Chocolate bunnies and eggs are as much a part of Easter as a ham dinner or Easter egg hunt. But is this chocolate fetish a modern invention, or do its roots go deeper than that?

In the ecclesiastical calendar, Easter follows immediately after the end of Lent, a time when Catholics and some Protestant denominations refrain from certain foods and festivities in honor of Jesus’s 40 days of fasting in the desert. Rich foods like eggs, milk, cheese, and most meats have traditionally been popular choices for abstaining since the early Middle Ages, and chocolate was added to the list once it was introduced to Europe by the Spanish in the 16th and 17th century. Following the enforced abstinence of Lent, many people enjoyed celebrating Easter with a return to all the delicious foods that they had been missing, and eventually this became a tradition of eating chocolate at Easter time. In addition, chocolate was seen as a luxury item for many centuries, making it a natural choice for the traditional gift-giving that occurred during many Spring festivals.

The chocolate eggs and bunnies that are so popular these days are a more recent addition to Easter lore. As we have seen in our previous discussion of Easter traditions, eggs and rabbits have strong symbolic ties to the holiday through the pagan goddess Eostre and the rabbit’s natural fertility. This made them a natural choice for shaped hard chocolate candies, which were not invented until the 1850′s. Decades later, the Industrial Revolution enabled the chocolate making process to expand into mass production, and with the higher availability of chocolate eggs and bunnies at Easter time began the establishment of it as a widespread tradition.

This concludes our series on Easter traditions. Please enjoy the following recipe from Karen Hood’s wonderful cookbook Easter Delights. It is the perfect way to enjoy the tradition of chocolate this Easter.

Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Eggs

Children love chocolate-covered peanut butter eggs,
so these will disappear quickly.

Ingredients:
¼ c. butter
¼ c. brown sugar, firmly packed
¾ c. powdered sugar
½ c. creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pkg. semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tbs. shortening

Directions:

1. In 1-quart microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter and brown sugar on full power for 1 to 1½ minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or until brown sugar is melted.
2. Stir in powdered sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla.
3. Shape by teaspoonfuls into egg shapes; chill.
4. In double boiler or heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips and shortening over low heat.
5. With wooden pick, dip each egg into chocolate mixture, coating completely.
6. Place on wax paper-lined baking sheets.
7. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

© Karen Jean Matsko Hood 2011

Order your copy of Easter Delights today!

Format & Price

Comb Bound $9.95 Comb Bound- Used $5.95 E-PDF (electronic download) $9.99

Decorating and hunting for Easter eggs is a huge part of celebrating the Spring holiday. In many cultures around the world, the egg has been a symbol of immortality, fertility, and rebirth since ancient times. The ancient Persians, for example, painted eggs during their celebration of the Spring Equinox, and there is evidence that the symbolism of the egg was important as far back as the Neolithic era 7000 years ago. The correlation is not hard to see: many newborn animals are hatched from eggs, and Spring is the time of year for most animals to give birth.

Many of the Easter games and activities involving eggs that we participate in today date back to customs in Medieval Europe. Decorating eggs was popular at this time, and the tradition was eventually carried to America with the first German settlers. Hunting for eggs and egg rolling games also come from medieval times. Furthermore, the name of the holiday itself comes from the pagan deity Ostara, known as Eostre to the Anglo-Saxons, goddess of the dawn and rebirth of the year. As Ostara, she appeared as a beautiful maiden carrying a basket of eggs and accompanied by a rabbit; as Eostre, her symbol was a rabbit that laid eggs itself.

Stay tuned for the third part of this series, in which we discuss the importance of chocolate in the Easter tradition. In the meantime, please enjoy this sample recipe from Karen Hood’s fabulous cookbook Easter Delights. It is a unique way to enjoy the rich symbolism of the egg during your Easter celebration this year. With more than 250 delicious recipes, Easter Delights will make planning for this holiday easy and fun!

Poached Eggs in Roman Red Sauce

The red sauce in this recipe for poached eggs makes this a delightfully zesty dish. If you like a creamier sauce, you may add ½ cup of cream to the sauce as it is simmering, before you add the eggs for poaching.

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. olive oil
½ c. chopped onion
½ c. sliced mushrooms, fresh or canned
1 clove garlic, diced
1 can peeled tomatoes
½ c. cream (optional)
4 eggs
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In skillet sauté onion, mushrooms, and garlic in olive oil.
2. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper; heat to simmering, and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. For creamier sauce, stir in cream and heat through.
4. Crack eggs into sauce and let eggs poach.
5. Serve eggs in dish with red sauce and French bread.

