For now is Christ Arisen!

Hello, Everybody.
This is just going to be a really quick post to wish you all a very Happy Easter!
God is so good. It's beyond words. The bitter sorrow and pain on Good Friday make this day all the more beautiful. Christ has triumphed, glorious!

Does everybody have nice plans for today? We certainly do! Besides the traditional Easter baskets and egg hunt, we are going to have a beautiful dinner of ravioli and ham. (Italian all the way! :-) Oh, there are all kinds of little goodies prepared. :-)

Take care. Oh, and don't be concerned if I don't post anything for a while. I'm going to be in Scotland! I will post a few pictures of that when I get back.
So go and enjoy your day!
God Bless!
Amy

Good Friday...

Pople meus, quid fecitibi? Aut in quo contristavite? Responde mihi.
Misrere nobis.

"My people, what have I done to thee? Or in what have I grieved thee? Answer me.

Have mercy on us!"

Holy Thursday.

So close now! So close to Easter.

Alright, here is one more link for an Easter recipe. It's Easter Bread...it's a really pretty loaf. I don't know if I'm going to have the time to make it myself but...it is such a pretty loaf! :-) I love the five eggs tucked into the braid. Traditionally, the five eggs were dyed red to symbolize the five wounds of Our Lord.

Anyway, I thought you all might enjoy looking at the recipe, if nothing else.

Easter Bread

I am hoping to make an Easter wreath with pussy-willows...that may not work out, but if it does, I will try and post it! :-)
I still have quite a lot of cleaning to do as well. Luckily, it's my weekend and I should have time to get all the things I want to get done, done!

God Bless,
Amy

Palms

Only one week left till Easter Sunday. Lent is almost over. This next week is going to go by so fast for me. I have packing to do for my trip to Scotland, which I leave for the day after Easter, (I am so excited about that! It's going to be amazing!) and I have cleaning and baking I want to get done before Easter. Only one more week of Lent to go. I want it to be a good one! :-)

Now, most of us were able to go to Mass and receive the palms for Palm Sunday. Do you ever wonder what to do with them? When we get the palms (there are ten of us at home and, of course, we all get one.) they usually end up tucked in various places on our prayer table. Here is an alternative to make the palms more interesting. One of my sisters stumbled upon a website that shows how to weave the palms into various things. My favorites are the rose and the crown of thorns. Check them out HERE. The site is called 'italians r us.' it's a fun site to look around on. Along with pictures of wonderful looking Italian foods, there are different articles and stories about Italy. There is also a section on Easter traditions that is fun to read. I am a huge fan of everything Italian. :-) Okay, most things Italian.

God Bless!
Amy

Oh, just as an aside. Here is a song from a singer I just recently discovered. Her name is Camilla Kerslake. I think she has a beautiful voice. Unfortunately, I couldn't embed the song here so you have to go to the youtube link. The video is a little strange but it's worth it! :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFg6iNn2CxU

Hot Cross Buns

Here is another recipe for you to drool over. Since I'm not making these myself and I don't have any pictures to use, I'm just going to give you two different links for the recipe. I have never made hot crossed buns in my life so I have no idea if they are tasty or not...but they really look good. :-)

So recipe 1 HERE  or recipe 2 Here
You can choose which recipe sounds better to you.

It's actually the tradition of hot cross buns that appeals to me. I am a sucker for traditions. :-)

This buns are traditionally made for Good Friday. In fact, I don't think you can find them any other time of the year but Easter time. I don't know if I've ever seen them being sold in the stores over here in the States, but in the UK they are a big deal.

It's hard to find out the origin of this tradition but from what I've read, it wasn't always associated with Easter. Their origins lie in pagan tradition. During early missionary efforts, the cross on top of the bun, which used to stand for the quarters of the moon, symbolised instead, the Crucifixion of Our Lord. In the year 1321, Father Thomas Rockcliffe began the tradition of giving the buns to the poor on Good Friday. As time went on, different traditions and superstitions grew up around the buns. It was fervently believed that the buns were a strong protection against sickness.
In the 16th century during the persecution of the Catholics, Queen Elizabeth banned the making and consumption of hot cross buns except for such occasions as Easter, Christmas and, ahem...funerals. Ah-well.

Anyway, I am hoping to try hot cross buns myself. Whether I make them for Good Friday or Easter I have yet to decide. They seem rather nice for Good Friday! I'm not sure about the raisins in the recipe...I might put them in but I might not. Raisins are sometimes overwhelming.

God Bless,
Amy

Easter stuff- part 1

I went through and took out the pictures from this post...I grabbed them from a recipe site and then decided that was not very nice of me. If you want to go to the site you can visit it HERE

So here we are, slightly less than three weeks till Easter. Do you have any plans? Me, I'm a fan of plans. I make tons of them. (I don't necessarily use all my plans but I love making them! :-) I

I made the mistake, a week or two ago, of looking up Easter foods-namely breads and desserts- and I have a couple recipes that I am now itching to try. 

First off, these little bird's nest candies are just so cute I just had to share! :-)

They are really easy to make and they would be fun as a place setting for each place at the table.

 4 cups chow mein noodles
2 cups butterscotch chips
1 cup peanut butter
1 bag malt-ball egg candies.

Melt the butterscotch chips and peanut butter in a double boiler or the microwave until they are smooth.
Stir in the chow mein noodles.

 Now it gets nice and gooey! Using either a spoon or your fingers, drop the mixture into lightly greased muffin tins. Push them against sides of the tin, forming a little bowl. Let them get firm.


Now, to make them all pretty, get that bag of candy and put a few in each nest.

Aren't they lovely? Aren't you just dying to try them? Well, in about three weeks or so you can! :-)

Stay tuned in...I have lots of ideas, recipes and plans up my sleeve! I want to give them to you, one at a time, so that you can really enjoy them. :-) Easter is coming, people...make plans! :-)


God Bless-
Amy