braided easter bread recipe

From All Year Round, I got the idea to make a braided bread ring for Easter.  Since I wanted a sweet bread though, I used another recipe and created this beautiful (if I may say so) loaf complete with slots for the Easter Hare to deposit an egg for each member of our family.  (Naiya said four seemed good to her.  Pippin and Scarlett could share one egg she figured.)  That Hare left us some lovely eggs...

Braided Cardamom Easter Bread Ring

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups milk warmed to 110°
2/3 cups sugar
3 tsp. freshly ground cardamom
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
3 eggs lightly beaten
6 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. sea salt
5 Tblsp. unsalted butter (at room temp.) cut into 1/2 " cubes
1 Tblsp. heavy cream
1 egg yolk
1 Tblsp. turbinado sugar
egg sized stones (1 for each member of your family)
parchment paper

Directions
-Butter a ceramic bowl and set aside.  Combine milk, sugar, cardamom and yeast in a mixer with a paddle fixture.  (If all you've got is a hand mixer with the standard blades, just use those and augment your mixing with hand kneading.  Don't fret over lack of equipment.  Fingers are the finest tools of all.)  Stir and let sit 10 minutes.  Add eggs and mix.  Add flour and salt and mix until dough is formed.  Replace paddle with a hook attachment and knead dough on medium speed for two minutes.  Slowly add butter and knead for about four minutes more.
-Transfer dough to the greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm location until doubled in size (about an hour and a half).  Punch down the dough, cover and allow to rise another 30 minutes or so.
-Heat oven to 375°.  Transfer the dough onto a floured work surface and divide into three equal pieces.  Roll each portion between your palms or on the board to create three ropes each about two feet long.  Braid the three ropes together and bend into a ring joining the beginning of each strand to the ends.  Place the loaf on a parchment paper covered baking sheet.

-Wrap each stone in parchment paper and nestle the stones into the bread braid at even intervals.  Cover the ring and allow it to rise in a warm location for another 45 minutes or so.
-Whisk together the cream and egg yolk and brush it over the braided ring.  Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar and bake until golden brown (about 20 - 25 minutes).  Cool and remove the parchment wrapped stones.




Leave the loaf on the breakfast table the day before Easter and the Hare ought to come and fill it with specially decorated eggs in the night...

easter sunday

As is always the way, this year, the Easter Hare left a trail of jelly beans from our bedroom door (where all three of us have been sleeping while comforting each other in our ongoing illnesses) down the hall and into various other rooms of our home.  Naiya covertly slipped out of the covers and began the morning's hunt while mommy and daddy more slowly emerged into the light of a beautiful (albeit somewhat wet) Easter day.
After discovering an Easter basket on her bed, our dear one ventured out to discover hidden eggs of both the felted and hard boiled variety tucked here and there including the hollows of our Braided Easter Bread.

At bedtime for the past few nights, we've been telling a seasonal story from All Year Round.  In it, a child plants an Easter garden that threatens not to bloom in time for the holiday.  Under the guidance of his garden friend, the Brown Hare, the child paints a picture of the sun that ultimately lures a raincloud to encourage the daffodils to open.  Early Easter morning, after the rain has washed the picture on the round page away, leaving it as white as the moon, the Easter Hare collects the paper and leaves a special gift in its place.  The Hare also whispers to the flowers that the sun has risen and the golden blooms unfurl their last petals.  The boy awakes and, with joy, sees the daffodils blooming and runs down to find the special painted egg with a sun on one side and moon on the other in place of his missing picture.

I forget sometimes about the magic of stories.  I think, because of that simple narrative, Naiya was especially excited about Easter this year.  She insisted on planting her own Easter garden and each night we told that tale, her eyes would glow and she'd talk about to the prospect of a miraculous morning and the gifts that the tricksy Bunny might leave for her.

In addition to several especially magical eggs (with the sun on one side and moon on the other), she also discovered a precious gift from the Fairie Queen (who, gone from our yard for the colder months, still visits and leaves her a little something on the day of the full moon and occasionally on holidays as well).

(check out that incredible morning hair!)

After our light breakfast we headed over to Oma and Opa's house for a more traditional hunt with the cousins.

We'll have to do a little bit of candy negotiating in the days to come...

