Easter! oh lordy lord it's Easter. And as everyone knows, Easter seems to rain chocolate 100x more violently then Christmas and Valentines day combined. Why? Because unlike Santa who brings gifts with some candy, or your loved one who brings a small box to say I love you, The Easter Bunny brings you buckets and buckets of chocolate- at least he makes you work a little to find it first. Its completely overwhelming being at any store, especially Walmart and Zellers.
I have not celebrated the easter bunny visiting my house in over 15 years and have always built Easter around the Catholic reasons for celebrating but I never seem to get out of the weekend with the scale unscathed. My mother in law God bless her likes to make all us "kids" an easter basket full of chocolates and that sweet little golden bunny as a place setting for dinner. I always savour that basket-
But then comes Easter brunch. Oh yes. Easter brunch with 30 very loud, very hungry Italians. The good news is that while I am anticipating all the eats, I am realizing just how weight friendly our Easter can be. There is a sewing table in my Aunt's basement- very large...and COVERED with food corner to corner at Christmas and Easter.
While Christmas Eve is lots of fishes and fried dough balls stuffed with caulifower or CINNAMON SUGAR and so much more savoury things, our Easter is just a little bit more forgiving. With plenty of cookies and cakes but i digress. Leaving Good Friday and all its shrimp, tilapia, lingini and mussels out of the equation, our table is covered with fruit, veggies and dip, cheeses, pickles, olives and frittatas- there are usually 3 frittatas and they are each stuffed to the brim with a fresh vegetable like peppers, spinach, peas. There is spanakopita (yeah, I don't know how it got on our Italian table either but we would all be very mad if it ever was forgotten) . But in that Spanakopita is serious amounts of spinach and much less feta and fillo then one would think because it is homemade. There is a blueberry strata and thinly sliced luncheon meats. Some of which used to be handmade by my grandfather- who is in his mid 80's now and just can't do it anymore. We were spoiled to have a butcher in the family and lucky for us he was very serious about cutting off as much of the fat as possible- so lean, homemade nitrite free meat for all.
But the big thing, the one thing no one can wait for is the EASTER PIZZA. A pizza bread stuffed to the brim with pepperoni, eggs, ham and cheese in a pizza dough case. They made everyone their very own last year and because I was so very very pregnant it was the greatest day of my life. There is also tortula bread- a very dense, very yolk full sweet bread we only get Easter day too.
I don't even know where I am going with any of this I'm dreaming of the pizza. Oh yeah... Easter and chocolate and food.
This is my son's first Easter, and falls 1 week before his first birthday. I want to allow him to eat SOME sweets when he gets older- but I do have a lot of fears that he will end up like me, and I don't want that for him. I will of course let him eat what he likes when we have our family celebrations but when he get's near the table with 100 types of cookies on it, I will be carefully monitoring him. If only I had more control practicing what I preach. I am also a holiday freak and needless to say I have gone overboard- buying small gifts and things- much of which are all gifts he needs anyway- Bibs, sippy cups, toddler crayons and a colouring book, bath duck, wee toy truck, you get the hint. There is going to be no chocolate- except for a chocolate flavoured toddler cookie- I did want him to experience a first easter egg hunt so I err...asked...the Easter bunny for the toddler friendly Eggs that have little people figurines in them. I also asked the bunny to fill small carrot and egg shaped containers with Cheerios and banana and peach puffs.
I hope I can make it through Easter without a gain! Wish me luck I guess!
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