Sunday, March 21, 2010

happy vernal equinox!

I just love the quarterly celebration of the seasons. I can hardly believe it's springtime already. The winter flew by--wasn't it just yesterday we were celebrating the solstice? I can honestly say these little observances of the change of season are worth it; just today Faith was saying how glad she is that we do this. It's nice to reflect upon the passage of time and the cycle of the year--it's just my sort of thing.
My mom thrifted these plate for me a few weeks ago. Aren't they sweet? Perfect for spring and summer. That tablecloth is thrifted too--one of my favorite finds. The teapot was my grandmothers. I love this old stuff.
I forgot how many eggs I have to cook to fill this little deviled egg tray (actually, that was my grandmother's too, come to think of it) so ended up shorting us by two halves. We could have used them too--Rainer ate 3 or 4 on his own!
I tried a couple of new recipes from the Moosewood Cookbook since I'm on my no sugar kick--this is the apricot almond bread. It was good, but I overbaked it. I love those apricots in it, so I'll try it again. That's some asparagus quiche on the right.
Also from the book I tried this walnut-maple pie--mostly just nuts, maple syrup, and eggs (I forgot to add the butter, darn it). It was good, not great. On the left are blueberry muffins (also sweetened with maple). These less-sweet baked goods do take a bit of getting used to, but I'm very happy to be cutting back on my sugar and I like the idea of eating less-sweet baked things for festive occasions. I imagine over time I'll build up a repertoire of successful and delicious naturally-sweetened treats.
And the best part? Jacob is home for spring break! Hooray! We all love seeing him, doesn't he look wonderful? Love that kid.

12 comments:

FrontierDreams said...

Happy Spring!! Aren't seasonal celebrations wonderful???

Hannah said...

I always love seeing your posts on the quarterly seasonal celebrations! We ended up seeing in the new season with a massive spring clean - not very exciting is it?!

Elfin Goddess said...

I love your seasonal celebrations! And boy would I love to be feasting at that table :D You really are awesome Mary Beth! Cheers, Avril

Rain said...

What a delicious spring menu! And I am still loving those curtains!

Ariella said...

Oh my, that's a yummy post!!

Anonymous said...

I love those little plates and it looks like such a nice way to celebrate spring!!

Joy said...

Your kids are so adorable! Love your spring celebration. The egg dish and the tablecloth are just so beautiful. Happy spring!

Kristen said...

Your pictures are so wonderful! The colors are gorgeous!

Happy Spring!

Carrie said...

It snowed here! I cannot wait to see you next week!

Andrea said...

Yum! What a fun celebration and I love those plates. Too sweet.

Heather said...

What a wonderful looking celebration! Enjoy the beginning of the season

ArtsyTeree said...

Hi,

I love that plate with the eggs, I also like soo much stuffed eggs. And the food on the photos looks so yummy!
Have nice sprintime!
Tereza