We hope your Easter festivities were joyful too and that the return of the sun brings warmth and lightness into your lives and hearts.

hot cross buns

For the past three years I have wanted to make Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday.  This year I finally got around to it during the Great Week of Illness in our house...  The Great Week of Illness wherein our computer was starting to shut down and my camera was out of commission.  Perhaps more on that later.  (Suffice it to say, even a Mac has limits and 15,000 photographs and over 20 hours of stored video is about where those limits start to make themselves known.)
Anyhow, behold the slightly out of focus shot I snapped on my cell phone of those tasty buns.  We had them at tea time with butter and the last of last year's strawberry jam.  In a stroke of genius, I made the crosses from a tube of marzipan paste I've had sitting in my cupboard for some time.  Delicious.

Hot Cross Buns

 (We're a family of three so this recipe for six buns is perfect.  For double the buns, simply double the recipe.)

Ingredients
6 Tblsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 Tblsp. sea salt
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup currants
marzipan paste

Directions
-Butter a ceramic bowl and set aside. Place milk in a saucepan and warm over medium heat until it reaches 110°.  Using a dough hook in an electric mixer, combine milk, sugar, yeast, salt, butter, zests and eggs.  Add flour and mix until dough forms a soft, sticky ball.  Continue kneading for about four minutes more.  Add currants and knead to evenly distribute.
-Turn the dough onto a floured surface.  Knead it briefly and shape it into a ball.  Place it in prepared bowl and turn it to coat with the butter.  Cover and let the dough rise in a warm location until doubled in size (about two hours).
-Turn dough onto a floured work surface.  Knead briefly and roll into a log.  Divide the log in half then cut each half into three equal pieces (making six buns). Shape each piece into a ball.  Place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper leaving a few inches between buns.  Cover and let the buns rise in a warm location until doubled in size (1 1/2 to 2 hours).
-Preheat the oven to 375°.  Roll the marzipan paste flat between two sheets of wax or parchment paper then cut into 1/4" strips.  Using the strips, lay crosses onto each bun.  Bake until golden brown (18 to 25 minutes).  Cool on a wire rack.
-Serve warm on Good Friday. 

natural crafts for filling easter eggs

Last year I did a post around this time called Sweet Things That Aren't Candy with a few hand made ideas for filling Easter Eggs.  They were mostly just that - ideas.  This year I've been on the look out for small crafts tutorials I can share that are a bit more complex but still easy to put together in an evening.  There are so many really beautiful mini projects perfect for this purpose from bloggers around the world.  (Just when I feel like I'm a moderately imaginative gal, my search around the web puts me in my place.)  I came across dozens of astoundingly creative folks out there!  And we're not just talking pictures, these gals have step-by-step instructions available.  As always, my favorites are those made from natural materials.  This is just a sampling... 

Myrtle & Eunice have a really clear, comprehensive tutorial with a pattern for these simple, adorable Easter Chicks (which can be made with or without legs).

 This is, by the way, my new favorite blog! 

Over at The Purl Bee, I found a how-to on these adorable Bunny Finger Puppets.  Molly says you can make a set of five in one evening with time to spare.

At Plain and Joyful Living there's a knitting pattern for these Simple Little Gnomes.  Perfect for a Spring Nature Table and small enough to nestle in an egg.

I don't knit, but I also found these Tiny Baby Bunnies from Mochimochi Land.

If I had perfected that skill, these little gals would probably be underfoot everywhere in my house.






  

Since I do crochet, I might take a crack at some Crocheted Roses from The Philosopher's Wife. 

I especially like that done in a variety of colors, these can be displayed and played with for several seasons.

If you can manage the translation, there's a tutorial at Poppenatelier Severine for these super sweet Root Children.

For an English version, just hit the Google Translate button to the right of the instructions.  Even without the translation though, the photographic guide is pretty clear (especially if you've ever made a Waldorf style doll).




What tiny, egg-filler handmade crafts might you have to share?

decorating spring candles

Inspired by Thomas Berger's Wax Whimises, Crafts and Candles for Families, Naiya and I recently embellished these beeswax candles using Decorating Wax from Stockmar.

 

The Decorating Wax is very thin sheets of colored beeswax perfect for adorning candles of every season.  Little hands can easily cut it with a dull knife or even with cookie cutters.  Naiya couldn't get enough of this activity and asked if we could get more of the eggs.  My favorites were those we rolled ourselves (like the one on the right) from Dyed Beeswax Sheets purchased at our favorite local Bee Supply Store.

Zooma-zooma-zee.
Busy little bee!
Wax you've made for me.
What I'll make we'll see.
Zooma-zooma-zee. 

(verse from A Child's Seasonal Treasury by Betty Jones)

paper butterflies for spring

For Spring there are so many sweet butterfly crafts.  This year we discovered this really easy folded version that can be made quickly by both adults and children.