© Karen Jean Matsko Hood 2011

Order your copy of Easter Delights today!

Format & Price

Comb Bound $9.95 Comb Bound- Used $5.95 E-PDF (electronic download) $9.99

Easter is just around the corner, and with it comes a whole host of traditions. But where do these traditions come from and why do we celebrate Easter with a ham or lamb dinner, decorated eggs, and chocolate bunnies? Let’s begin with a closer look at the main course of a traditional Easter dinner.

In the Jewish tradition, lamb is served during Passover. The Last Supper was Jesus’s final meal with the twelve apostles, and it was held on Passover night. Any meat that Jesus ate at the Last Supper would have been lamb, and so it became traditional for Christians in Europe to eat it at Easter in honor of this. Furthermore, Jesus himself is often referred to as the Lamb of God.

The use of ham at Easter comes from Northern Europe and North America, where lamb has never been an important meat. In the harsh winters of the North, ham was extremely important as a food source because it could be smoked and salted and would keep throughout the winter. In the spring, this preserved pork would be ready to eat at a time when no other fresh meat was available.

Stay tuned for the second part of this series, in which we discuss the symbolism of eggs in the Easter tradition. In the meantime, please enjoy this sample recipe from Karen Hood’s fabulous cookbook Easter Delights. With more than 250 delicious recipes, Easter Delights will make planning for this holiday easy and fun!

Raspberry and Rosemary Grilled Lamb Chops

Raspberry-flavored vinegar and minced rosemary
add excellent flavor to these chops.

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. raspberry vinegar
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. fresh rosemary, minced (or ½ tsp. dried)
1 tsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
8 lamb loin chops

Directions:

1. In large, shallow dish whisk together vinegar, mustard, soy sauce, rosemary, oil, and garlic; add lamb chops in single layer, turning to coat well.
2. Cover and marinate in refrigerator at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours, turning occasionally.
3. Discard marinade; place chops on greased grill over medium-high heat, and cook about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare or to desired doneness.
4. Transfer to platter; tent with foil, and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

© Karen Jean Matsko Hood 2011

Order your copy of Easter Delights today!

Format & Price

Comb Bound $9.95 Comb Bound- Used $5.95 E-PDF (electronic download) $9.99

Fruit leather is a treat that kids love!  It is a healthy substitute for candy. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that dried fruit is like eating sticky candy. It stays on the teeth longer than fresh fruit, releasing sugar into the saliva for a greater period of time, which promotes tooth decay. Make sure you limit the amount of time in which your or your children’s teeth are exposed to sugar without being cleaned.

Drying fruit has been done for centuries. It is an easy way to preserve fruit. We generally think of dried fruit as such things as raisins, prunes, apple slices or apricot halves, but that isn’t the only way to preserve fruit. Pureeing fruit to make leather is an easy way to use up excess fruit before it goes bad. It is also easier than drying fruit pieces, because the puree is a more consistent thickness so that it all dries at the same rate.

Following are three fruit leather recipes you can use to preserve fruit for later use as tasty snacks.

Kiwi Fruit Leather

From St. Patrick’s Day Delights Cookbook

This is a great way for preserving kiwis when you are able to catch a great sale and they do not look like they will get used or eaten fast enough.

Ingredients:

10 kiwifruit, peeled

2   Tbs. white grape juice concentrate

¼  c. sugar

2   Tbs. lemon juice

green food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. Purée ingredients completely in blender, making sure seeds are pulverized.
2. Spread purée in trays; dry until leathered.
3. Wrap in wax paper and store in airtight jar.

Blueberry Applesauce Fruit Leather

From Easter Delights Cookbook

This is excellent fruit leather, and it makes a great Easter basket filler.  This makes a tart fruit leather, so if you like it sweeter, add more honey.

Ingredients:

1  c. blueberry purée

1  c. unsweetened applesauce

1  Tbs. honey

Directions:

1. In blender or food processor, combine blueberries and applesauce.
2. Process until smooth.
3. Pour mixture through strainer or sieve to remove skin and seeds.
4. Stir in honey.
5. Place mixture in 10-inch skillet.
6. While stirring frequently, cook over very low heat for 1 hour until thickened.
7. Preheat oven to 150 degrees F.
8. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
9. Pour thickened mixture onto parchment paper, and spread to form rectangle.
10. Bake 5½ to 6 hours, until fruit sheet is dry enough not to stick to your fingers but moist enough to roll; remove from oven and cool.
11. Placing a potholder in oven door to keep it ajar will help dry the leather by allowing moisture to escape.
12. Once cooked, leather should be rolled in plastic wrap or stored in airtight container to keep.

