18
Apr
As you may have noticed, extremely whimsical reader, this week our post finds you later in the week. This delay is a celebratory one, caused by us being so caught up in family festivities that we no longer understood time.
And this blog is all about sharing even the tiniest joys, so we thought today would be the perfect opportunity to blabber on about our usual Easter traditions (in a bulleted list format, of course)!
I think I have already mentioned this sacred process around here, but we have a specific way of buying gifts for each other. We set a budget, create our Pinterest Easter moodboards and then go ham on Vinted, Sellpy or local thrift stores.
We have two main rules: buy vintage articles (however, one or two exceptions are allowed) and respect the list. We have been known to go off script a couple of times and let’s just say reactions have been…mixed.
In the other main departments (aka salty foods and baked goods), the preparations are even more intense. We decide on the menu together, and then I proceed to try to stop my sister from adding every bunny or carrot-shaped recipe seen online to the list. This one part is harder than you might imagine.
Once all the goodies have been cleared, we check if the ingredients are already lying around in the family pantry or if we need to go out and hunt for them. Most of them are usually not found in our natural environment, so hunting we go.
This is maybe the least pleasant part because of the overstimulating craze of Easter shopping. Every produce comes with a subtle battle of shopping carts and aggressive side-eyes. But that’s okay, we always try to make it fun! Which is quite easy, due to the fact that we have so many versatile inside jokes that we burst into giggles only by looking at each other. Despite all the unpleasantness of this particular event, I think we manage quite well.
According to our tradition, the day before the actual celebrations is used for doing a part of the cooking, respectively baking and creating our army of onion-colored eggs.
For example, we bake our carrot-cake-inspired cupcakes and design the cake pops. These are the most popular Easter desserts in this household, so they are a yearly staple. The cake pops have had quite the tumultuous history, starting from being a goopy mess to looking stunning and tasting delectable. That journey honestly deserves a post of its own.
Our most recent addition to the program (implemented only last year) entails making a couple of bunny-shaped (more or less) churros and ravishing them dipped in condensed milk and topped with cinnamon and sprinkles. We swear by this combination! They taste exactly like a bowl of cereals on a sunny morning during the best day of your childhood. The taste is so specific, this is the only way of properly describing them.
We have also decided upon a switch when it comes to the eggs. We don’t use artificial dyes anymore, because of a lot of reasons, such as the composition of the dyes. Besides, the process is rather annoying and the eggs end up looking just like… well, colored eggs. Nothing more. We needed to add a little bit more personality to our beloved eggs.
Going back to the old ways, we use onion peels now. I know that one can use a variety of natural substitutes for dye to get different colors (such as using blueberries in order to get blue-ish eggs). But we choose to stick to onions for now, because this is how it was done by our mom when she was a kid.
The procedure is simple and fun. The best part is frolicking around the neighborhood to find interesting-looking plants and flowers. At the end, the eggs have a cute red tint to them (if you want the color to be more intense, you have to add more onion peels) and unique patterns. Our favorites this year are Emperor Caesar, The Phoenix and Two of Hearts (depicted in the images that follow).
Come morning, we try to get up early. But, as any other productive spring morning, it has to start out with coffee on the balcony. When the weather is stunning (as it was on that day), it might turn into a yap session. Nonetheless, we managed to escape the loop at some point and got ready for the events.
Our mom is the queen of maintaining the child-like magic of holidays. That’s why, when we don’t have grass nests for the gifts to be put in, we have a gift hunt. She hides the packages in strategic places around the garden and we hop around looking for them. It feels like a time machine, taking us back to our childhood(s).
After ceremoniously opening up the gifts and letting the dog play with the wrapping papers, we finally arrive to my most cherished part: the fashion show!
We try each piece of clothing we have received for a large audience (mom and sometimes dad, our grandma and the dog, when she feels like it). Our mom takes pictures of us so we have something to remember the whimsical moments by (and I occasionally make stickers out of the funny ones).
I almost forgot! Here is also where the oldest tradition comes in. Before we gather the gifts, we take our long-established poses in order to recreate the photo from about 15 years ago. I print all the pictures out and stick them on my wall, where they have a designated spot. It is a hand-painted tree, where each picture hangs from a unique branch.
At the end, after everything else has been accomplished, we sit down together to eat. It is a big event in our home, because we are not usually all in town at the same time. And, even when we are, we have different schedules and don’t really have the chance to enjoy the meal together as a family.
The best part of it all? Getting compliments on the dishes! Every year, we have the Easter ham for the meat eaters and the tofu ham for us (obligatory topping: horseradish). We make a leek and zucchini pie, carrot-shapped pastries filled with variations of cheesy spreads and cheese plates (as you might have guessed by now, we really enjoy cheese).
The main star is the Focaccia, which we decorate before putting in the oven. For this, we use colorful vegetables (green onions, leek, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes and so on) and create a handsome scenery on the surface of the bread. It tends to get all messed up in the oven, but we do it for the love of the craft.
After all is devoured and the leftovers are safely stored in the fridge (they are also devoured later in the evening, have no fear), we sit down for coffee and cake. At this stage, I tend to insist we look at the photos and decide on our preferred ones.
Although the official celebrations are all over, it never feels like an ending. Rather, a tapestry of memories starts knitting itself in our hearts. We look outside and realize that spring has only begun. The sun is still up and the house smells like cupcakes. In the background, there is dad’s favorite music from the 80’s playing.
Kurtiboo
Ohh, how nostalgic this made me feel! Even after the holidays have passed, I still felt the coziness. One of my favorite sayings from my native language (it makes sense in my native language, trust me guyssss, pleaseee) is, “Where there are no good people, there are no holidays.” I think you know where I am going with this :)). Your family just exudes that happy holiday feeling!
P.S. I love, love, love your fashion show tradition! :)) Happy belated Easter, Celestials!
XOXO, Kurtiboo :*
The Cozy Sisters
It is never too late to celebrate or feel cozy (in our humble opinion), so Happy Easter to you too, gentle soul ₍ᐢᐢ₎
Kurtiboo
Thank youuu! <33