Creating Space

School. Packing suitcases. Unpacking boxes. Meeting vendors to fix this or install that. Get this done so that can be finished. Run here. Run there.  Oh, do you really need lunch? Right now? Hurry, hurry.

Now, hear me when I say I am SO very thankful for these things to do. I am. They are good things, productive things, helpful things. But during this time of rush I am so very thankful for the timely reminder to stop. Reflect. Pray. Give thanks.

We didn't go to an Ash Wednesday service this year and that's okay. Nothing says that we have to have or attend these services. On the flip side nothing says that we can't. I find it a lovely addition to life in the rhythm of the church calendar. A reminder that God is in the business of death and resurrection.

I digress...

In the crazy of moving our Lenten wreath made its appearance on the kitchen counter. Creating space for it took work but it was intentional. It made me think of creating space in life and my heart to be filled by Jesus. He poured out His life for His people. Be filled. It was good to have this reminder. My girls squealed when I brought it out, "Easter is coming!" I didn't prompt them. I said nothing. It was good to have this reminder.

So, we pray. We talk. We read. We reflect on the ministry of Jesus. We give thanks.

We anticipate.

Deviled Eggs

I am not sure how many times on Sunday I heard, "Why do they call them deviled eggs?  Shouldn't they be saintly or angelic eggs?"  I am not sure that I ever heard these comments more than I did this year.  It wasn't just from family either.  Weird.  I guess it comes up because we tend to have them on Resurrection Day.  Does the same question apply if we roll them out for thee 4th of July or some other summer event?


Of course, I had to look up the how or why to this term and this is what I found:

Here's the history behind the the name. An Englishman by the name of William Underwood set up a small condiment business on Boston's Russia Wharf in 1822. It did pretty well both developing and selling new condiment products. Around 1868, Underwood's sons began experimenting with a new product created from ground ham blended with a mix of special seasonings. They introduced a product line of seasoned meat products including ham, turkey, chicken, lobster, and tongue. They called the seasoning process "deviling," and the Underwood "red devil" was born. 

Today many other foods, including eggs and crab, are served "deviled." To be considered deviled, a food has to have a kick from something like Dijon mustard, hot sauce, cayenne pepper or chopped hot peppers. 

Underwood's Deviling process holds U.S. Patent Office trademark NO. 82, granted in 1870, the oldest existing food trademark still in use in the United States. The exact"deviling" recipe remains a company secret to this day. (Answers.com)

Interesting.

I looked up several recipes and decided to go with whatever I had on hand in combination with what I read.  I think that I would change some things again next time but it's all a learning process in the end.  Everyone seemed to like them, especially Miss L.  I didn't think she would but we finally had to cut her off!

Here's what I had on hand and what I did.

18 hard boiled eggs
1 T Greek yogurt
3-4 T mayo (olive oil based)
2-3 t spicy brown mustard
2-3 t yellow mustard
2-3 sprigs fresh dill, chopped
1 t garlic powder (more or less as you like)
1 scallion, finely chopped or minced
paprika

Peel eggs, cut lengthwise, and remove egg yolk to medium sized bowl.  "Mush" egg yolks with a large fork until you have fairly uniformed crumbles

Add ingredients through scallion and mix throughly.  Add more of a wet ingredient to taste or if the mix is is still too dry.  Be careful of too much mustard as it can be a little watery.  Just go easy.

Pipe in filling using a pastry bag and tip of your choice.  Or you can fill in a corner of a zip-loc bag, snip the end and you have a make shift pastry bag

Dust with paprika.  Chill until ready to serve.

*** I used a disposable pastry bag and a #17 cake decorating tip.  Next time I will use a #18 (because it is slightly larger) or a #199 tip to allow for chunk of egg or onion to pass through a bit easier.  I had a few times where I had to work the clump out.  Still came out pretty and I found it far easier to pipe the filling in rather than scooping it back into the egg with a spoon.

I may try it next time with more yogurt, that is really all I had on hand!  HA!  I think the yogurt would be better over all than the mayo.  I may try some more fresh herbs next time.  I have read of some people adding cheese and bacon bits to the eggs, too.  But I like the fresher things for deviled eggs.

What do you like in your deviled eggs?  Or do you not like them at all?

Hot Cross Buns

Some time on Saturday afternoon Husband mentioned having Hot Cross Buns for Resurrection Day breakfast.  Being a wife who wants to make her husband happy I looked into what it would take to make these traditional bread rolls.  I found this particular recipe that utilizes the help of bread machine to make the dough.  I was all for it because I had some other things to tend to for the next day's festivities on top of two little girls to chase around the house.

I had some yeast and I took a gamble because the expiration date had passed.  I have done this before with a horrible outcome.  Husband, who apparently developed a nose for yeast in his brewing days, assured me that my yeast was fine.  Sure enough, it was.  However, I would recommend NOT using yeast that has gone beyond its expiration unless you are fully prepared to start all over again.  I was.  Thankfully, I did not have to go back to square one.

They were pretty yummy when we did quality control that night.  While not as good as fresh from the oven warmed up the next day was just fine.  I made the frosting and we just frost as we go to make them easier to warm up and eat.  Yum!

If you don't have dried milk you can also warm up some skim milk (or maybe other lowfat milk?) in place of the water.  If you do this, leave the water out and leave the dried milk out.  This is me clarifying :)

We left the dried fruit out because I am not such a fan but I am sure that you can do a variety of different combinations.  I might be up for dried cranberries.

I also learned to be very careful when doing an egg brush on bread.  If you get a little too carried away you will end up with cooked egg on the bottom of the pan.  Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things but not fun to discover.  Just be prepared.

I think that I had been looking at recipes far too long by the time I got to the frosting because instead of 2 teaspoons of milk...I used tablespoons.  Yeah, that made for some nasty looking frosting.  So, don't make that mistake.  I made the frosting in a sandwich bag -- just mix it all up in there -- and snip a corner to pipe it all out.  Make more if you like more frosting.

Hot Cross Buns

3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon instant powdered milk
1/4 cup white sugar
3/8 teaspoon salt (for the math challenged 1/8 t three times ;)  )
1 egg
1 egg white
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
3/4 cup dried currants
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons milk

Directions

1. Put warm water, butter, skim milk powder, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, egg, egg white, flour, and yeast in bread maker and start on dough program.
2. When 5 minutes of kneading are left, add currants and cinnamon. Leave in machine till double.
3. Punch down on floured surface, cover, and let rest 10 minutes.
4. Shape into 12 balls and place in a greased 9 x 12 inch pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place till double, about 35-40 minutes.
5. Mix egg yolk and 2 tablespoons water. Brush on balls.
6. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack.
7. To make crosses: mix together confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and milk. Brush an X on each cooled bun.