THE EASTER- OR SPRING SPECIAL part 2 !

THE EASTER- OR SPRING SPECIAL part 2 ! 
With the promised bonus   ;-) 

Here we are with the main course:

APPLE-CELERIAC Gratin with MIMOLETTE-CHEESE.

(for 4 pers., preparation: + - 50 min.)

You need:

- 4 apples

- 1/2 celeriac

- 2 stalks celery

- 200 gr. mimolette cheese (see below), or cheddar, sliced

- 400 ml. cream

- 2 eggs

- 125 gr. raisins

- Juice of 1 lemon

- butter

- nutmeg

- Salt & pepper

- an oven dish, buttered

 this is mimolette cheese

Preparation: 

Clean the celery stalks and cut them into loops. Peel the apples, remove core, cut them into wedges and sprinkle immediately with lemon juice. Peel the celeriac, cut into cubes and sprinkle it also with the lemon juice. Blanch the celeriac 8 to 10 min. in boiling, salted water. Add the celery loops and let boil again for 5 min. more. Drain the vegetables. Preheat the oven to 200 ° C. Beat the eggs with the cream. Season with nutmeg and salt & pepper. Melt a knob of butter in a pan. Add the apples and cook on both sides so they get a nice golden color. Take the buttered dish and place alternately a layer of vegetables, a layer of apple and a layer of raisins. Pour the egg mixture over it. Garnish with slices of cheese and set in the preheated oven for 20 min.

We also need something to drink, don't you think ?

Iced tea with APPLE.

(for 4 pers., preparation: + - 10 min.)

You need:

- 4 bags green tea

- 4 cups boiling water

- 1 tbsp. honey

- 2 glasses of cider or apple juice, chilled

- some slices of lime

- ice

Preparation: 

Put the tea bags in a jar and cover with boiling water. Let them pull (see packaging of tea) and get the bags out. Add the honey and mix until it is completely dissolved. Add the cider or apple juice and leave to cool. Serve with ice and slices of lime.

And what's a meal without dessert??

Norwegian omelette.
(for 4 pers., preparation: + - 1:35, DIFFICULT !)


You need:
For the genoise:
- 125 gr. butter
- 20 gr. butter baking dish
- 4 eggs, separated
- 125 gr. sugar
- 30 gr. sugar
- 125 gr. flower
- 1/2 sachet yeast
- salt
- 100 ml. water
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Little liqueur (Cointreau or Grand Marnier)
- 500 ml. vanilla
- baking dish
- Cardboard boxes
For the meringue:
- 100 gr. sugar
- 30 gr. icing sugar
- 70 ml. water
- 2 egg whites
- A cooking thermometer
- a piping bag

Preparation: 
For the genoise:
Preheat the oven to 180 ° C. Melt the butter. Mix the egg yolks with 125 gr. sugar. Beat the mixture in a bain-marie, until the volume is approximately doubled. Remove from heat. Add, whisking constantly, the flour, yeast and a pinch of salt. Add the melted butter and then fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Butter the baking tin. Spoon the mixture into the buttered baking dish. Put in the oven for 30 min. Remove from the mold. Cut the genoise into quarters and let cool in cardboard boxes. Mix the 100 ml. water, 30 gr. sugar and lemon juice. Bring it to a boil. Add the liqueur and let soak in the genoise in it. Cover that with a thick layer of vanilla ice cream and place in the freezer.
For the meringue:
Preheat the oven to 250 ° C. Heat the 100 gr. sugar and 70 ml. water up to 120 ° C. (use the cooking thermometer but, Sweetypies, please be careful !), to you get a transparent caramel. Beat the egg whites stiff and pour, DROPWISE, the caramel in. Keep beating (but slower) until the preparation is cooled down. Spoon the meringue into a piping bag and cover the frozen genoise with it. Give the foam an irregular shape. Sprinkle with icing sugar and place in the oven on grill position, WITH THE DOOR OPEN, until the meringue starts to brown. (see picture)






As a bonus I want to tell you something about Easter in other countries and cultures and also give you one of their recipes. I hope you like it?


Easter without borders, so to speak.



Easter with us.

Easter was originally a pagan festival to celebrate the end of the winter and the return of the sun. Easter is a Christian feast, but with a preChristian origin. The Germans celebrated Easter with the end of winter - personified in the spring goddess Ostara (in German called the Passover Ostern, in English is it Easter ofcourse. In our country we calle it: Pasen), the hare and eggs symbolize fertility and new life. Eating Eastereggs has to do with the fasting period. During these weeks of abstinence it was forbidden to for anyone  to eat eggs, but the chickens were after the winter just re-laying and therefore unstoppable ! At the end of Fasten, there were so many eggs over, they had to be cooked on time in order not to spoil. They painted the eggs and so it became a tradition to eat painted, hard boiled eggs on Easter. Hundreds of years ago the farmers stopped the eggs under the soil in the hope there crop would go well. Thus, probably, the tradition started of hiding eggs in the garden. Over the centuries, different cultures gave their own interpretation and data, but nowhere is it celebrated without eggs. We color eggs, hide them there for the kids and make the Passover meal(s). Eggs symbolize the new young life that occurs in the spring. We use the Gregorian calendar, so the phase of the moon is calculate in an other way then elswhere, like in Rusia f.i., where they use the Julian calendar. We celebrate Passover this year on March 31. In our country, Easter became a worldly feast over the years. The time for a weekend get away or a short holiday. And of course also plenty of chocolate to eat. Easter eggs, Easter Bunnies, Easter bells ..... if they is chocolate we enjoy it. Increasingly we also give Easter presents. Easter is the ideal day for lunch or brunch on a festive laid table with friends or family. With delicious fresh fruit juice, a bottle of bubbles, sandwiches, fruits and some special dishes, that you have prepared in advance. Let enjoy and celebrate the arrival of spring and new life !







