EASTER DINNER 2014

Mairi, John and the 3 children joined us for Sunday dinner.  It was a trip down memory lane for me.  I made my mother's usual fare: a large ham, scalloped potatoes (aka Dauphinois) and vegetables. 

We (well, actually, it is me...) have the custom of going around the table - throughout the whole meal - and get folk to make a toast or a speech.  It was 7 year old Ishie on this occasion who had no problem with that: "I want to say Thank You to the Easter Bunny".... Raised glasses: "To the Easter Bunny!"

I recall Easter dinner in 1998 (i.e. date of the Good Friday Peace Agreement) because that was when we went around the table each person making a toast.  Anne Bennet was with us.  She is from Northern Ireland.  By the end of the meal we had pretty well been around the 12 people at the table (including my mother and Tudor) when it ended up with Anne.  "A toast Anne?"  She thought for a minute ... "Yes... Here's to Peace in Norther Ireland."  We drank to that! 

I made a very 1950s recipe, Daffodil Cake, from my Canadian Chatelaine recipe book.  The  kids helped me assemble and decorate it so it is heavy on Easter eggs and coloured sugar sprinkles.

Iain is working on the boat getting her ready for the season.  He and Peter took her out of Bowling Basin and she is in Rothesay Dock getting the hull cleaned and painted.  Here he is at the of a busy day.

I made some Ship's Biscuits from the Joy of Cooking book.  (These are really hard biscuits or crackers which are just flour, salt and water with a little fat to make them palatable.)  I decided they were not a success (even though I added some chopped rosemary from the garden) until we gave one to Harriet. All is not lost! They make great teething biscuits!

Here is Mairi nibbling on the last of the Easter Daffodil Cake ... but wait ... who is this in the photo below?

Mairi, aged 2 in 1977, nibbling on her birthday cake in the shape of a lifeboat!  The life preservers around the side are Life Savers that I brought back from Canada with me. The gingerbread men I made using a large cookie cutter bought in the States in the 1970s. She is wearing a lovely Aran sweater hand-knitted by a friend.