After the Eggs….

(see instructions below for dyeing eggs from natural ingredients!)

After Easter, despite Jesus’ last words, it is not finished!

We have been catapulted from the Good Friday that we, our world, our country, our communities, and our loved ones have found ourselves in – into Easter! Now, you might say that in a very real sense, we are still deep in Good Friday. But then, what is Easter without Good Friday? What is light without darkness? What does resurrection mean to us without death? We cannot pretend that Good Friday never happened; indeed, it is happening now, in our lives.

Jesus’ life ends in John with his words, “It is finished.” What he had come to do had been accomplished. But for the women in Sunday’s Easter gospel it was not finished. They left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and on the way, Jesus greeted them and sent them forth. It was not finished for those women, or for the disciples – and it is not finished for us.

Easter is only our beginning! Its grace will take us through our lives, wherever we may be headed, for how long we know not. Still, we know that Jesus takes us beyond darkness and death. It is finished – and yet not finished. Today we begin anew. So today, let us cook with what we have, let us live, let us welcome Easter.

Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia, Amen!

And here are a couple of delicious things (as the journey on the theme #whatsinthefridge continues) made from what was left after coloring our eggs with natural ingredients. What could we do with these bright chopped cooked beets and liquid we soaked the eggs in (having a little vinegar in it), and the red cabbage with liquid? Not to mention the MANY MANY red and yellow onions we had in a bag in the fridge after using their skins to make the vibrant colors!

Well – here are recipes for a lovely little batch of borscht and a braised onion sauce for pasta. Enjoy!

After the Eggs Borscht

After you’ve colored your beautiful eggs, don’t throw away the beets and red cabbage and the liquid! It’s just vegetables, water, and vinegar – why not use it for soup? You can make this great little borscht, good hot or cold. If you didn’t use the cabbage for coloring your eggs (but I hope you did because the blue eggs are so pretty!), add it raw as indicated below.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, diced
½ cup onion (any kind, could include shallots, leeks, or scallions), chopped
½ cup potato (peeled or not), diced
1 cup cabbage (red or green), chopped (or cooked red cabbage and liquid left from coloring eggs)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups broth (vegetable, chicken, or beef)
1 bay leaf
Beets and liquid left from coloring eggs
1 tablespoon fresh dill, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon honey, sugar, or agave
Salt and pepper

Sour cream or yogurt for serving

Heat oil over medium heat, and add carrots, onions, potatoes, and cabbage (if using uncooked cabbage). Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes, till somewhat softened. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add broth and bay leaf, bring to boil, and simmer 25 minutes. Add the reserved chopped beets and liquid you saved from coloring the eggs (if you have reserved cabbage and liquid, add those now too). Simmer for 5 minutes to blend flavors. Add honey, dill, lemon juice and zest, and taste for seasoning.

Serve hot or cold with sour cream or plain yogurt.

After the Eggs Onion Sauce for Pasta

This recipe is based on James Beard’s braised onion sauce (Beard on Pasta). I have doubled the ingredients since I had so many onions! The recipe could be cut in half to use a pound and a half, either red or yellow or both, which would be closer to Beard’s original recipe. This amount will certainly allow you to freeze some.

2½ sticks of butter
3 pounds of onions (red or yellow), sliced
6 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
2 tablespoons of sugar
A few sprigs of thyme (if you like, tied together with kitchen twine)
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup Madeira
Salt and pepper
Parsley, chopped
Pasta (firm pasta such as penne, rigatoni, or farfalle, although any type would be great!)
Grated cheese (such as Parmesan, Grana Padano, or Romano)

Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Add onions, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat till translucent (10 minutes), stirring often. Add sugar, garlic, and thyme sprigs, and cook uncovered for an hour, stirring often, until caramelized and saucy. Fish out and discard thyme sprigs. Add Madeira, simmer 5 minutes more, and taste for seasoning.

Cook pasta, reserving about ½ cup pasta water. Return pasta to pot, and off heat, toss with pasta, grated cheese, a bit of pasta water, and parsley.

Yum!