Chocolate Easter Bunny Pie

One of my favorite Easter treats is Chocolate Easter Bunny Pie. My parents found the recipe on the back of our Worlds Finest Chocolate Easter Bunnies when I was younger. 

I remember being so appalled when they took our prized chocolate bunnies and turned them into pie. The worst part was that we didn't get our own pie made from our stolen chocolate bunny. Oh no. We had to share.

I was never very good at sharing.

World's Finest Chocolate Easter Bunny Pie

1 6 oz Chocolate Bunny

18 large marshmallows (cut in half) or 180 mini marshmallows

1/4 cup milk

16 oz unsweetened whipping cream

1 prepared graham cracker crust. (I actually prefer Oreo)

Save a small piece of the bunny to shave on top for decoration.

Melt Chocolate bunny and marshmallows in milk in a double boiler. Melt over low heat, stirring constantly. Let cool completely. Whip cream until stiff. Fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into pie crust and chill until firm. (At least two to three hours.)

Warning: don't make this pie if you are going to be home alone with it all the next day. All it will do is call to you relentlessly from the fridge, "Eat me! Eat me! Eat me!" 

.....

We colored eggs with Oliver J. for the first time this year. It was really fun, apart from my constant anxiety that someone's elbow was going to knock Easter egg dye on our cream colored carpet. That carpet gives me more anxiety than almost anything... 

A Hunting We Will Go...

 Our Easter was lovely, thanks for asking.

It was gray and rainy all day, so we hunted for eggs in the living room. Oliver searched high and low for eggs, all the while singing:

Where are you eggs, where can you be?

Where are you eggs, don't hide from me!

Every time he found one, he tossed it into his basket where we heard it crack, just like all of the previous eggs that he found. (Turns out Easter grass is good for more than just filling out baskets, hiding small pieces of candy, and being impossible to rid oneself of.)

Oliver must have my hunting skills, because it took him a lot of time and some pretty significant hints (i.e. Jesse and me pointing at a nearby egg, in plain sight, and saying, "why don't you look there?") for him to find some of them. 

We finished the day off right with every toddler's fantasy Easter feast: corn dogs, yogurt, and deviled eggs for dinner, followed by a nice fat slice of Chocolate Easter Bunny Pie for everyone.

*I promise I'll share the recipe tomorrow, but for now, it's 11:00 pm and I'm going to bed...

Handwritten Legacy

I love the idea of a family legacy; something handed down from an ancestor.

I love the way that an item that once was commonplace, and seemingly of little value or worth, over time transforms into an object that demonstrates that life was lived, and gives insight into certain aspects of that life.

On Christmas Eve, I spent the day with my mother, sister, and grandmother collecting such treasures of legacy from three generations of women who came before me.

Lucy Ann's charm bracelet and crafting supplies, Frankie's sewing basket and it's contents, Virginia's tin of buttons, Nancy's cookbook, the pattern for the dress my mother wore at her wedding reception, and a copy of the Bywater family turkey dressing recipe, handwritten, with all of it's stains and smudges in full glory.

If you know me, then you will know that this copy of the handwritten recipe was one of my favorite treasures of those I took with me that day, as I especially love all things pertaining to food, tradition, and handwritten.

This is the recipe sheet that my grandmother uses each time she begins preparing our family's traditional holiday meal. It is written on the back of a student schedule from Cyprus High school, where she worked for many years as a counselor. It is in her handwriting. It shows the corrections that were made over time as our family grew. When it is not in use, it waits in a little black binder full of recipes, notes, and menus from previous meals for the holiday season to roll around again.

I love knowing that when I use this recipe to make turkey dressing for my own family, I will get to see what she sees each time she makes it. I will be able to make it exactly the way that she does, and recreate the taste of my childhood Thanksgivings and Christmases for my children and grandchildren.

One day, when I am teaching my own granddaughters to cook the traditional holiday meal, I will pull this recipe out and show them her handwriting, and tell them all of the beautiful memories I have of holidays in my grandparents' kitchen.


That is the magic of handwritten recipes.

That is the gift of tradition.

That is a family legacy.

2012 Christmas Ornament

So,

I know that it isn't even Thanksgiving,

but I just bought our 2012 Christmas Tree Ornaments,

and I'm really REALLY excited about them.

I wanted:

...something whimsical and fun, but not tacky.

...something representative of our current life experience, but not overly commercialized or touristy...because we are not just tourists...we live here.

...something that I loved, not something that I settled for (which is what I feel I've done in the past couple of years...which is why I have not bragged about them...to anyone).

...something completely affordable from a handmade/small business.

And now, without further ado, our 2012 Christmas Tree Ornament:



From RachaelAPeden's Shop

They will look a whole lot like this, except they will be personalized...because the shop owner is cool like that and does it for free!

I'm in love.

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far...

Did you know that every morning, like clock work, for absolutely as long as I can remember

(except during most of junior high and high school when I was just so dumb too cool), 

I'd wake up and head for my parents' bed.

"Can I tickle your back?" I'd ask...those were the magic words.

I'm not ashamed to admit that even to this day, when I wake up at home, that's the first place I go.

Lately, my friend Oliver has adopted my old pattern.

He doesn't know about the back tickling requirement yet, but we're getting there.

I'm not sure if my parents loved it as much as I did when I was young...

In fact, I'm now keenly aware of how much space a little body can take up, even in a bed ten times their size...

and just how quickly one's pillow can be completely commandeered...

and that sort of monkey business gets really old.

Really fast.

But, there's something very flattering in knowing that the first thing your little wants to do in the morning is share their bunny blanket (or jungle blanket, or circle blanket, or all of the above) with YOU...

and play with YOUR hair...

and kiss YOUR cheek...

and snuggle with YOU...

I don't think I'd give that up for anything.

I like to think my parents felt the same way. If not, they were pretty great at pretending.

Still are, actually.

336

Dearest darlings of Snowy River apartment 336,

Remember that time in 2007 when we all pitched in some moolah and bought some house supplies...
specifically Costco brand plastic wrap?

And remember how, at the end of spring semester 2008, we divided up the leftovers of said house supplies and I took home said plastic wrap?

Well, I thought you might be interested to know that, just last week, I FINALLY used the last of it...

Ladies, that roll of plastic wrap officially lasted for

3 states, 

 

4 cities,

 

5 YEARS,

 

6 moves, 

 

and 7 apartments!

That's some serious value.

Also, you should know that I miss you.

That's all.