Beautiful weekend and Easter were not totally synonymous this year. My daughter came in Wednesday evening as my first guest of the weekend, and while she didn’t drive in much rain, that night and Thursday morning, provided us with flashing lightening and rumbling crashing thunder beginning around 3:00 and 4:00 a.m., and it continued until after 9:00 a.m., Thursday morning. It quit raining long enough for us to go to town for a few errands. We had intended to go to Victoria for a little shopping and we reached the point where we had to decide yah or nay! We decided on “yah” and took off for Victoria. It didn’t rain again until we were on our way home. We went shopping to a couple of stores, and she, luckily, found some clothes that fit! By now, it was time for lunch, and we went to one of our favorite sea food restaurants. It has been in Victoria for quite a while, and while small, it has wonderful food. My fried shrimp plate and her fried catfish plate were extremely delicious. The waitress was talking with us and my daughter told her that we were celebrating my birthday, and we were given a choice of a couple desserts, we selected the Key Lime Pie, and she brought us a nice size slice and two spoons. It was a great choice, and we enjoyed every morsel.
After a really fun day, we came home in a light shower and in time to begin working on some things I would need when I went back to Devine to have Easter with my other daughter and her family.
We did our weekly bible study, and then managed to completely put together an “Easter Bunny Cake”, that turned out really well. This past week has been a wonderful birthday week for me, and I have enjoyed every moment of it, including attending the gig, where my grandson was playing guitar. It was a large crowd of us, as some of my son-in-law’s relatives were in from out of state. I think our crowd was over 25! The food was delicious and the music, as usual was great. My trip was uneventful, except for the 20 plus minutes that it poured down raining, luckily, I drove out of that, and the rest of the trip wasn’t too bad. Not much traffic and just occasional sprinkles of rain. On Saturday afternoon I came back home and prepared for the company that was coming to my home. However, due to illness, several weren’t able to be there. You were missed!
The following
Several years ago, while I was doing research at the paper office, I found the following article in a 1941 issue of The Devine News. It was interesting to me and since I haven’t published it within the last several years, I thought my readers might find it interesting also, during this Easter season.
Easter began as the most joyous of Christian holidays to celebrate the rebirth of Christ. Easter comes at the same time as spring when new life begins with growth and rebirth in nature. Many ancient people honored the coming of spring. Ancient Egyptians and Persians celebrated the coming of spring by decorating and eating eggs. Eggs were a symbol of fertility and new life.
The Christians adopted the egg as their symbol of new life as well. In the early days of the church, eggs were forbidden food during Lent—the six-week period before Easter.
But when lent ended people were glad to eat eggs again and made it a tradition to eat them on Easter Sunday. They also gave eggs to their children.
The hare or rabbit was also part of the celebration of spring long before Christianity.
In ancient Egypt, the hare was thought to have some connection with the moon since this small animal comes out to eat only at night.
Since the moon also symbolized the beginning of a new life, so did the hare and the rabbit.
The wearing of new clothes on Easter Sunday is also the symbol of a new beginning. It is the casting off of old clothes and the wearing of new ones.
In ancient Egypt and Persia people exchanged decorated eggs at the spring equinox, which was the beginning of the New Year. Eggs were seen as a symbol of fertility because the coming forth of a live creature from an egg was so surprising to people of ancient times.
When Christians adopted this tradition, the Easter egg became a religious symbol. These early Christians believed it represented the tomb from which Jesus came forth. In medieval times eggs were traditionally given to all servants, and to children, along with other gifts.
Here are a couple of slightly different recipes to try. The hummus recipe is from a friend, and the egg rolls, which are totally different, were served at a bunco party that I attended not long after I moved here to Yoakum. The local Pilot club ladies had a bunco party monthly as a fund raiser, and it was always fun to attend.
Vegetable Hummus
2 large cloves garlic
2 cans (15 to 19 oz each) chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1 package Knorr® Recipe Classics Vegetable recipe mix
½ cup water
½ cup Bertolli® Olive Oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon cumin
6 (8-inch) wheat or white pita breads cut into wedges
In food processor, pulse garlic until finely chopped. Add remaining ingredients except pita bread. Process until smooth; chill at least 2 hours.
Stir hummus before serving. If desired, add 1 to 2 tablespoons additional olive oil, or to taste. Serve with pita wedges.
Mexican Egg Rolls
Egg roll wrappers or wonton wrappers.
1 box Spanish rice mix
2 pounds hamburger meat
2 teaspoons salt
Chili Powder, to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chopped bell pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (careful, these are hot, don’t use too much)
1 large can petite diced tomatoes
1½ cups shredded cheese
Cook Spanish rice according to directions on package. Brown hamburger meat along with salt, chopped onion and bell pepper. Drain well, and then add tomatoes, chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes, return to heat and simmer until one-half the liquid has evaporated, stir in rice and cheese. Spoon mixture onto egg roll wrappers, brush edges with water to seal as you roll them up. To roll egg rolls: Start with point of wrapper toward you, place filling about 1/3 of the way down on the wrapper, cover with point that is toward you, brush with water, bring left and right points over, brush with water and roll toward remaining point. Deep fry until golden brown. These were served at room temp at a bunco party.