Seasonal Sundays (Week 15)

A collection of recipe and ideas in and out of the kitchen during yet another week of physical isolation, a Holy Week like no other, while preparing for Easter, Passover and soon, Ramadan.

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

By all accounts, it's gonna be a hella week, people.

We must find ways to gird ourselves, and others, especially those who count on us.

I'm astounded that there remain so many who still think it's all a big to-do ... how lucky they are, that so many of the rest of us remain committed to during our small part. We protect them ... even if they fail to protect us.

I half lost it on Thursday, nothing dire, just A Moment in This Moment that undid me for A Moment. "I hope you're letting yourself crash when you need to," my sister counseled. She's right, of course, she always is. So I pass that along.

There's fear, uncertainty, anger, frustration, despair. Yet at the same time there's courage and fortitude and commitment and unfathomable acts of humanity.

And if you need a moment, well, take it. And then call your sister. Or someone who can help lift you back up until you're ready to stand on your own two feet again.

About the Photo By Popular Request, a Little Insight into the Top Image: I call this photo "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Build Birdhouses".

My husband's woodshop has never been so busy, keeping hands and mind occupied.

To me, his birdhouses are not just birdhouses but symbolic of the numberless small ways those with the luxury of living "safe" at home (not "stuck" at home) are keeping ourselves busy but also "building for the future" for just a few neighborhood birds, sure, but also for the safety and well-being of everyone in our circle, each of us just one link in a short chain that nevertheless reaches worldwide.

It's not just a birdhouse. It's hope and confidence in a future. It's an "afterlife" right here on earth.

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PICK ONE

Pick One is for those of us overwhelmed by life's unending choices. If that resonates, then check out this one recipe and then call it a day. It's one that I think could make the most difference, the one I hope will become a regular in your kitchen, as it is in mine.

So. There are so many unknowns right now, the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns. But let it be known that Creamy Oatmeal will light your light. It makes a big batch (this week, I even scaled up the recipe for us by 20% to keep us in morning oatmeal throughout the week) and reheats beautifully. This morning, I had a small bowl with a little jam and some milk but our "real" oatmeal jam is to sauté some vegetables and put an egg on top.

• THE RECIPE Creamy Oatmeal Three tricks for the very best oatmeal, all easy!

Compliments!

• "This recipe received five stars, all thumbs up, nearly-bowing-at-the-cook's-feet rave reviews from my husband, teenaged son, and me – we polished off the whole pan in one sitting! Then I thought I lost it (spelled lasagna incorrectly in my search); PANIC! Now that it's found again I'm writing it down, then making it again. YUM." ~ Michelle from Oregon (who used soy milk and non-fat feta to keep the recipe heart healthy)
• THE RECIPE Butternut Squash Lasagna with Butternut Bechamel & Roasted Butternut Squash


• "Once again, your black-eyed pea salad was delicious and perfect! Thank you for such a great recipe ... " ~ Jan from Missouri
• THE RECIPE Lucky Black-Eyed Pea Salad, Lord knows we could use a little good luck right now

Caught With My Pants Down ... errr ... Without Yeast

So yeah, it's me, the lady who just three weeks ago challenged us all to buy flour and yeast to bake bread while we're isolating at home.

"So this is all your fault?" laughed my cousin Barb, just back from Australia and unable to find bread flour, yeast ... or eggs.

But here I am, hanging my head. Yes I have yeast ... but this week discovered that it's not a new shelf-stable package but an opened one stored poorly and past its best-by date. It might have been a cool-ish kitchen this week but a batch of Easy Everyday Bread for the Stand Mixer was super-slow to rise.

So ... here I am, just like everyone else, on the hunt for flour and yeast.

I'm feeding a sourdough starter but it's been awhile since I played with sourdough and honestly, I really never got past sourdough pancakes. Cool, a new challenge!

But ... let's not forget that "bread" does not have to be "yeast bread" and a "quick bread" doesn't have to be sweet (even if my low-fat Shhh Banana Bread and Autumn Pumpkin Bread are amazing).