There are endless variations on this theme and all sorts of alternative materials and designs that could be used.  We started with some crayon drawings we had laying around but one could just as easily use patterned scrap book paper, card stock or even pretty recycled magazine pages for the wings.  In addition to the paper we needed scissors, some wire (I like copper), needle nosed pliers and beads (optional).

Begin with a rectangular sheet of paper.

(Any size will do.  This one is about 4" x 2½". )

Fold it in half length wise.

Fold in the corners on each side.

This can either be done so that the sides form points (as seen here) or have a flatter edge (depending on the wing shape desired).

If using a thicker card stock, one may wish to cut off these folded corners.  For thinner paper, leave as is.

Fan fold from the center out on each side.

Repeat with a second rectangle that is about two thirds the size of the first.

Bend a length of wire around the two pieces, binding them together with a twist at the top.

Slide a bead over both wires (if desired) and curl the antennae by wrapping around needle nosed pliers or a pencil.










We thought these could be hung from a Seasonal Tree, used on a Nature Table or even placed inside of Easter eggs.

Flutter by,
Butterfly,
Floating flower
in the sky.
Kiss me with your
Petal wings---
Whisper secrets,
Tell of Spring.

collecting eggs for easter

I realize it's a while until Easter arrives but it's never too early to start collecting eggs I think.  In the past we've had a number of crafts with blown or hollowed eggs and again this year we'll be saving our clutches for decorating...

(these are silk dyed)

 displaying...

(stuffed with moss and little wooden bird)

and for filling on Easter day...

Those for filling are what we need a lot of and so have begun saving already.  For this particular use, we don't carefully blow them out but just cut off one end with a serrated knife.

We carve a fairly large hole because the Easter Hare will use these as delivery vehicles for little trinkets.  They're dyed just as one would dye any regular hard boiled egg.  A treasure is then placed inside and using paint brush, glue and a bit of tissue, the hole is sealed.  They can then be hidden on Easter morning to be found by throngs of delighted children.

I think they're best just tucked away in outdoor hidey holes and in the tall grasses so they can be stomped open right on the ground (great fun for kids, assuming that the contents are not breakable).  Because here in the Pacific Northwest our holiday is often Very WET however, they can also be opened indoors.  (As seen in the photo above, our daughter placed hers a towel then cracked them open with her hands.) 

Now, what is that Bunny going to fill them with this time around?...

the lenten season

   “No, we’re not Catholic,” we tell our friends, “but, it’s true, we often observe Lent.”  Some people think this is kind of nuts.  Admittedly, it seems odd, but I was reading this article on the science of self denial by Jeffrey Kluger of Time today and I feel like it offered some insight into why the observance of holidays like Lent can be beneficial for those of both the religious and secular persuasions (and to some degree explains why we have taken to observing it ourselves.)   It was about how this season is not only one of spiritual penance, piety, and submission but also one which leads to the development of impulse control and, ultimately, can lead to greater self confidence and even increased happiness.  Kluger writes:

When it comes to good-time holidays, Lent does not rank very high. Nor do Ramadan or Yom Kippur, of course, and no wonder. They are all about saying no to something (or many things) you love. Where's the egg nog and holiday joy in all that? But we observe these less-than-festive celebrations all the same -- and we have good reason to do so. There are hidden benefits to so much ritualized self-denial...

   Lent has traditionally been a time of penance and abstention, a time to contemplate the sufferings and temptations of Christ as he fasted for forty days in the wilderness.  Historically, this was a time when certain Christians removed all animal flesh, dairy and eggs from their diets and gave renewed focus to prayer and charity. 

   Neither Ryan or I grew up observing this kind of asceticism, but there’s something about the Lenten season that has always appealed to us.  It’s the focus on temperance and self sacrifice and the turning inward toward contemplation and stillness that just seems appropriate for this time of year.  (Also, my willpower could really use a whole season dedicated to its strengthening any time.)

Every time an observer of Lent craves -- and resists the lure of -- a forbidden indulgence is a tiny reminder of a commitment made...  Neurologists and behavioral psychologists generally think of willpower as what's known as "domain general," which means that the more you practice it to control one behavior -- say, overeating -- the more it starts to apply itself to other parts of your life like exercising more or drinking less...

   Additionally, there’s something in knowing that there is a whole community of folks out there struggling to strengthen their will with me.  Through the experience of abstention, I think, we all come to foster gratitude for the plenty that we regularly enjoy.  With our modern culture’s tendency toward overindulgence, many of us live in varying states of excess, almost always giving in to our impulses.  We’re quite attached to food, drink, media, comfort, pretty things and modern conveniences of every kind.  It’s easy to forget that all over the world (and even in our own local communities) people struggle just to survive.  Giving a vice or a pleasure up by choice, it seems to me, helps to strengthen something within us and also connects us, in a small way, to the greater community in which we live.  

