My Oh Meyer!

[The boy and the bun]

Have you escaped the sugar coma yet?

Ya, me neither.

Easter provides the perfect excuse to gorge and eat candy for breakfast. I should rephrase… Easter provides the perfect excuse to eat candy for breakfast all month. The first thing I ate today? A jellybean. Why a jellybean? I seriously have no clue. But it was delicious.

This spring time holiday was particularly great, a flurry of old traditions mixed in with the new. It began a few days early with my sister and my nephew. Holidays feel like new again when you have a little one to share them with! We took Jamie to meet the bunny (despite the screams from other kids, Jamison was as happy as a lark. He even shared a few 'woofs' with the bunny - he's still learning his animals... )

The next day was spent dying some Easter Eggs. Turns out Jamison loves Easter as much as his mom - he had a blast dying eggs... and licking the dying spoon. Nope, Jamison, not chocolate.

[Artist at work]

with the opening of candy-filled eggs with my siblings, followed by an outdoor mass at church. The "Chreasters" come out this time of year so we hardly bother to take part in the mad dash through the church doors just to find that there is hardly room to breathe let alone sit or stand. There is usually a fairly modest gathering for the service they have outside the church. This year it was not so. The grounds were sprawling with people. Although this sounds like a bit of a nightmare, it was actually really great. There was room to move, the weather was exceptional, and the sound system was fantastic. No problems hearing the priest or the music (which was led by my favorite cantor at HNM, Matthew Matsumoto).

Continuing with the tradition, we headed to brunch at Grandma Hartnett's house (another part of the established practice: starting the brunch at 1 p.m.) It was worth it, though. The spread was exceptional - homemade cinnamon rolls and danishes, quiche, fruit, coffee cake, and mimosas. Nathan added a little extra flair this year by preparing Peach Bellinis with fresh puree. Yum.

Brunch was followed by a bit of activity to get the blood flowing. Who says being adult means there's no Easter Egg hunt?! If you're a Hartnett, you need chocolate. Thus our hunt is going strong! That doesn't mean we are allowed to get to our chocolate so easy; the game has gotten progressively more difficult in recent years. It used to be that you'd see that yellow egg hidden in the hedge, or in the usual place in the tree by the window and pass it by to allow the scavenge to last longer. Not anymore. You see that egg? You grab it. Otherwise, you'll be the sorry one with a shovel digging random holes in hopes you'll find an egg.

Just my luck. Thankfully I didn't need a shovel, but I was definitely the last one sweating it out for some sugar. I more than made up for it with the amount I consumed that day. My candy-filled day continued into the evening with a celebration at Matt's. We watched the kids find their eggs as we munched on goodies of our own (that required less work to earn), and enjoyed some savory goodies along the way like a cabernet pot roast from Trader Joe’s. Good call, Matthew.

The night cap was cooked up by yours truly. I had the chance to put some of my newfound pie techniques into practice. With a bundle of Meyer lemons from Mo and Nate’s backyard, I baked a couple of shaker lemon pies. I have never heard of a shaker lemon pie, but if you are a lemon lover I can bet you have. Unlike a regular lemon pie, the shaker lemon wastes nothing; rind and all are mixed and thrown between that pie crust. The result is a perfect combination of tangy and sweet – the sugar used to macerate the rind takes some of the edge off the pucker-up punch the fruit delivers. I was nervous about the texture, but was pleased to see the fork went right through the rind like butter. Melanie, a lemon lover, had two slices – a perfect compliment. Another shining moment? Compliments on the crust! The techniques, and the forced patience, paid off!! I made a pie for my family back at my Grandma’s house and they sent me back some photos showing their enjoyment.

[Jenn & Grandma at work]

Put a smile on my face. And put me further at ease as I continue to learn the trade of piemaking. I'm one step closer to entering next year's pie baking contest!