recipe for poached eggs makes this a delightfully zesty dish. If you like a creamier sauce, you may add ½ cup of cream to the sauce as it is simmering, before you add the eggs for poaching.
Ingredients:
2 Tbs. olive oil
½ c. chopped onion
½ c. sliced mushrooms, fresh or canned
1 clove garlic, diced
1 can peeled tomatoes
½ c. cream (optional)
4 eggs
salt and pepper
Directions:
- In skillet sauté onion, mushrooms, and garlic in olive oil.
- Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper; heat to simmering, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- For creamier sauce, stir in cream and heat through.
- Crack eggs into sauce and let eggs poach.
- Serve eggs in dish with red sauce and French bread.
© Karen Jean Matsko Hood 2011
Order your copy of Easter Delights today!
Easter Traditions: Easter Dinner
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Easter is just around the corner, and with it comes a whole host of traditions. But where do these traditions come from and why do we celebrate Easter with a ham or lamb dinner, decorated eggs, and chocolate bunnies? Let’s begin with a closer look at the main course of a traditional Easter dinner.
In the Jewish tradition, lamb is served during Passover. The Last Supper was Jesus’s final meal with the twelve apostles, and it was held on Passover night. Any meat that Jesus ate at the Last Supper would have been lamb, and so it became traditional for Christians in Europe to eat it at Easter in honor of this. Furthermore, Jesus himself is often referred to as the Lamb of God.
The use of ham at Easter comes from Northern Europe and North America, where lamb has never been an important meat. In the harsh winters of the North, ham was extremely important as a food source because it could be smoked and salted and would keep throughout the winter. In the spring, this preserved pork would be ready to eat at a time when no other fresh meat was available.
Stay tuned for the second part of this series, in which we discuss the symbolism of eggs in the Easter tradition. In the meantime, please enjoy this sample recipe from Karen Hood’s fabulous cookbook Easter Delights. With more than 250 delicious recipes, Easter Delights will make planning for this holiday easy and fun!
Raspberry and Rosemary Grilled Lamb Chops
Raspberry-flavored vinegar and minced rosemary
add excellent flavor to these chops.
Ingredients:
2 Tbs. raspberry vinegar
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. fresh rosemary, minced (or ½ tsp. dried)
1 tsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
8 lamb loin chops
Directions:
- In large, shallow dish whisk together vinegar, mustard, soy sauce, rosemary, oil, and garlic; add lamb chops in single layer, turning to coat well.
- Cover and marinate in refrigerator at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours, turning occasionally.
- Discard marinade; place chops on greased grill over medium-high heat, and cook about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare or to desired doneness.
- Transfer to platter; tent with foil, and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
© Karen Jean Matsko Hood 2011
Order your copy of Easter Delights today!
Heading Home from The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Conference
Monday, January 31, 2011
It is Monday morning and I am in New York City getting ready to go to the airport and return to Spokane, Washington. I just attended The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Winter Conference that was held in New York City at the Grand Hyatt Central Hotel. The conference attracted visitors from all over the world. This was my first time at this particular conference, and it was very worthwhile. I had never attended any children’s book writers conferences before, as I had been enrolling in writers conferences for books for adults. They are two totally different markets, and as an author and writer, it is important to keep up with the trends and what is going on in each market.
I met a lot of wonderful writers as well as the teachers and speakers at the seminars. They talked about what is going on in the world of illustration, picture books, chapter books, middle grade books, and of course the ever-popular and growing teenage and young adult market. The expansion of the market of these books was also discussed, with everyone trying to find the next breakthrough topic.
I was inspired by the wonderful keynote speakers that they had scheduled for the conference. Author R. L. Stine, the children’s book writer of the Goosebumps series turned out to be quite a comedian. Everyone had expected him to look like a person who writes horror stories for children (whatever that would look like), but instead everyone was surprised by his refreshing sense of humor and his inspiring thoughts for children’s book writers. His message to all writers was to only think “yes.” By saying “yes” writers are exposed to many different possibilities in the writing industry. For example, he worked as an promotional writer for the bottling industry in the United States, which was something he never set out to do. This job led him to other writing jobs. His goal was to become a comic writer and to have his own magazine, but he had to go through different hoops and jobs to get there. He never thought he’d be an author of horror fiction for children, and yet that is what he ended up doing. R.L. Stine has sold over 450 million children’s books, and they are currently becoming more popular on the international scene. “You never know what life has in store for budding authors” was his message. That will now be my plan … that is to say “yes” to all writing possibilities out there, including contests that I find.