   For the children in our lives (who are forever living in a world of imitation), I think the Lenten mood helps cultivate a feeling of reverence and gratitude as well.  Who doesn't need more of that, right?  Despite religious affiliations (or lack thereof), maybe it's not so strange that folks embrace this season of sacrifice and all it has to offer. 

   "Happy Lent" surely isn't the proper salutation here but... I'd like to wish that the spirit of this season rests untroubled in your hearts.  Happy renunciation to all?    

   (Crafts for Easter coming soon...)

happy easter

sweet things that aren't candy

Now, we don't deny our child candy, but we're pretty big on regulation of the sugar substance.  Even when she pulls in a cache of the stuff for the candy holidays (Easter, Halloween, Valentine's Day, Christmas, etc.) we confiscate it and dole it out piece by piece. Usually after five days or so, our dear one forgets about the stockpile and mommy and daddy have to take care of it for her...if you know what I mean.
Yup, that's what I mean.
And I really don't need to eat candy every day either.

That's why, for a few years now, I've been trying to come up with candy substitutes, at least on the occasions over which I have some control.  And the Easter Hare and I, well, we're good friends.  I've got a lot of pull when it comes to this upcoming celebration.  We've had talks about candy and there will be some for our lovely Naiya Sophia, but that Hare will have some other goodies to offer as well.

Since this has been a discussion amongst mommies I know, I thought I'd share some of our current and past ideas.  Some are bought, some are easily (or occasionally not so easily) made and almost all are of natural materials.  This particular list of ideas are things that will fit inside of an egg (of either the felted or plastic variety) and a few have been listed on this blog before.  I don't know how well connected you might be with that Bunny, but if you've got any sway and you're looking for non-sugar Easter Egg filling options, perhaps this will help...

Mini wooden figures.
These people are from PlanToys.  The bunny is from Holztiger (which can be quite pricey), and the chick was, I think, locally made.

Hand painted stones.
I did these a few years ago with regular old acrylic paint and had turtles, bees, flowers, sunbursts, and sheep but these ladybugs (currently residing on our Nature Table) were all I could locate at the moment.

Needle felted critters.
This little guy was put together in about 10 minutes.  (For a quick tutorial click here.)

A variation of the above but in 2-D
These butterflies as well as some bees and dragonflies were made of craft felt with edges sewn in a simple blanket stitch.  (We hang these on our seasonal Spring tree.)

Little knitted finger puppets.
Perhaps I ought to be embarrassed to admit that I still do not knit.  These were all purchased at various fairs and crafty stores.

Felted flowers.  (Are you sensing a love of wool on my part?)
For a tutorial on these click here.

Pocket people.
Made with three wooden beads (one large for the head and two small for the hands) glued onto a tiny armature of a single pipe cleaner with bodies of felt sewn on with the standard blanket stitch.  They're stuffed with wool and some have wool roving hair.  They've all got acorns for hats from our neighborhood trees.  (Click here for a tutorial.)





Additionally we have stuffed Easter Eggs (or other holiday vessels) with wooden bead bracelets and rings, fairy stickers, fancy bells, those little cut crystals that refract light and make rainbows in the morning light, dried fruit, polished stones, play dough, beeswax (molded into simple shapes by hand or with cookie cutters), silk scarves, hair clips and lip balm.


I will admit that when Naiya does find the occasional egg with actual candy inside, she is quite, quite pleased.  I would warn therefore to create with discretion.  There's nothing that'll quell the desire to craft like the disappointed face of a beloved child upon discovering a darling trinket it took you hours to make.

easter

Mommy and Naiya driving in the car some weeks after Easter had passed:

Naiya: “Mommy, how does the Easter Bunny get in our house?”
Mommy: “I don’t know. How do you think the Easter Bunny gets in our house?”
(long pause)
Naiya: “Well, Santa Claus comes in the chimney, but I don’t think the Easter Bunny comes in the chimney.” (long pause) “I think the Easter Bunny pretends there’s a hole in our house and comes in there. Then when he leaves, he pretends there isn’t a hole anymore and it goes away.”
Mommy: “That sounds about right.”
(pause)
Naiya: “Mommy, is the Easter Bunny a girl or a boy?”
Mommy: “I’m not sure. What do you think?...”