Easter 2014

As the Lenten season and Easter comes to a close, I wanted to share this video with you.  If you read my blog much, you know it's about food and family but today I wanted to share a little bit about my faith.  I was challenged this Easter to think about what I'm living for and what I spend my time focusing on . . . this illustration by Francis Chan puts it in perspective well . . . it's less than 4 minutes so I hope you enjoy it!

We had a wonderful Resurrection Sunday with family and friends.  Here are some photos of the girls dyeing eggs on Good Friday and on Easter morning.

It was fun to host Easter dinner this year.  I've never made a ham and continued that long-standing tradition by having my husband barbecue tri-tip for the meat.  I made appetizers, desserts, and our guests brought the other side dishes.

One of the appetizers I made was an old favorite - David Lebovitz's Tapenade - and the other one was new and I'm sure going to be put in regular rotation.  It was easy, looked pretty, and can accommodate a lot of different types of eaters (vegetarian, gluten free, etc).  I made the quinoa salad the day before and refrigerated it and then just hollowed out my cucumber slices, filled them, and topped with a little feta cheese. 

Quinoa stuffed Cucumbers (makes 24 bite sized appetizers)

2 english cucumbers

1 cup quinoa

1 cup cilantro

1/3 cup flat leaf parsley

2 T mint

6 T olive oil

1/2 zucchini, diced very small

1/2 red bell pepper, diced very small

feta cheese, for topping

salt and pepper, to taste

Cook the cup of quinoa in water or vegetable broth as per the package instructions.  During the last 5-10 minutes of cooking, dump the zucchini and red bell pepper in and put the lid back on.

While it's cooking, coarsely chop the cilantro, parsley and mint and put in a small chopper (or food processor).  Add the olive oil and blend / chop for a few minutes.  Put the olive oil & herb mixture in a bowl.  When the quinoa is done, add it to the bowl and stir well to combine.  Add a little salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate the quinoa until it's cool (or you can do this part a day ahead).

Slice the English cucumbers into slices that are at least 1/2 inch thick.  Take a melon baller or metal spoon and scoop out the middle part with the seeds, leaving a layer on the bottom so the quinoa doesn't fall out the bottom.  You're basically making an indentation big enough for about a tablespoon of 

quinoa like this:

Scoop quinoa into the cucumber slices and top with crumbled feta (if desired).

Serve chilled or room temperature.