Easter Bread

Easter Bread

1/4 cup sugar

1 t. salt

1 envelope yeast

3 cups flour

2/3 cups milk

4 T. butter

2 eggs

1/2 cup mixed candied fruit

1/3 cup chopped almonds

1/2 t. anise seed

6 uncooked, colored Easter eggs

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 T. Milk

1/2 t. vanilla

Combine sugar, salt and yeast with 1 cup of flour. Set aside.

Combine milk and half of butter and heat until butter melts. Pour into yeast mixture and stir. Add eggs and flour. Turn out onto floured board and knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in greased bowl. Cover and let dough rest for about an hour.

Combine fruit, nuts and anise seed.

Punch down dough. Mix fruit/nut/seed mixture into dough, then divide dough in half. Form dough into ropes, then twist ropes together and fasten dough in a ring shape on a greased baking sheet. Melt remaining butter and use it to brush dough.

Separate ring in six spots, pressing uncooked eggs firmly into dough ring. Cover dough and allow to rest again for about an hour.

Place bread in preheated 350-degree oven. Bake for 45 minutes.

When bread cools, combine confectioner's sugar, milk and vanilla. Drizzle icing over loaf before serving.

Soup's on

There’s nothing like hot, hearty homemade soup to warm a person up on a cold winter’s afternoon. At our house we make a lot of soup. Sometimes we make fresh garden soup in the summer but mostly it’s a cold weather dish.

Yesterday afternoon was a typical northeast winter afternoon. Bleak, overcast, with eyeball-freezing wind, it seemed the perfect time to make soup, so that’s what we did. Thought I’d share the recipe with you. It’s one of my favorites.



Veggie Soup

1 large onion
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 cups vegetable broth
2 stalks celery, diced
1 cup cut green beans
2 cups chopped spinach
1 chopped carrot
1 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1 tablespoon dill
1 cup corn kernels
1 15-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon black pepper
Parmesan cheese, if desired for sprinkling at serving

In a large stock pot, bring broth, onion and potatoes to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except for Parmesan cheese, and cook, uncovered for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired, at serving.