So until my sourdough skills ramp up, it's likely no-yeast breads for this household. Plus cornbread. Savory muffins. Savory quick breads. Methinks we shan't starve.

• THE RECIPES
• Finnish Whole-Wheat Flatbread
• Mom's Perfect Biscuits
• Whole-wheat Soda Bread

Seasonal Showcase: Low Key Easter

No argument, Easter 2020 will be unlike any other in modern history.

Passover too. And Ramadan later in April. (These are not my traditions but I appreciate how this year, as if in a sign of solidarity, this is a year when all three fall close to one another.)

But me, I'm embracing the idea of a low-key Easter, a small Easter, just the two of us, unburdened by tradition. Like a small Thanksgiving, a small Christmas breakfast ... opportunities abound.

What are you doing for Easter, if that's your tradition? ♥ How're you adapting? What will you miss? What are you looking forward to?

• Hot Cross Buns, my forever recipe, either in a small batch or enough to leave in baskets for the neighbors
• A big ham is too much, right? It is for us but if ham works for you, check out Ham 101 for help buying one. But do do do be sure to get a bone-in ham for Ham & Beans afterward. I made a big pot this week with a chunk of last year's ham and oh my, so so good.
• I'm thinking we'll smoke a chicken or roast a chicken
• Either way, I'll serve it with Spring Stuffing with Leeks & Mushrooms.
• Easy-Easy Slow Cooker Honey Carrots would be a simple side.
• Winter Fruit Salad is in order, made with frozen and canned fruit, you might have all the ingredients on hand already.
• A Fresh Strawberry Pie would be lovely if there are berries available. It's low in calories and keeps for days so if we eat it over the course of some days, well so be it ...
• Greek Baked Beans (Gigantes Plaki) would use some of the beans stashed away, with leftovers for the week too.


• THE COLLECTION Easter Recipes

The One Thing I'm Finding Hard to Keep On Hand

Onions. Ol' steady-eddie onions.

It took a global pandemic for me to realize that I put onion in everything.

What about you? ♥ What are you learning about yourself in the middle of all this? Any new revelations?

Fun for Kids

• THE RECIPES
• Perfect Hard-Boiled Ruby Eggs
• How to Cook Eggs in a Coffee Cup in the Microwave
• Edamame in the Shell, with a shell spitting contest, right?
• Thomas the Tank Engine Vegetable Trains or maybe one especially for Easter?

Something to Read

Who's reading what? Are you reading deeper or lighter? I hear people moving one/the other way.

I've returned to the darkness of Greg Iles this week and while there's way too much talk of viruses ... the plot just keeps on moving and it keeps me distracted. BTW I'm really trying to cuddle up with physical books and am loving it.

The Richard Russo book is intriguing, there aren't many books about people whose careers are over and families raised. It's a kinda-sorta a mystery but not in that mystery-style genre at all.

• BOOK #1 True Evil by Greg Iles
• BOOK #2 Chances Are ... by Richard Russo
• Both are affiliate links

Soups & Salads Especially for April

April is such a funny month for vegetables, at least in much of the country where winter hasn't entirely loosened its grip and spring is when we plant not harvest. And yet ... we still expect all things summer, tomatoes and peaches and new apples!

And in Normal Times, the modern marvel of our global food distribution system masks the changing of the seasons.

• THE COLLECTION Seasonal Soup & Salad Recipes for April, tons of ideas!

What's New?

Confession, I have an emotional attachment to kneading bread by hand, it might just be in my my DNA.

And it's a good way to work out sadness, frustration, detachment, so many things.

But does kneading bread with a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook actually product better bread? It just might!

And hey, all you bread bakers out there. Where are you on this question? ♥ Please do chime in.

• SOME THINKING Is a Stand Mixer Better for Kneading Bread Dough? The Case For & Against

And so I adapted my Our Daily Bread: My Easy Everyday Bread Recipe, the easy, European-style bread I make every few days for four years now. It's super-adaptable, never quite the same twice!

Except now ... I use a stand mixer for kneading. :-)

• THE RECIPE Easy Everyday Bread for the Stand Mixer

Text Me Back!

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com, dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, whatever.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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