Happy Easter (& Cookbook Winner!)

Happy Easter! or Happy Passover! or Happy Sunday!

We had a sweet little breakfast gathering over here at our house this morning... Easter is always a good excuse to get together and have some yummy brunchy foods. It was just my mom and her two sisters (my aunties!) and a friend of my auntie's. Quiet, tasty and relaxed... a sweet little occasion.

see my super cute bunny plate? I have four and they are all different

these plates are one of the reasons that I had to host an Easter party

About a month ago, I started anticipating Easter... which basically means I wanted to eat a hot cross bun. I love baked sweeties more than pretty much any other treat, and I only make HCBs once a year. That way, they are really special. Usually I use some candied fruit in addition to raisins or currants... but this year I just used all raisins - and they came out great! Also, this year I decided to do something different - in a very belated recognition of the Spring Equinox, I made Hot Equals Buns instead of Hot Cross Buns. Just as tasty! (here's my recipe)

I wanted a nice savory dish to balance out the sweeties - so I made a batch of the Mini Crustless Quiches from Isa Does It... though I added in some sauteed broccoli, leeks and mushrooms, and also a little tahini and dijon mustard. These came out so delicious! The veggies in there add some body and texture, not to mention more flavor! I usually prefer things with a little bite to them, and the chunky brocco-bits were great in the creamy quiche base. I've noticed that I also love these guys better when they have cooled down a bit (ie straight out of the fridge)... so the few that are left over will be good for an afternoon snack later on too.

Plus - Strawberries! What good is a brunch party without fresh fruit? We were going to have fruit salad, but yesterday one of my lovely yoga students gave me many cartons of huge, beautiful, organic strawberries as a gift. How wonderful! She and her husband grow organic berries, and she often shares some with me. I am so grateful. So, who needs fruit salad when you can just dive into a ginormous bowl of these beauties?

I've been thinking about that Creamy Potato Salad from Oh She Glows ever since I first made it a couple of weeks ago, and it seemed like a great fit for Easter brunch... and it was. So quick and delicious. I love the lemon-avocado-dill dressing... it's so thick and creamy!!

Speaking of Oh She Glows, we have a winner!

Random number generator picked Krista

Krista - send me an email so I can get you your book!! (ameyfm - at - yahoo - dot - com)

If you weren't the winner - go enter the giveaway over at Tami's blog, Vegan Appetite!

All in all, today was a really sweet morning... and now I think I'll go hang out with the pets in the sunny backyard... with a book, and a big glass of sparkly water. Ahhh!