Happy Easter!

So, despite the cold weather and SNOW that came this week, Easter still came and we celebrated. It was a weekend filled with family - who could ask for more? We had small Easter egg hunts, delicious meals, and wonderful company to share them with.

On the Smorse side, we visited with Linda and Sasha, the Sam and Kristen, Ben and Stacey, Jenny and Tim, Laura and Sugata, and everyone's kids (plenty of good cousin bonding going on). It was great to see everyone!

On the Olsen side, we visited with Wade and Amber, Clay and Jen, Josie and Rick, and Kristen (whose husband is having the experience of a lifetime in NEPAL! Check out his blog postings as he documents the world-record Mt. Everest climb of Apa Sherpa for the next 2 months: http://apasherpa.net/blog/). Good times all around.

We are grateful to Wade and Amber for letting us come to their "farm" on the acre of land to experience true springtime-ness with their baby chicks, piglets, and pregnant goats! (see photos below). What a fun experience for the little ones! They loved it, and so did we. We really love getting our free-range organic eggs from them, and look forward to our share of the piglets (who will also be free-range and well-treated little animals ... their names are "ham" and "bacon" - I suppose so that it is very clear to the children what they will grow up to be!). We are all trying to eat more healthily in a way that is kind to animals and the environment. It's an adventure!

Recipe of the week:

Lemon Rice
(a great side-dish)

2 1/2 cups uncooked rice (preferably Jasmine or brown)
1 bunch of finely chopped green onions
1 lemon (use the peel for zest, and slice the rest in quarters)
3/4 tsp lemon pepper

*You may also add organic chicken broth or finely chopped zuchinni for variety

Place all ingredients into a rice cooker or equivalent.

Thanks for the recipe, Amber! (She made it up!)