Faithless Buns and Party Provisions

The wind whips a thin rain against the windows as I sit in the kitchen on this Good Friday morning—a dogwood winter day. I am still ensconced in my dressing gown mentally preparing for Easter Sunday dinner as I savor the last crumbs of a hot cross bun. When I announced yesterday that I planned to make these religious edibles for Easter, a friend asked doubtfully if I was Christian. Not particularly, I replied. But when there’s a culinary tradition to celebrate I’ll happily convert for the day. Perhaps it was my lack of devotion then, which caused the crosses on my lovingly made buns to dribble pathetically all over the place so that only a mere hint remained after baking. Ah well, the dough itself rose like a dream and the resulting pastries—flecked with currents and redolent of spices—are eminently satisfying.



Easter dinner will be a true spring feast: roast leg of lamb strung with anchovies, rosemary, and garlic; roast potatoes; glazed carrots and onions; a minty salsa verde; and, for my vegetarian guests, a handmade eggplant and tomato lasagna. And I do mean “handmade” as I even constructed the sheets of spinach pasta from scratch. Not that this was a chore however, as I adore the soothing process of making fresh pasta.







For dessert I proposed a rhubarb crumble, as the long pink stems are ready for harvest. Mum had other ideas, her heart set on tiramisu. (Not a big dessert eater, my mother has a definite weakness for any concoction laced liquor: she goes wild over brandy buttered mince pies, crazy over English trifle, and is alarmingly possessive of liqueur filled chocolates.) Fine, I sighed. I would make both desserts. Although, this being my maiden voyage with tiramisu, I insisted on making a test batch ahead, which is currently chilling in the fridge awaiting an afternoon analysis. A full report will be forthcoming.