Easter in Greece.

Greeks spend much time on their Passover. A month before, they start with the big clean and on the eve of Easter, there is a hectic atmosphere. They make dyed eggs, baked cakes and elaborate meals. The Greeks places long candles infront of the windows, that they leave burning all night. On Easter Sunday the villages undergo a metamorphosis. The men make fire in the garden, but also on squares, in order to roast meat (so not for us veggies !) Then the residents celebrate the feast together. Everyone brings there decorated eggs and exchanging them with other attendees. Then they eat the roast meat with lots of bread, tatziki and for dessert the famous Easter biscuits sprinkled with almonds. The whole afternoon long they eat, talk, laugh and dance to music.



Easter Cookies.
(for + - 30 cookies, preparation: + - 35 min.)


You need:
- 125 gr. soft butter
- 250 gr. caster sugar
- 3 eggs + 1 extra
- 1 tsp. grated lemon zest (from an untreated lemon)
- 15 cl. milk
- 600 gr. flower
- 1/2 sachet yeast
- 40 gr. almond flakes
- a rolling pin
- baking trey or plate
- baking paper





Preparation: 
Mix the softened butter and sugar until smooth. Alternately add the milk and flour. Then you add 3 eggs, the zest and yeast. Knead the dough by hand for a soft and homogeneous structure. Preheat the oven to 180 ° C. Dust your work surface lightly with flour. Divide the dough in two and roll out with a rolling pin. Cut thin strips of 25 cm. long and fold each strip into two which you turn then into a braid. Stick the two ends to each other with a little water and form a ring. Place the cookies on a baking plate lined with baking paper .Beat the fourth egg and brush the cookies with it. Sprinkle them with the almonds. Put in the oven for 15 min. till they are nicely browned. Allow to cool on a wire rack before you taste it.                      Ας καλή γεύση 







Easter in Russia.

Traditionally the Easter is celebrated  big in Russia. People often gave beautifully decorated eggs a gift, as a symbol of fertility and new life. Tsar Alexander III gave his wife in 1885, a wonderful surprise egg. That egg was made ​​by jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé. It marked the beginning of an annual tradition. You will find colored eggs everywhere. They are usually collered red in a decoction  of onion skins, but sometimes they are also artistically painted. Then they exchanged with friends and relatives. It also happens that they go to the grave of a loved one and place such decorated egg there. This year Easter is celebrated here on May 5. Because the Russians use the Julian calendar it's celebrated on a other date than us. The evening of May 4 is for the Russians a real food- and drink festival. We already know what the dessert will be. A 'koulitch', a cake with raisins, and a 'pashka', a delicious cheesecake.

PASHKA.

(for 10 pers., preparation: + - 40 min., Best prepare 2 days in advance !)


You need:
- 1 kg. quark
- 300 gr. soft butter
- 500 gr. icing
- 2 egg yolks
- 100 gr. candied orange peel, cut in small pieces + extra for garnish, 
- 1/2 tsp. zest of an untreated lemon
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla-essence
- muslin

Preparation: 
Pour the night before the quark in a muslin. Knot it tight and place or hang it over the sink to drip. Pour the well-drained quark in a bowl and beat him until you have a creamy consistency. Beat the butter and sugar until you become a smooth consistence. Mix the two preparations, add the egg yolks, the pieces of candied orange zest, the lemon zest and vanilla-essence and mix well. Rinse the muslin, which you let the quark drain, out. Then make a sphere with it of 17 cm. in diameter. Pour the pashka in the muslin and close it. Put on a plate, place a weight on it and leave to rest for a night in a cool place. Demould on a platter and garnish with pieces of candied orange peel.              Хай гэта смачна 







Easter in Italy.


In Italy Easter does not need to be celebrated at home. Many Italians are going out with friends and eat a traditional luch in the afternoon. Also on Easter Monday is the program set: a trip to the countryside for a picnic or barbeque. Every year, this leads to a big mess on the Italian roads. In a traditionally eastermeal they eat lamb (so again nothing for us veggies !) Other Easter dishes are 'Colomba', a cake in the shape of a dove, that especially in the area around Milan popular. It is served as dessert and symbolizes joy and peace. More to the south you get the Neapolitan 'pastiera' at the Easter coffee. This cake is a symbol of spring and contains two ingredients that make her unique: orange blossom and wheat grains. Moreover, each region has its own specialties Easter. The Italians in the Regione Valle d'Aosta ewzren the 'Crescia', a cheese pizza which often salame sausage served. The recipe below is called in Itailaans' focaccia pasquale, a festive 'focaccia' by young and old can appreciate.

