Happy Easter to you all! I hope you had a wonderful weekend.
My sister and her husband flew in for the weekend, so we had such a great time these past few days. I thought a picture post would be appropriate.
Friday morning, my parents picked my sister and brother-in-law up from the airport and we met them at Soulard Farmer’s Market. We finally had sunshine and warmer temps, so it was a lot of fun to walk through and pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables–in particular, strawberries, which are now coming into season.
We also bought a roll of bacon for our dog, Xanh. He LOVED it! In fact, he frequently barks in the direction of where I hid it with the hope that we will give him another strip.
Saturday morning, I made the most delicious pancakes! They were vegan whole wheat coconut pancakes topped with freshly sliced strawberries and a strawberry banana puree. Mmm.
The rest of Saturday was spent cooking. At least for my mom and me, anyway. My hubby and dad watched college basketball, and my sister and her husband were visiting his family. But I was in the kitchen ALL day! I love cooking, so it was fun, but 2 days of cooking (because we couldn’t get it all done the day before Easter) was exhausting. There is something really special about spending a day in the kitchen with your mom, though. And I am really proud of my new vegan wild rice pilaf that I made. It was filled with dried and fresh fruits and nuts. It was a big hit this Easter! This was my first time contributing dishes to a holiday meal, because this is the first time since I’ve been an adult that I’ve lived near my family. I only took a picture of the pilaf, though, because it was just too pretty and colorful not to!
My birthday is actually about a week away, but since my sister was in town, she asked if we could celebrate my birthday this weekend. So Saturday night we went out to Local Harvest Cafe, a restaurant in St. Louis that uses mostly local, organic foods. They have several vegan and/or vegetarian options in addition to options for the average omnivore. None of us had ever been, and I thought it would be the perfect place for us to go since we all eat different things. I ordered vegan mushroom linguine with spinach. It was GOOD! And, of course, the conversation was the best part. There is nothing better than sitting around a table having a meal with a group of loved ones.
Easter mass Sunday morning was beautiful! Then, we had a small family lunch. Things are kind of weird right now with all of the “kids” having kids, so holidays aren’t as big as they once were. This year it was just my immediate family and my grandmother, but it was a wonderful time.
(We had to put Xanh in some pictures. He’s just as much family to us as anyone. 🙂 )
I hope your Easter was blessed and that you were able to spend it with people you love.
This Luminous Road I Travel 