Asay Easter Dinner

The first of two Easter 1993 pictures

—with the 3 kids on a little tykes crocodile rocker—

the same time my story took place.

In a couple weeks it will be Easter—our family’s favorite holiday next to Christmas and April Fool’s! We seem to have very few photos because we’ve videotaped most of them…for hours. One of our favorite family videos is of Easter morning 1993 in Juneau, Alaska. The kids wait for the camera to start rolling so they can hunt for the eggs, candy, and little wooden, painted chicks and bunnies that the Easter Bunny has hidden all over the living room—very exciting! Ellice is 1, Derek is 3, and Joel is 6 years old. Joel is obviously the one with the past Easter experience, stuffing his basket as fast as possible before Derek can get there (he’s still trying to figure it out) and at the same time, stay out of the parents’ fairness radar. Derek is actually charmed by the little wooden animals while Joel is bagging the loot, in a kind, big brotherly sort of way. Ellice mostly sits, looking around at the unusual activity in the room. The truly funny part is when Derek, twice within about 3 minutes, dumps his whole basket of candy while tripping over his own feet trying very excitedly to get somewhere in the room and is totally unfazed—a couple of “3 Stooges” moments! Joel notices his opportunity to snag a lot of loot at one time, but isn’t sneaky enough. It’s highly entertaining!

One is of Derek and Ellice wearing bunny faces (about 4 years later).

In later years, Dad (Grant) has made it his mission to hide the kids’ Easter baskets in unusual and difficult-to-find places with the rule that you must find your basket before you can hunt for the goodies. A few of you may have heard stories of the agony in one camp (the kids) and glee in the other (the parents). Some of the best hiding spots have been up in the chimney, under a sink behind the pipes, hanging behind drapes above their heads, suspended back behind tall bookshelves, in the washing machine, in an empty toilet tank, and behind air vents. The intensity has grown with the kids! Thankfully, the goodness of our Heavenly Father and the selfless gift of His Son super cedes this minor craziness!

One is of Grant hiding a basket 10 years later in 2003 in Michigan!

So, our traditional Easter meal usually includes fresh rolls, green salad, green beans or corn, mashed potatoes, Amish Ham, and Mom’s (Grandma’s) famous Strawberry Pie (see below) found in the Barbara D. Eliason cookbook. Enjoy! And please feel free to call if you need to clarify something. I might note that this is the only gravy that Joel will eat—spicy, sweet—and we’ve doubled or tripled the ham recipe as needed. I’m including a green bean and salad recipe just for fun, though we change our recipes for those items regularly! Happy Easter 2010!

Easter 1993

Amish Ham

2 slices center cut cured ham, cut about 1” thick

(I can’t find it cut this thick at the store, so I usually buy a ham butt or shank and cut it off from around the bone myself, also cutting off any fat and outside rind. Meat departments used to cut it for me, bone and all, but not anymore.)

1 t. powdered mustard

3-4 T. packed brown sugar

1 t. allspice

¼ t. ground pepper

Milk to cover (about 2 c. or more)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Layer the ham in a large casserole dish. Sprinkle with sugar and seasonings. Pour enough milk over to barely cover the meat. Cover and cook for one hour, adding more milk if needed. Ham will be tender. Thicken the milk gravy with flour, and serve hot over mashed potatoes. (It may be handy to use a dutch oven type of pot that will transfer from the oven (baking the ham) to the stove top (to thicken the gravy). Or you can just transfer the milk to another pan for the microwave or stovetop.) Serves 4-6.

Spinach Strawberry Salad

½ pound fresh strawberries, washed and sliced (or more if you like)

8 to 16 oz. fresh, washed baby spinach (or cut regular spinach)

½ small red onion sliced thin

1 c. crumbled, cooked bacon pieces, optional

Dressing:

2 T. sugar

¼ t. Worcestershire sauce

¼ t. paprika

¼ c. extra virgin olive oil

¼ c. Balsamic vinegar

1 T. toasted sesame seeds

Mix salad ingredients. Whisk dressing together and toss with salad. (May not use all of the dressing according to personal preference.) Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Blue Cheese Green Beans (My favorite!)

¼ t. Dijon-style mustard

1 t. cider vinegar

2 t. finely chopped shallot (or sweet onion)

1 T. extra virgin olive oil, divided

¼ c. slightly chopped pecans

¾ lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and halved

1 ½ oz. blue cheese

In large bowl whisk together mustard, vinegar, shallot, and 1 ½ t. oil for the dressing. Set aside. In a small skillet, heat 1 ½ t. oil over moderately high heat. Add pecans and salt to taste; cook, stirring frequently, about 1 minute. Transfer to paper towel. In large saucepan of boiling salted water, boil beans until just tender, about 3 minutes; drain and transfer to ice water. Stir until just cool. Drain well and add to dressing. Crumble blue cheese over beans and toss with half the pecans. Top with remaining pecans and serve. (This keeps the pecans from being all on the bottom of the bowl when you serve it!)

Strawberry Pie (from Barbara Eliason cookbook, pg. 56)

1 baked pie shell

Fresh strawberries

1 c. mashed strawberries

1 c. cool water

3 T. cornstarch (mixed with above water)

3/4 c. sugar

1 T. lemon juice

Pinch of salt

Cook together until thickens. Let cool. Slice fresh strawberries into a baked pie shell until pretty full. Pour above mixture over the strawberries. Chill. Top with whipped cream.

contributed by Karen, Barbara's daughter