A Walk Through Nature's Splendor

I miss my morning walks with Tipper since she went to doggie heaven a few years ago. I was trying to get her back into form so to speak.  She had gained so much weight over the winter months that she waddled and had problems getting up on the sofa.  It broke my heart to see her eyes pleading me to lift from her from her new bed next to mine.  I could no longer lift her to sleep with me.  That was not the whole meaning of my walks though.  I too had gained those extra pounds that needed to come off.  The real meaning of our meandering walks would be lost when I saw what nature was blooming all around me.

Hiroshima Cherry Tree 2016

Last spring I was so awed by the beauty of the Hiroshima Cherry Tree that we had planted at the American Legion in Aspinwall in honor of my son who had died while serving in the Navy.  The snow white flowers bloomed and soon there will be cherries on it to feed the birds.  Last year the tree was pruned and I was thankful to see the blooms opened up last week as I passed the Legion.

New growth on the rose bushes

In my own rock garden my rosebushes are sprouting new foliage that year's growth.  It wont be long before the stocks get tall since these are long stemmed rose bushes.  As the buds start to show I will await my summer roses which give me so much pleasure.  Unfortunately, the bushes have turned into wild roses now because of a harsh winter two years ago.  I no longer get my golden or pink blush roses.  They are now red and flat looking but I still love roses.

As I would round the corner with Tipper, this awesome display of white and purple blossoms strikes me with it's beauty.  These two dogwood trees were planted years ago by the current owner's grandfather and it was so nice talking with him and watching the respect on his face as he talked about his grandfather.

Dogwood in neighborhood

These traditional spring flowers have a whole legend about them that is so significant of this time of year and the whole Easter season.

Nestled below the white beauty is this gorgeous Azalea Bush with all of it's regal splendor.  This one has such beautiful lavender and pinkish purple buds.

My yard is again alive with Violets growing among the grassy edges.  To my wonder their beauty still surrounds me in my neighbors garden among the lily of the valley.

As I continue along my walk I am reminded of why we are on this earth and what beauty God has given us for our enjoyment.  There is a suggestion that my day lilies may be coming up.  We will see if they bloom this year.

Easter Fritta (Frittata) Italian Style

In our house the traditional Easter brunch was Homemade Braided Easter Bread made with colored Easter Eggs embedded in it and Italian Style Frittata.  We call it Fritta  and it is NOT just another egg souffle.  It is the ultimate of Italian cooking.

Fritta baked in a glass baking dish

Fritta starts with a trip to the Italian store.  In Pittsburgh, you can either visit the Strip District or visit Labriola's Italian Store.  For those who do not live in Pittsburgh, you can order your supplies online from Labriola's.

Fritta fried in a cast iron skillet

In our house we always made more than one pan of Fritta and we baked it in the oven.  You can also make this Italian treat in an iron skillet which is a tradition for a lot of Italian families.

Frying Sausage to be added later

You start by precooking your Italian sausage.  We bought the sausage in casing and then slit it out of the casing to cook it into little pieces in the skillet.  You can use sweet or hot sausage according to your taste.  We made a pan of each for our family.  You set the sausage aside to be folded in after it is cooled. 

Next beat your eggs and mix in the ricotta.  I'm leaving the measurements to your taste because you can't miss with this recipe and only you know how many you are feeding.  Once you have mixed in the ricotta and the mixture is smooth, you fold in a bounty of Italian meats and cheeses.  We use diced Capicola, Genoa Salami, pepperoni, your precooked sausage, parmesan grating cheese, romano grating cheese, shredded mozzarella and provolone.  Whatever you add, you can't go wrong be it mushrooms, spinach or any of the other herbs so popular with gourmet cooking.

Fritta cut and ready to eat

Once all of the meats and cheeses are blended into the mix, you pour the mixture into a greased lasagna pan and place in the oven at 350 deg. for about an hour.  You know the Fritta is done once it has browned and a butter knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Fritta Slice

You may need to order your meats ahead of time if your Italian store runs out of ingredients.  As always, "Munga and enjoy!"

Special Treats for Easter

I know my stepchildren had a tradition that my husband started when they were quite small.  We had a fabulous donut shop something like Dunkin Donuts that made special Easter donuts.  These would be donuts decorated to look like Easter baskets with jelly beans or some other treats on them.  They had a decorator who individually decorated the donuts to look like Easter grass and some even had spring flowers on them made from decorator icing.  As I recall, some were even decorated on sticks to make them look like lollipops.

I found a website that features Easter Bunnies made out of little packages of donuts that are easy to make and something that will create a memory.

I know that it was always fun to find special cookies in our baskets that were cutouts that were decorated with cookie icing.

This year I saw a demonstration how to make Rice Krispie Treats into the shape of Easter baskets or nests.  These are hollowed out to allow you to add some jelly beans into the center of the treat.  You could even put some foil eggs into them if they are large enough.

I guess what I'm saying here is that it doesn't have to be all chocolates and jelly beans that go into making your Easter fun.  You can make it special just by adding something out of the ordinary.  Like my motto says, "It only takes imagination -- yours of mine!"  Happy hunting or baking for those special Easter Treats.

Easter Bunny or Lamb Cakes

In years gone by, I've had my hand in various cake decorating projects.  The one that was the most challenging was when I made full size molded Easter Bunny and Easter Lamb Cakes.  I bought the molds from Wilton but you can probably find some of the original molds on ebay or amazon.

I experimented with using the packaged cake mixes and the cakes were fine but didn't withstand the need to be done in two pieces and put together with icing.  The true mold method of filling one side and then letting it raise into the top mold got me in trouble one year as related below.

What I found to be the best was to use as pound cake recipe because it was supposed to be firmer and was easier to work with.  Once you have your cake mixed it needs to be poured into the pans so that they are flat and almost filled.  Place the pans on cookie sheets to catch any overflow.

Once you take them out of the oven you will need to trim them so that you have two flat surfaces to mold together.

I used a fluffier whipped cream icing  for these cakes and sprinkled coconut flakes on the lamb cake to give it a more natural look.  The eyes were black jelly beans and the noses were pink jelly beans.

It's been years since I made these but I do remember the year that the fire department had to come to my house because my oven caught on fire making these cakes in the true molded fashion of filling one side and letting the cake raise into the top side.  I saw flames starting in my oven and evacuated the house because it was a gas stove.  It turned out to be some of the batter overflowed and went down the hole to the pilot light area and caught fire.  I guess turning off the oven would have been my option but who thinks at a time like that.

This is a fun project for the Easter holiday and one that is sure to be a delicious centerpiece for your celebration dining that you can use for dessert.