Easter

As usual, Easter service at the United Methodist Church of the Village was a beautifully creative celebration. It was wonderful to be surrounded by such a joyful faith community but I was especially happy to share it with Cassie, Chris, and Margee Liz as well as my mom and Katie.

Bishop J’s mother was visiting and so was our conference bishop, Jeremiah Park with his wife. The church was packed and there was lots of music and dancing.

After church, we came home and brought Margee Liz to the back garden for an Easter egg hunt. She was delighted to find not only the eggs she decorated, but also some plastic eggs filled with cinnamon graham bunnies.

We then began preparing the Easter feast. Chris and I are following the Weight Watchers core plan so the meal was fairly healthy with a few moderate treats here and there.

We had a full table with most of my family here (except TJ had to work):

• Me, Chris, Cassie
• Mom, Katie
• Dad, Sharon
• Uncle Parker
• Ben, Brenda, Olgita (Brenda’s mom)
• Margee Liz, Natalie and Nicole

Snacks included:

• Shrimp cocktail
• Friendship Bread (Tasha brought it with some starter on Friday)
• Annie’s bunny cinnamon grahams
• Hard boiled dyed eggs

Dinner:

Smokey White Bean Soup
Bring 3 Cups of Water to the boil

• Add 1 pound sliced potatoes
• 1 Sliced onion

Boil for 20 minutes and puree

Stir in

• 1 Cup low fat milk
• Cumin, Cayenne Pepper, Salt
• 3 Cups White Beans
• 3 oz Smoked Gouda (I used smoked provolone veggie slices)

Black Forest Ham (from Whole Foods with no nitrates)

Roasted Purple Potatoes

Polenta Primavera (use whatever veggies are somewhat in season)

Make polenta (this could have been doubled with the amount of veggies used)

• Boil 3C water
• Stir in 1 ½ Cups of coarse cornmeal
• 1 t Salt

Stir over low heat until cooked (about 30 min)
Smooth into the bottom of a pie plate or casserole dish

Prepare Vegetables
Saute until soft in a little oil

• Red Onion
• Garlic

Stir in and sauté 5 min

• 2 Zucchini, Sliced
• 1 Yellow Squash, Sliced
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, Sliced in strips
• 1 Cup Mushrooms, Sliced

Sprinkle with salt to taste
Stir in and sauté until cooked

• 3 Cups Broccoli florets
• 4 Cups Chopped Swiss Chard

Add a few splashes of Balsamic Vinegar
Stir in ½ C Fresh Basil Leaves

Pour Vegetables on Top of Polenta
Sprinkle Shredded Mozzarella Cheese over veggies (I used soy)

Bake at 350 until cheese melts
Salad with Roasted Beets and Orange Vinaigrette
Drizzle with Olive Oil and Roast at 400 for 45 minutes (or until cooked)

• Baby Beets
• Red Onion, Sliced

Make Vinaigrette:
In a jar combine:

• ½ C fresh squeezed orange juice (plus the grated zest)
• 1 T Maple Mustard
• 2 T Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 T Diced Shallot
• Salt
• Pepper
• Roughly Chopped Roasted Onion
• 1 C Olive Oil

Toss the Vinaigrette with:

• Mixed baby greens
• Arugula
• Peeled and Sliced Apple
• Diced Roasted Beets

Dessert
Angel Food Cake (From Whole Foods)
Previously frozen Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries with their juice mounded in the middle
Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries (Dad and Sharon brought them from a chocolate store in PA)

Bert and Nick come to NJ

My Godfather, Bert and his partner of 27 years, Nick, came for a visit from IL. We haven’t seen them since August 2004. It was a lovely afternoon gathering of the Hinnen family. Ben came a little later and Brenda had to work. TJ bravely picked up the three little nieces and drove them over. She also did some grocery shopping and came over the night before to help me cook.

It was so great to spend an afternoon with Bert and Nick and catch up on their lives. Chris and I are looking forward to a road trip this summer to Illinois.

Chris’ college friend, Christian, was also visiting so we had a full house (14 plus the twins). There was also plenty of food! We created quite a spread and it was entirely vegetarian. I didn’t get to take pictures of the meal but this was the menu:

• Honey Glazed Figs with Yogurt Dip (from the Tassajara Recipe Book)
• Sliced Oranges
• Tomato Cashew Soup (from the Tassajara Recipe Book)
• “Hoboken” Sandwiches
• 
  

Hoboken Bread (brushed with marinade from peppers)

Fresh Mutz from Hoboken (Some sandwiches were made with regular and some with smoked)

Arugula Mix

Marinated Roasted Red Peppers (marinated in olive oil, garlic, white balsamic)

• Quinoa Black Bean Salad with Chipotle Dressing (from Vegetarian Times)
• Terra Chips
  

• Cream Cheese Cookies with Lemon Glaze (from the Tassajara Recipe Book)
• Dark chocolate peppermint truffles
• Raspberry Iced Tea infused with Mango Nectar
• Coffee (from my dad’s trip to Costa Rica).