Well, it is time to zip my bags and head downstairs to the taxi. The taxi will take me to LaGuardia Airport. From there I fly to Denver. After a short layover in Denver, I will board a plane to Spokane, returning to the wonderful Northwest, the land I appreciate so much.
It is unfortunate that New York City is going through such difficult times. When I was there they were arguing over budget cuts and were talking about laying off 15,000 teachers! That put people up in arms, as they didn’t think that’s where the cuts should be. The cold snap had caused problems with garbage pickup. They had gotten the streets plowed but the garbage was still stacked up on sidewalks. I heard that people were complaining about garbage on some sidewalks, but I must say I was pretty shocked to see it when I was visiting there. New York City is wonderful for the busy, exciting life, but it’s definitely going through some stressful times now as they try to figure out how to run the city with a small budget. But of course those problems are being dealt with in other cities of the country. It’s just that in New York City budget cuts are on a much larger scale.
I compliment all of the people of New York, but I must admit I’m a Northwest country girl, born and raised in Montana and currently living in Washington State. I enjoyed my time and the education I received at the writers conference in New York City, but I’m very glad to return home. You’ll be seeing more news about my children’s writing and children’s book releases in the near future. Thanks again, and please comment and join in on my blogs. Hope to hear from you soon.
Thank you.
Karen Jean Matsko Hood
Fruit Leather – A Healthy Alternative
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Fruit leather is a treat that kids love! It is a healthy substitute for candy. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that dried fruit is like eating sticky candy. It stays on the teeth longer than fresh fruit, releasing sugar into the saliva for a greater period of time, which promotes tooth decay. Make sure you limit the amount of time in which your or your children’s teeth are exposed to sugar without being cleaned.
Drying fruit has been done for centuries. It is an easy way to preserve fruit. We generally think of dried fruit as such things as raisins, prunes, apple slices or apricot halves, but that isn’t the only way to preserve fruit. Pureeing fruit to make leather is an easy way to use up excess fruit before it goes bad. It is also easier than drying fruit pieces, because the puree is a more consistent thickness so that it all dries at the same rate.
Following are three fruit leather recipes you can use to preserve fruit for later use as tasty snacks.
Kiwi Fruit Leather
From St. Patrick’s Day Delights Cookbook
This is a great way for preserving kiwis when you are able to catch a great sale and they do not look like they will get used or eaten fast enough.
Ingredients:
10 kiwifruit, peeled
2 Tbs. white grape juice concentrate
¼ c. sugar
2 Tbs. lemon juice
green food coloring (optional)
Directions:
- Purée ingredients completely in blender, making sure seeds are pulverized.
- Spread purée in trays; dry until leathered.
- Wrap in wax paper and store in airtight jar.
Blueberry Applesauce Fruit Leather 
This is excellent fruit leather, and it makes a great Easter basket filler. This makes a tart fruit leather, so if you like it sweeter, add more honey.
Ingredients:
1 c. blueberry purée
1 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbs. honey
Directions:
- In blender or food processor, combine blueberries and applesauce.
- Process until smooth.
- Pour mixture through strainer or sieve to remove skin and seeds.
- Stir in honey.
- Place mixture in 10-inch skillet.
- While stirring frequently, cook over very low heat for 1 hour until thickened.
- Preheat oven to 150 degrees F.
- Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Pour thickened mixture onto parchment paper, and spread to form rectangle.
- Bake 5½ to 6 hours, until fruit sheet is dry enough not to stick to your fingers but moist enough to roll; remove from oven and cool.
- Placing a potholder in oven door to keep it ajar will help dry the leather by allowing moisture to escape.
- Once cooked, leather should be rolled in plastic wrap or stored in airtight container to keep.
Raspberry Fruit Leather
From Easter Delights Cookbook
Try homemade raspberry fruit leather for a great snack or lunch treat. You will not want store-bought leather after tasting these.
Ingredients:
2 c. raspberry purée
2 Tbs. honey (optional)
Directions:
- Mix purée and honey together if using honey.
- Line cookie sheet or tray with wax paper.
- Evenly spread purée ¼ inch deep.
- Place in sun, oven, or dehydrator to dry. (It takes 4 to 10 hours.)
- Leather is ready when edges are not sticky to the touch.
- Pull from wax paper while still warm, and roll in plastic wrap.
- Can be stored for 30 days at room temperature or for months in the refrigerator.
St. Patrick’s Day Delights Cookbook and Easter Delights Cookbook are coming soon! Find more preserving recipes in Karen Jean Matsko Hood’s Cookbook Delights series of cookbooks. These may be purchased online from Karen’s Bookstore.
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