Here, at my home in Midwestern America, the first fruits of the season are gooseberries. I have a large bush in the yard that I planted several years ago, without entirely knowing what I would do with the berries. There was a fond childhood memory associated with them, and the expectation of fruit harvest from … More First fruits, Garden and Spirit
We love these crisp little Easter biscuits so much that we’ve made them once a week since the Easter season began. They are simple and humble; not too sweet but greatly enhanced by the (very British) addition of dried currants and candied citrus peel. They’ve made a nice little Sunday treat, both at home and … More Mary Berry’s Easter Biscuits, all season long.
I had intended to bake traditional Polish Babka this week, for the Third Sunday of Easter, but plans change. My young son– too sick for school, but not too sick to be up and about– asked to bake something from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion, which I checked out from the library. One-on-one time … More Flexible plans and crunchy biscuits
The First of May, or May Day, is a holiday with no particular liturgical significance, and yet its history and implications connect so perfectly with the Easter Season that it seems right at home on the liturgical calendar. With roots all over Europe, May Day had an undeniable importance for early agrarian societies. Far fewer … More Welcoming Spring with May Baskets
Easter, like Christmas, is usually celebrated as a single day– however, both holidays are actually much longer than many people realize. Eastertide is 50 days long, beginning on Easter Sunday and ending with Pentecost. This means there are seven Sundays in the Easter Season, and I plan to use every one of them as an … More Italian Easter Cookies
As spring days go, our Easter Sunday was a paragon– warm and sunny, with the scent of violets in the air and a sprinkle of tiny flowers in the lawn. Brunch was a veritable feast, an abundance of food lovingly prepared by extended family. I’d been baking feverishly for several days, and contributed four kinds … More Easter Delights
An unspoken tradition of Lent in our house is the Making of the Easter Dresses. Though it tends to be biennial rather than annual, I often find myself sewing something special for myself or my small daughter during the weeks leading up to Easter. The weather is usually still cold, but our long-sleeved, often dark-colored … More The Making of an Easter Dress
In Due Season 