I'm a little late with this post since an unforeseen turn of events occurred. In a nutshell, while we were canoeing on Easter Sunday on The Lake of Two Rivers my backpack found itself in the water only to figure out later that all our devices were there. Of course, they were soaked and full of water ( and don't be confused as my sister was, we weren't rafting, we were just canoeing :) As a result of that my husband and I have new phones, but no contacts. The scary part, though, was that my camera was dead. It took my man two days to find out how to fix it: hours of blow-drying, a lot of rice and silica gel packs... But you know what? The camera is working right now and honestly, I feel quite relieved.

Life is kind...

Lessons learned:

1. Balance is important in life; sometimes it is the only thing that matters in canoeing. And don't count on these power balance bands.

2. There is more to life than things. Material things are only things, they come and go and they are replaceable. Memories and moments are forever. The truly valuable things in life cannot be purchased with money, placed on a shelf or in a closet...

4. Do not bring electronics on a canoe unless you keep them in a plastic bag.

3. Sometimes one minute of carelessness can cost you days of worries.

4. When you look at the bright side of life, life is kind.







My Easter bread, on the other hand,  was a hit according to my family and I felt quite proud. My son said, " You can count this one as a success, Mom, among all your fails." I do admit, some have been epic!
The most delightful moment for me was the kitchen filled with the aroma from lemon peels, rum, butter, and spices. All this brought back cherished childhood memories when my sister, mom and I sat on a little table in my grandparents' house painting Easter eggs with onion skin and flowers from the garden meanwhile grandma kneaded the Easter bread dough ...
Life was kind...




The recipe of my Easter bread comes from my mother's old journals but it's my interpretation of it. I do believe that whatever its recipe, when YOU cook ( or bake) a dish, it becomes YOURS and it tells YOUR story... because the food is personal ... and the food is for sharing ...

Easter Bread with Raisins and Rose Hip Jam


2 pounds all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
fresh yeast (1/2 the size of a matchbox)
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
5/6 eggs
lemon zest from 1 lemon
raisins
rose hip jam 


Here is Bob The Chef's excellent explanation of the steps I followed : 
Blend the flour with the salt and the vanilla. Make a well and add the eggs. Warm up the milk. Melt down the yeast in part of the lukewarm milk. Add the sugar in the rest of the milk and stir to dissolve it.
Start making the sweet bread dough, as you gradually add the yeast, milk, and sugar. Mix well until you get a thick and sticky dough. Twist and knead the dough, as you slowly add the vegetable oil. Add the lemon zest and knead again until it is well blended. Place the dough in a large, coated with oil pot to rest and rise. Cover it with a clean cloth.
Once the dough has doubled its volume, turn it onto an oiled working surface and knead again. The purpose of it is to remove all the air bubbles from the dough, to assure nice and smooth bread texture.
Once the dough is ready, split it into halves. Divide each half into 3 equally large dough balls. Spread rose hip jam and raisins, then twist and form long dough ribbons. Braid the dough ribbons and place them in coated with oil baking pan. Glaze the bread with egg yolk mixed with milk. Sprinkle it with sugar and let it rest and rise again. When it doubles it's size, bake it at 350 ℉. To make sure the bread is baked, gently poke it with a wooden stick. If it comes out dry, the sweet bread is done.
You can add not only raisins but also nuts, jams and anything else you like.




Join the fun, dear friends! It can be your bread on your table for your story.

How has life been treating you?
I wish it treats you kindly.

Thank you to all you who loyally read my blog!

(some pictures are taken with the old Sony Cyber-shot and are not as good as I would like them to be; just for the record)
I am joining Home Sweet Home , Foodie Friday , Seasonal Sundays & Mangia Mondays