Easter Memories

So I was looking for a recipe for something and I came across this recipe and photo....boy did it bring back memories of Easter's gone by. I can remember going to my Father's Mother's house in Little Italy, Baltimore at Easter and seeing a bread similar to this one on my grandmother's kitchen table.

There would also be a lamb shaped cake as well. I used to love going to her house. The smells were incredible in that kitchen where her and my Aunt Nat would make the most wonderful meals. I can almost smell that spaghetti gravy (as we called sauce) which would cook for almost the entire day to make it that wonderful thick consistency. There was no Ragu in those days.  Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Easter.  Here's the recipe just in case someone wants to make this bread. It's from AllRecipes website. Click Here

It's funny I should come across this today. Today is the clean up of an abandoned cemetery, St. Vincent's in Baltimore. There was a number of descrecrations to the point the tombstones were bulldozed to hide the dead and then the place was left to grow up into a jungle. I'm in a group trying to restore that cemetery were two children of my Grandmom, Beatrice Iori lie buried as babies, Angelo and Giovanni Iori, one died at 6 weeks and one died at birth. I guess Grandmom is letting me know she'll be there today with us. Pray for us and our work....here's a website about the cemetery that I put together for the group:
http://stvincentcemetery.tripod.com

Nothing Better than Chocolate!

You've probably all seen that email that circulates that chocolate is a vegetable and laughed I'm sure. But you know what, it is made from plants so it has the same benefits as vegetables...or am I dilusional?  No there are lots of antioxidants (8 times the amount of strawberries I read!) in it from flavinoids!  Dark chocolate is good for the heart! Those little flavoids are good for easing that high blood pressure and reduces your bad cholesterol! 

Soooooooooooo grab a piece of dark chocolate everyday....and while you are at it, you can make some oreo truffles...however....the truffles are not heart healthy....lots of fat, but awlfully tasty!

Oreo Truffles
1 bag of oreos ground up in food processor until powdery
12 oz of cream cheese
Dark chocolate melted

mix the oreo powder & cream cheese with a beater until you can't see the white oreo filling anymore. Form into round balls (it helps to refrigerate it or it gets a little sticky) and then drop them into melted chocolate and put them onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.