An "Egg"cellent Tradition by Duck Momma

Easter is only a couple days away, that means tomorrow night is egg dying night! It will be a first for little Goose but a very long standing tradition in my family. But making the eggs look beautiful is only the beginning. My grandmother was Greek and she taught us all the traditional egg cracking. Everyone has their special egg, and finds a partner. You take turns tapping egg ends (pointier end to pointier end and fat end to fat end). The person with the least cracked egg wins! We have spread this madness to many families through the years, and maybe now  to yours? It is so much fun and if you have a perfect (no cracks)egg at the end, you can save it indefinitely. The insides just dry and turn into a rattle almost. My Grandma always kept mine year after year. . . Come to think of it maybe she let me win just so she could have my egg. . . (I miss her)

Grandma also taught us another important tradition. Its how we always greet each other every Easter. I am going to attempt to spell it, I apologize sincerely for my terrible Greek spelling and punctuation. (Verbally we have it mastered, writing it. . . not so much)
First Person: "Christos A'Nesti"
Second Person:"A'Li thos A'Nesti"
Which means (if spelled correctly ;-) )"Christ is Risen" "He is Risen indeed"

May your Easter be blessed and full of your own family traditions! Now I have to go fulfil my role as Easter Bunny intern and make sure we have everything for Goose's Easter Basket!

From Ireland with Love by Duck Momma

Its been a long winter. And as much as we look forward to spring, you know March is coming with its lion attitude. There is always some gray day ahead. But Those lovely rain drops will bring us lovely flowers, and in the meanwhile I have something to comfort and warm you.

Now there is nothing like Irish Brown Bread (aka soda bread). Its rich and dense and so comforting. For me, it is a way to nod to my Irish roots and I love it. This recipe is spot on in my opinion, although nothing beats having this bread with lamb stew on a rainy day in the Ring of Kerry, but a gray Monday in  my kitchen is worthy too. I hope you will enjoy this, May it bring a smile to your face and chase your hunger and blues away.

Here is what you need:

• 1 c all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sallt
• 1 1/2 tbsp cold butter
• 2 c wheat flour
• 1/4 c rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• (possible extra few teaspoons of milk in case dry)

Here's what you do:

1. In a bowl mix all purpose flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture forms small crumbs. ( I used a food processor) Stir in Whole wheat flour and oats.
2. Add buttermilk and stir gently. If mixture is too dry to hold together add 1 tsp of buttermilk just until dough holds together. (I had to use 3 extra last time I made this) Dough should not be sticky.
3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently about 5 times. Set lightly on a greased baking sheet, (or pizza stone) Pat into a 7 inch diameter circle and with a floured knife cut or score a large X in the center.
4. Bake at 375 degrees until well browned, about 40 minutes. Cool on a rack. Serve warm or cool with salted butter.

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