Raspberry Fruit Leather

From Easter Delights Cookbook

Try homemade raspberry fruit leather for a great snack or lunch treat.  You will not want store-bought leather after tasting these.

Ingredients:

2  c. raspberry purée

2  Tbs. honey (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix purée and honey together if using honey.
2. Line cookie sheet or tray with wax paper.
3. Evenly spread purée ¼ inch deep.
4. Place in sun, oven, or dehydrator to dry.  (It takes 4 to 10 hours.)
5. Leather is ready when edges are not sticky to the touch.
6. Pull from wax paper while still warm, and roll in plastic wrap.
7. Can be stored for 30 days at room temperature or for months in the refrigerator.

St. Patrick’s Day Delights Cookbook and Easter Delights Cookbook are coming soon! Find more preserving recipes in Karen Jean Matsko Hood’s Cookbook Delights series of cookbooks. These may be purchased online from Karen’s Bookstore.

Here are two syrup recipes taken from two of Karen Jean Matsko Hood’s cookbooks from her Cookbook Delights Series, Huckleberry Delights Cookbook and Raspberry Delights Cookbook. Check them out and let Karen know what you think of them. She also invites you to join others to share your favorite recipes on Cooking with Karen Blog.com.

Raspberry Syrup

Nothing is better than hot pancakes, waffles, or French toast, and homemade raspberry syrup.  Adjust the sweetness to your taste.

Ingredients:

2½ c. frozen raspberries, thawed, with juice

1    c. sugar

1    c. light corn syrup

Directions:

1. Place raspberries (including juice) and sugar into blender and process at high speed.
2. Mash and force through a sieve with potato masher.
3. Pour into saucepan and bring to boil over moderate heat.
4. Add corn syrup and cook a little while longer.
5. Pour into bottle and refrigerate.

Huckleberry Syrup

Try this delicious version of syrup made without corn syrup.  It is full of true huckleberry flavor.  While this recipe normally gives good results, fruit sugar, pectin, and acid concentrations can vary.  Start with a small test batch and allow it to cool thoroughly before testing for syrup thickness.

Ingredients:

2    c. huckleberry juice

1¾ c. sugar

1    Tbs. lemon juice (optional) for a tarter syrup

Directions:

1. Crush fruit; press out juice using cheesecloth or jelly bag.
2. If you will not be making syrup immediately, pasteurize juice by heating to 194 degrees F. for 1 minute; filter through cheesecloth and refrigerate.
3. Mix juice and sugar in large pan, and bring to rolling boil that cannot be stirred down; continue to boil for 1 minute.
4. Remove pan from heat and skim off any foam.
5. Pour syrup into clean, hot canning jars.
6. Process following canning directions on page 186.
7. Refrigerate after opening.
8. This recipe produces fairly thin syrup.  If you desire thicker syrup, use 1½ cups sugar and ¼ cup corn syrup in recipe.
9. Do not add more sugar or boil longer to thicken, because both methods can cause jelling to occur.
10. Corn syrup and lemon juice can be used together.

Visit these websites to get your copy of these and other cookbooks in the Cookbook Delights Series today: Karen’s Bookstore or Whispering Pine Press International Bookstore.

Announcing Karen Jean Matsko Hood’s new blog –

Cooking with Karen Blog.com!

Whether you enjoy preparing and sharing your favorite foods or you just love to eat, you will discover something deliciously fun and new at Cooking with Karen.com!

Karen Jean Matsko Hood has always enjoyed cooking, baking, and experimenting with recipes. Karen regularly entertains large groups of people and especially enjoys designing creative menus with holiday, international, ethnic, and regional themes. As a mother of sixteen children, she has a great deal of experience cooking for others and is excited to share her knowledge. She is the author of the popular Cookbook Delights series and has appeared on Good Morning Northwest on a local Spokane, Washington, television station many times to share her cooking expertise.