Fireplace Easter cake.
(for 8 pers., Preparation: +- 65 min.)


You need:
- 25 cl. milk
- 360 gr. white flour, sifted
- 50 gr. butter, melted
- 25 gr. butter
- 70 gr. caster sugar
- 1 egg and 2 egg yolks
- 2 tsp. candied orange peel, chopped
- 1 tsp. candied lemon peel, chopped
- A pinch of cinnamon powder
- 25 gr. almond powder
- 1 tbsp. Marsala
- 1 vanilla sugar
- salt
- a baking trey or plate lineded with baking paper
-  a sheet of baking paper

Preparation: 
Heat the milk a little with 1 tsp. sugar and a pinch of salt and dissolve the yeast in it. Pour it into a large bowl and add 160 gr. flour. Mix until you obtain a soft dough. Cover with a cloth and let rise, for about 20 min., in a warm place. Beat up 1 full egg and 2 egg yolks. Pour it on the dough and add 30 gr. sugar, 50 gr. melted butter and 150 gr. flour. Mix well until you obtain a homogeneous dough. Cover it again and let the dough rise for 2 hours. Take the dough, add the candied orange- and lemon zest, the almond powder, the cinnamon, the Marsala, the rest of the butter (25 gr.), the rest of the sugar, the vanilla sugar and the rest of the flour and knead till a smooth and homogeneous dough is obtained. Preheat the oven to 180 ° C. Form a ball with the dough. Place the ball of dough on the baking sheet, that is lined with baking paper. Push the dough flat with your hands and let rest for another 10 min. Make 3 slashes in the dough. Cover the dough with a sheet of baking paper and bake it for 20 min. Then turn the heat down to a 140 ° C. and continue baking for another +- 25 min., until the cake is golden brown.                     Lascia un buon sapore !







Easter in Israel.


Easter fell originally on the same day as the Jewish Passover. The Jews commemorate the flight from Egypt, that freed them from slavery. Christians celebrate Easter with the resurrection of Jesus. According to some gospels Jesus held his Last Supper on the first day of Passover and that way both feasts got linked. At the Council of Nicea in 325 it was decided that the celebrations could not take place on the same day. Pesach, the Jewish Passover fell this year on March 26, which corresponds to the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan. As with us Easter falls every year on a different date. Instead of two days (= Easter Sunday and Easter Monday) the celebrate it for 7-8 days. The origin of the Passover is found in the two traditional spring festivals: the feast of the Passover, which dates from the time the Hebrew people still were nomads, and the feast of unleavened bread, that was celebrated at the beginning of the harvest. The traditional Jews eat throughout Easter week no yeast. Bread is replaced by "matzoth, a flat bread that looks like a big cracker. For all these reasons, Easter is sometimes called Matsefeast. There are many different habits. Cabbage rolls stuffed with a spicy mixture of rice, meat (for us made in a veggieway so with veggie-minse), onion and eggs are particularly popular. And the recipe always succed.


Yeubrak.
(for 4 pers., preparation: + - 70 min)


You need:
- 500 gr. veggie-mince
- 5 tbsp. rice
- 1 egg
- 2 small onions, finely chopped
- 1 bunch cilantro, leaves finely chopped
- 6 sprigs mint, leaves finely chopped
- 1 handful of spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
- 20 Roman lettuce leaves, large ones (if small ones you need more)
- 3 tbsp. tomato concentrate
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and whole
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. harissa (Tunisian = pimento paste)
- salt
- 30 cl. water
- ice water in a large bowl

Preparation: 
Put the whole garlic cloves, tomato concentrate, the harissa, olive oil and 30 cl. water in a saucepan. Mix and allow to simmer for 10 min., on low heat. Throw the chopped onion, coriander and mint leaves in a large bowl. Add the veggie-mince, rice, egg and coarsely chopped spinach. Season with salt and mix well. Remove the outer leaves of the Romane lettuce. Blanch them several times in a large pot of salted water. The put them in a large bowl with ice water. Place 1 leave of the Romane lettuce on the worksheet (2 when the leaves are small). Put a scoop of veggie-mince-mixture in the middle and roll the leaves so that the filling is well packed. Do not press, as the rice will swell during cooking. Repeat until all inrediënten are used up. Pour the tomato sauce in a sauté pan. Add the meatballs. Cover the pan and let cook for 40 min. Check the fluid level regularly and add, if necessary, a little water. Serve warm.       לאָזן עס געשמאַק גוט

So, my dear Sweetypies, I hope you enjoyed it. Till next time ??

Eat them,

Your Veggie Lady
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