food for the easter weekend

by Sharon Santoni

spring vegetables on blue cloth

Easter weekend… birds singing …a garden full of daffodils .. first day of the year that I’ve been able to hang my laundry outside to dry, and as a bonus I have my youngest home for the holiday break  … if this isn’t spring then I don’t know what is.

spring vegetables on blue cloth

I took a tour around the local farmers market this morning and picked up some nice fresh vegetables for some of our meals over the weekend, and when I got home I realised that the food is not only delicious but also very pretty, so you get to the see the photos that I took, as opposed to the food that I cooked!

spring vegetables on blue cloth

Baby potatoes, fresh asparagus, baby navet turnips, swiss chard, flat parsley …. I also got some baby carrots and a few very early strawberries, but they didn’t go with the colour palette so you’ll have to take my word on that.

spring vegetables on blue cloth

Being down in Nice last week, I enjoyed some lovely Swiss Chard tart, which is a speciality from that part of the world, so when I saw some at the market today I grabbed a bunch and I’ll be using my friend Stacey’s recipe to bake this tomorrow.  ( I love her recipes, they always work!)

spring vegetables on blue cloth

Otherwise on the Pascal weekend menus here, there is an asparagus risotto, baked lamb, sautéd baby potatoes and there’ll be fresh fish too, not bought yet.   Haven’t decided on my Easter desserts yet, nor have I bought anyone a chocolate egg, but hey! tomorrow is another day, Spring is finally here and everything is easy.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend, hope you get some special time with family or friends.

Enregistrer

23 comments

carlin miller March 24, 2016 - 7:18 pm

Would you mind posting your recipe for swiss chard tart? This sounds lovely. In this part of Canada (near the Great Lakes) it will be a couple months before I have any swiss chard but I’m always looking for ways to prepare it that aren’t just constituents within a salad.

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Fran March 24, 2016 - 8:01 pm

Carlin, visit staceysnacksonline.com search it on her site – was a 2010/07 post, if not mistaken. Hope that helps.
Sharon, you are in the future – we are having a major snow storm right now with freezing rain. I am so happy to see you have POTATOES 😉
Joyeuses Paques!!

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Sharon Santoni March 24, 2016 - 8:21 pm

HI Carlin, If you hover over Stacey’s name, you will find the link to the recipe 🙂

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denise March 24, 2016 - 7:40 pm

Merci Sharon, Joyeux Paque a Toi et ta famille.
Denise

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Sharon E March 24, 2016 - 7:51 pm

Your season is a bit ahead of our Michigan season. The crocuses are just starting to come up. No sight of vegetables yet! The swiss chard recipe would be most welcome.

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Our French Oasis March 24, 2016 - 7:53 pm

Isn’t it just the best thing when our babies come home! Our eldest flew home from University today, so happy to see her. The weather is gorgeous here in the Charente Maritime at the moment and I’m looking forward to seeing what delights the market has to offer in the morning, the risotto sounds like a great idea! And as we’ve had such a great week the boats should have all been out and the fish stand should be bursting with fresh fish. Have a very happy Easter Weekend, Susan x

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Colleen Taylor March 24, 2016 - 8:36 pm

What a beautiful assortment of vegetables & flowers Sharon! I love to frequent farmers markets here near where I live. Happy Easter & have a wonderful time with your family.

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JaneEllen March 24, 2016 - 8:37 pm

You must be one heck of a cook, all that lovely food and loved basket of daffodils.
No special plans for us, just hang out at home taking it easy, reading paper. Our youngest daughters’ hubs and her youngest are in San Diego, CA, won’t be home til sometime Sunday so maybe she’ll come over or us over at their house. She doesn’t like to be pinned down to any plans but her own so what will be, will be, whenever.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful happy Easter.

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Taste of France March 24, 2016 - 10:01 pm

Such pretty pictures! We like the thinner green asparagus, vs. the white. And the slender, tender wild asparagus the best. I just made omelettes with wild asparagus (I posted a recipe) and will probably be eating more on Monday–the traditional lundi de Paques omelette.

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Susan Streeper March 28, 2016 - 4:50 pm

I always purchased the thin and then Martha S. Told us that they are dehydrated and we should buy the fatter ones. I was reluctant, but mad the switch and pleasantly surprised. Just be sure to snap off ends of all asparagus first.

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Emm March 24, 2016 - 10:06 pm

Such lush colors and yet so delicate, beautiful foods.
I love the regional, national differences in food terms: You call it “flat” parsley, we call it (or our stores call it) “Italian” parsley. It tastes good either way.

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Debra March 24, 2016 - 10:12 pm

I haven’t tried Swiss Chard before. If I am able to find it here, I will try the recipe given. It looks good. I really enjoy your web site and enjoy reading your messages. Thank you for sharing.

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Caroline Silk March 24, 2016 - 10:30 pm

Beautiful pics..I shared some on My French Dreaming Pinterest boards..hope you don’t mind..Bonne Paque !

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Kathy March 24, 2016 - 11:53 pm

Love love love your posts!

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Marilyn March 25, 2016 - 1:27 am

They are all so beautiful. Wishing I had some of that asparagus. Beautifully photographed too. The chard tart sounds delicious.

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Stacy March 25, 2016 - 3:07 am

Greetings and salutations to you Sharon! Easter is aways a traditionally beautiful time of year for us and the gateway to spring. I got my youngest home on spring break as well and it is great to have her home. For us, Easter is always time for lamb. We cut ours into kebabs and marinate them overnight, skewer them with cherry tomatoes and mushrooms and grill them out doors on the barbeque. I like to serve them with a vegetable orzo, fresh Antipasto and a basket of warm popovers. We will being finishing up our meal with strawberries and cream for dessert! I love this time of year and everything from Easter services to Easter Lillies seems to beckon the promise of spring! My best to you and yours this Easter season.

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Dottie monta March 25, 2016 - 5:33 am

How lovely of you, Sharon, to point out that even in our Easter vegetables (shopped for ours today, too), Spring is evident in their elegant pastel colors. We are congregated in south bend, Indiana, in the States this year, a handy center point for Californians, Pennsylvanians, and the Indianans. Cold and damp, but Church (Notre Dame decorated in white lilies and much greenery, to my liking), egg hunt, traditional foods, and sons’ humor fill the day. Rejoice in a beautiful Easter with your darlings, too, Sharon!

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Esther George March 25, 2016 - 7:56 am

Hi Sharon, beautiful photographs as always. I’ve been watching an Australian production called French Food Safari they have been going to different regions of France with the street markets, the beautiful Patisseries and of course the Charcuterie shops. Yesterday it was Normandy and today we are going to Le Halle’s De Lyon markets it’s been a fun ride. Thank you for sharing beauty. Have a wonderful Easter with your family. Till next time regards Esther from Sydney.

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Linda Mahkovec March 25, 2016 - 1:28 pm

Absolutely lovely! Only you can make an arrangements of root vegetables look so beautiful.
Linda

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Karena March 25, 2016 - 11:57 pm

Sharon your assortment of fresh fruits and veggies sounds delicious!
Have a wonderful holiday weekend!!

Xoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena

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Heather in Arles March 27, 2016 - 12:15 am

Joyeuse Pâques, Sharon. Thank you for this bit of beauty…
xo
h

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thefolia March 28, 2016 - 9:50 pm

What a beautiful harvest…happy spring!

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Pip March 30, 2016 - 6:32 am

Very pretty! I had so much fun this Easter, especially with our latest family member Amélie who is only 7 weeks old. You’re lucky going into spring as here downunder, winter is heading our way.

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