Situated in beautiful Spokane Valley, just minutes away from the Washington/Idaho border, Cooking with Karen.com provides cooking classes and all kinds of epicurean delights, including a variety of ethnic dishes, baked goods, fresh farm produce, dried and frozen foods, spices, and teas. Karen Jean Matsko Hood uses these items in her bountiful collection of recipes, many of which she shares in her Cookbook Delights Series and Hood and Matsko Family Favorites series.

In the Cookbook Delights Series, each cookbook emphasizes a different food ingredient or theme.  The first cookbook in the series is Apple Delights Cookbook. Karen is also working to complete her other series of cookbooks titled Hood and Matsko Family Favorites, which includes many recipes handed down from her family heritage and others that have emerged from more current family traditions.

Cooking with Karen.com offers a variety of cooking classes for beginners and skilled chefs alike. We also have classes specifically geared for children and welcome family participation. Classes cover holiday themes, traditional home cooked meals, ethnic dishes, and more. Class sizes are small to ensure hands-on learning and a personal touch.

We invite you to join us at CookingWithKarenBlog.com to find great recipes to try and share!  Check back often, as Karen will be adding cooking classes soon!

Christmas parties always have a smorgasbord of wonderful, tasty dishes to enjoy. They include not only sweets, like cookies and candies, and flavorful and aromatic drinks, but they also generally include crackers, cheese balls, and tasty dips. The following dip recipe is so cheesy and fragrant, people will keep coming back for more!

Commercial Parmesan cheeses available in North America differ from Parmigiano-Reggiano, which is produced in Italy in certain provinces. Only cheese produced in these specific provinces can be labeled as Parmigiano-Reggiano. In North America, there is no outside body regulating or supervising the quality of the raw ingredients or of the production process. In North America the cheese is aged for a shorter time and is produced using pasteurized milk. American Parmesan is mechanically pressed to expel excess moisture, whereas the Italian version is not. Parmigiano-Reggiano curds are cut into fragments the size of wheat grains. These smaller curds drain more effectively. Parmigiano-Reggiano on average contains two-thirds less salt than the average Parmesan.

There are different types of Romano cheese. True Romano cheese is made from sheep’s milk (pecorino romano) or goat’s milk (caprino romano), although mass produced versions, as in the United States, are often made from cow’s milk (vacchino romano). Pecorino Romano is sharp and tangy. Caprino Romano, the goat’s milk version, has an extremely sharp taste. Vacchino Romano is very mild in taste. Most of the Romano cheeses made in the United States are made from cow’s milk or with a mix of cow’s milk and either sheep or goat milk.

The combination of Parmesan and Romano cheeses in this Hood Family favorite dip gives it an extra punch. Enjoy adding this dip to your holiday spread!

Hot Artichoke-Spinach-Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

1  pkg. cream cheese (8 oz.), softened

¼ c. mayonnaise

¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese

¼ c. grated Romano cheese

1  clove garlic, peeled, minced

½ tsp. dried basil

¼ tsp. garlic salt

1  can artichoke hearts (14 oz.), drained, chopped

½ c. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained

¼ c. shredded mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lightly grease small baking dish.
3. In medium bowl mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt, and pepper.
4. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.
5. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.
6. Top with mozzarella cheese.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Yields: 12 servings.

It’s that time of year! The Christmas season is upon us. I remember when I was small going to grandma’s house and having dinner with the large extended family. As soon as we walked in the door we could smell the mix of turkey and ham cooking in the kitchen. The apple pies sitting to rest beside the plates of peanut brittle and chocolate fudge looked so scrumptious. Maybe your family shared a different Christmas menu, but the memories are still there to be enjoyed time and time again. Give your family that special time of building memories. — Mistylynn P.

Prepare wonderful, time-tested recipes from Karen Jean Matsko Hood’s Christmas Delights Cookbook, Volume I, available for immediate shipment. Click here to visit us at Whispering Pine Press International’s Bookstore and order your copy today!

In the meantime, try this recipe from the cookbook for delicious Apple Strudel.

Apple Strudel

I have fond memories of my mother making homemade apple strudel when I was young.  This is one of the easier recipes and definitely worth making.  It is great served warm out of the oven with vanilla ice cream and dusted with fresh-ground cinnamon.

