Easter preparations

[wiseheart]

My Easter eggs turned out very ugly. There's no other word for it, and I have no idea why. I did everything the same way I always do, and ended up with dull colours... or barely any colour at all in the case of the blue ones. Something with the egg paint must have been faulty or whatnot. I'm royally pissed. :(

My Easter biscuits, OTOH, are very pretty, if I may say so myself. See for yourself:



Click on the image to see the really big version.

I've made a few felt rabbits and chickens and lambs for us and several dozens to give away. The recipients were very happy, so I'm content with that part.

We also made very pretty Easter buns and other cakes with the kids yesterday, which was fun, but very exhausting. Baking 4 different sorts of cookies with 3 different groups of kids (and not particularly small groups, either), took a great deal of strength out of me, even though I did have help. But we all had a good time, so it was worth it.

Tomorrow, I'll do a bit of decorating and cook the ham, and with that, Easter preparations will be finished. I refuse to work myself into an early grave just because there's a holiday. If the relatives come, I'll bake a bunch of muffins, that's quick and easy, otherwise I'll enjoy the fact that I don't have to work until next Wednesday.

Comments

[elmey.livejournal.com]

Wow, they are really pretty! The decorations must have taken you forever but what a beautiful cookie plate.

Peter brought a big ham home last week but I pretty much told him you want a big ham, you cook it. We shall see ;) I'm glad you got the time off, I hope you have a very happy and relaxing holiday now that the baking is done!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Actually, I cheated shamelessly where the cookie plate is concerned. I bought a box of baking mix, added some ground and sweetened hazelnuts and made *one* sort of cookie. I just decorated them differently, which took the entire Sunday morning, but I'm pleased with the results.

Have ever you tried to make ham with garlic and cumin? It is delicious. First, you cook the thing with carrots and parsley roots and some onions for about an hour. Then you take it out, let it cool a bit and rub it with garlic and cumin. Then you put it into a dish and bake it in the oven for another hour and a half, while repeatedly douse it with its own juice. It's fantastic, and you can slice it thin like paper once it's spent a few hours in the fridge.

[elmey.livejournal.com]

This is a typical American style ham recipe. (http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015804-glazed-holiday-ham)

Yours sound excellent though. Garlic and cumin are a great combination.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

American style ham sounds yummy, too. Unfortunately, I'd never be able to heat my oven to that degree. I'm happy if I get 220 degrees out of the old thing.

[elmey.livejournal.com]

I think 220C would burn it to a crisp :D We use Fahrenheit here, so it would be 163C, it's baked at a fairly low temperature.

I've been waiting decades for the US to switch to the metric system!! Ain't gonna happen in my lifetime.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see. I keep forgetting that the US uses a different measurement system. It's very inconvenient when trying to use American recipes, though.