~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~
{pretty}
Lots of pretty Easter Eggs, even if they are plastic! Bud enjoyed helping me fill them the weekend before Easter, just before we headed over to the coast, when I probably should have been getting our Easter clothes together. At least the Eggs were all ready for our Easter Sunday Egg Hunt!
{happy}
Rose was very happy to get to help the girls decorate our oval “Easter Egg Cakes” this year!
{funny}
Random spots you might find “hidden” Easter Eggs at a Catholic home…
I can’t even tell you how many times the kids all walked past the egg on St. Francis’ statue!
{real}
How do you like my Cheese Pascha Blob?
Um… yeah… it didn’t really turn out like I had hoped!
It was absolutely delicious though, so we will be giving it another shot next year.
At least our (first attempt) Paska turned out beautifully! I posted the recipe at Catholic Cuisine.
We also had an earthquake here just after 5:30pm (Wednesday). It wasn’t very strong but we all felt it as it shook the house… I really hope that doesn’t happen again!
Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.
My friends' pascha looked like yours. It was not sweet and we ate with bread and sausage. They are Byzantine, so it was fun to celebrate with them.
Oh my, earthquakes are scary. Since living in Alaska, I've become very aware of even the smallest shake 1 to 3.5 to of course the bigger ones. There are, I kid not, 50 to 100 earthquakes daily in AK!
Your bread looks amazing! I have been catching up on all your posts since Palm Sunday (I took holy week off and look what I missed!). What an amazing celebration you had at the beach, and your children's passion in miniature toys is amazing.
Such beautiful children and such a beautiful mother. Your joy just radiates. I love visiting you here. You remind me to hug and enjoy my children, and to SMILE!
Happy Easter, Jessica…
Love the pictures of your family. We had a Easter egg hunt too. We had to hide ours inside because of rain. Happy Easter.
Jessica,
Looks like a wonderful Easter! I love the braided bread.
In Russia, they call the bread "Kulich" and it is topped with white icing and sprinkles. You can see it here: http://natashaskitchen.com/2013/03/23/paska-easter-bread-recipe-kulich/
I've made the sweet cheese (pashka) using several different recipes that called for cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, etc. It always seems to come out best if you can find tvorog cheese, which is sometimes called "farmers cheese" here. It is the cheese they use in Russia. And it requires 'lots of time to drain all the liquid — sometimes up to 4 days!
I mold the cheese in this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pascha-mold-Paska-form-Russian-Orthodox-Easter-cheese-tvorog-mold-/251254899622?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a7ff583a6
It creates the XB symbol on one side, a cross on the other, etc.
Haven't made our kulich or pashka yet; will be making it in a couple of weeks as we usually eat it as part of my daughter's "gotcha day" celebration. (She's adopted from Russia.)
Blessings to you during this Eastertide!
Wow! I was on the other side of the valley at flute class so I didn't feel anything! Crazy!
We also had Saint Francis cradling an egg and the kids walked right past it a few times. You would think they would know by now!
Sweet pictures!
On a side note, I just got the cathedral cake pan for Easter and I was wondering how you make your cake mixes not stick to the pan? I've always had so much trouble with cake pans that have a design. God Bless!
Wonderful family photos. So many helpers to decorate the Easter Egg cake. I love it. I am determined to bake Pascha Bread next year. I have all been quite intimidated by it but it is past time to try. Happy, Happy Easter!!
I just adore your little Rose! She is so beautiful … (even if she may have quite the temper) 🙂 …all your children are beautiful. That Bud is so cute!! I recently found your blog and enjoy reading it very much. God bless you! -Gabriella
I ♥ that Our Lady and St. Francis didn't miss out on the egg hunt. 🙂
I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to your question! I always use a Baking Spray (either Pam or Wilton) on the pans first and I've never had any trouble. I hope that helps!
50-100?!? Yikes! I don't think I'd like that at all! :/ We don't have earthquake insurance on our home – it's optional and a lot more money, and they are rare here – but now we are reconsidering…
And I'm glad to hear that my pascha isn't the only one that looks like that! 🙂
Thank you Jeannine! Happy Easter to you too!
I'm sure we would have resorted to hiding them inside if we had to, and the kids probably would have loved it just as much as always!
Thanks for the links! I will have to try making the Russian version next! I've seen the molds before, and might have to consider ordering one, since we all liked the pascha very much! I love that you incorporate it into your daughter's "gotcha day!" So sweet!
Yes – the center was less than a mile down the road from us… not nice.