Ingredients:

2    c. flour

1    tsp. salt

2    Tbs. shortening

1    Tbs. canola oil

¼   c. water, warm

2    eggs

12  apples, chopped or finely grated

⅓   lb. butter, melted

1    c. sugar

1½ tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Sift flour into bowl and form a well.
2. Into the well put the salt, shortening, canola oil, warm water, and 2 eggs.
3. Work into the flour gradually.
4. After thorough mixing, cover with a warm, wet cloth and let stand 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
6. Roll dough very thin, until it covers a circle about 28 to 30 inches in diameter.
7. Brush half the melted butter onto the thin stretched dough.
8. Sprinkle on the apples.
9. Sprinkle on sugar and rest of butter.
10. Roll tight as you would a jellyroll.
11. Tuck in corners tightly.
12. Shape dough into a horseshoe shape.
13. Lightly grease a large baking pan with sides.
14. Place dough in prepared pan.
15. Bake 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees F.
16. Bake 50 minutes, or until done.
17. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top or frost after cooling.

Vanilla ice cream is a favorite of Dr. Hood‘s with German chocolate cake, which was made for his birthday dinner recently. Author and cook Karen Jean Matsko Hood’s series, Hood and Matsko Family Favorites, includes a cookbook of the family’s Favorite Christmas Sweets. In this upcoming cookbook, care was taken to make sure each family member had some of their favorites incorporated, and we made sure Dr. Hood’s favorite ice cream was included.

Although vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron, because of the extensive labor required to grow the vanilla seed pods, it is highly valued for its flavor. A major use of vanilla is in flavoring ice cream.

Vanilla flavoring in food may be achieved by adding vanilla extract or by cooking vanilla pods in the liquid preparation. A stronger aroma is attained if the pods are split in two, exposing more of a pod’s surface area to the liquid. In this case, the pods’ seeds are mixed into the preparation. Natural vanilla gives a brown or yellow color to preparations, depending on the concentration. Good quality vanilla has a strong aromatic flavor, but food with small amounts of low quality vanilla or artificial vanilla-like flavorings are far more common, since true vanilla is much more expensive.

The following recipe for “Vanilla Bean Ice Cream” is a definite Hood family favorite!

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Ingredients:

7    lg. egg yolks

¾   c. sugar

1    dash salt

1    vanilla bean

2    c. half-and-half

1½ c. heavy cream

Directions:

1. Whisk egg yolks with sugar and salt in large bowl; set aside.
2. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out seeds.
3. Combine bean, seeds, half-and-half, and heavy cream in large saucepan; bring just to a simmer.
4. Gradually whisk hot cream into egg yolk mixture.
5. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats back of spoon (do not boil).
6. Strain through sieve into large bowl.
7. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
8. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.
9. Note: For even more vanilla flavor, try using 2 vanilla beans and add vanilla extract to taste.

Yields: About 1 quart.

German chocolate cake is Dr. Hood‘s favorite, which he requested for his birthday dinner recently. Author and cook Karen Jean Matsko Hood’s series, Hood and Matsko Family Favorites, includes a cookbook of the family’s Favorite Christmas Sweets. In this upcoming cookbook, care was taken to make sure each family member had some of their favorites included.

Included in Hood and Matsko Family Christmas Sweets Cookbook is information about the Hood and Matsko family history.  Along with the more than 250 recipes are articles on the history and folklore of Christmas, as well as sections that discuss health and nutrition, care of your poinsettia, poetry by the author, and much more.

The following recipe is the traditional German chocolate cake that the Hood family has come to love and enjoy.

German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1    pkg. German sweet chocolate

½   c. boiling water

1    c. butter, softened

2    c. sugar

4    eggs, separated

1    tsp. vanilla extract

2½ c. cake flour

1    tsp. baking soda

½   tsp. salt

1    c. buttermilk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line bottoms of three 9-inch round cake pans with wax paper.
3. Melt chocolate in boiling water, then cool.
4. In large bowl cream and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating after each.
6. Add vanilla and melted chocolate; mix until blended.
7. Sift together flour, soda, and salt.
8. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, alternating with buttermilk, and beating after each addition until smooth.
9. In separate bowl, using clean beaters, beat egg whites until stiff; fold gently into batter.
10. Pour batter into prepared pans, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
11. Cool completely, then frost between layers and on top with Coconut Pecan Frosting.

Coconut Pecan Frosting

Ingredients:

1½ c. evaporated milk

1¼ c. sugar

6    egg yolks

1    c. butter

2    tsp. vanilla extract

1¾ c. coconut

1¾ c. chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in saucepan.
2. Cook over medium heat and stir until mixture thickens, about 12 minutes.
3. Beat until frosting is cool and thick enough to spread.
4. Note: This recipe makes extra frosting.