Memorial Day is a time to reflect on all family members who have gone before us.  It is also a time to realize that the freedoms we enjoy in this glorious country have come to us at great price.

Many heroic men and women have given their lives so that we can live in the liberty found in no other country on earth.  I could not be more grateful to these selfless souls and their comrades whose bodies and/or minds will be forever scarred for their sacrifices made for our American way of life.

Our lives, our liberty, and our pursuit of happiness could only be possible because of our military, the best.

I believe that Memorial Day, being the first unofficial weekend for the summer season, should be enjoyed.  I also believe many people view this holiday as merely a three-day weekend.  As citizens of the United States of America, we should all reflect on why we enjoy our freedoms.

Our family made our annual Memorial Day trip to the cemetery.  My wife’s older sister died in 1999 from Multiple Sclerosis.  We visited and prayed over her grave.  As a family, we visited a second cemetery where my wife and I plan to be buried (hopefully, not in the near future).  The day was sunny and cool and both cemeteries felt like places to be reflective.

We talked as a family about whether or not land, often in the middle of cities, should be used for cemeteries.  Are we wasting land that could be made available for more productive uses?  Should everyone be cremated?  Our consensus came down to a few thoughts.  Cemeteries are much like parks.  They are places to relax, reflect, meditate, and enjoy.  And cremation is also a choice anyone can make.  Ashes can then be interred or scattered.  Again, in this country how we are laid to rest is a choice, a freedom all of us can make as we wish.

Memorial Day is most certainly a day filled with sadness and pride.  Memorial Day is a significant holiday in our yearly calendar and should always remain as such.  It is a holiday we need to thoughtfully observe.  It is a holiday that builds family memories.  It is a time to nurture patriotism and gratitude.

Thanks for reading and blogging!

Smile often,

Dr. James G. Hood

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Following is the menu for our Hood Family Memorial Day Lunch Party, and  our Cinnamon Ice Cream Recipe.

Cinnamon Ice Cream

Ingredients:

3    c. heavy cream

1½ c. whole milk

2    vanilla beans, split lengthwise

1    c. plus 2 Tbs. sugar

6    egg yolks

2½ tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Combine cream and milk in large saucepan.
2. Scrape in seeds from vanilla beans; add beans.
3. Bring just to a simmer.
4. Whisk sugar and yolks in large bowl to blend.
5. Gradually whisk in hot cream mixture.
6. Return mixture to same saucepan.
7. Stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across, about 6 minutes (do not boil).
8. Strain into large bowl; whisk in cinnamon.
9. Chill until cold, about 3 hours.
10. Transfer custard to ice cream maker, and process according to manufacturer’s instructions.
11. Transfer ice cream to covered container and freeze until firm.
12. Can be made 3 days ahead; keep frozen.

Dental Care Associates of Spokane Valley, P.S.

Family and Cosmetic Dentistry Welcomes Patients from Age 2 to 102!

James G. Hood, D.D.S., M.A.

507 North Sullivan Road, Suite A-1

Spokane Valley, WA 99037-8576  USA

Phone: (509) 928-9100  |  Fax: (509) 928-0414

Email: drhood@drhood.com

Websites: www.drhood.com, www.dentalcareassociatesofspokanevalley.com

Blogs: www.drjamesghoodblog.com, www.dentalhealthandnutritionblog.com,  www.dentalcareassociatesofspokanevalleyblog.com

www.jamesandkarenhoodfoundationblog.org,  www.sjogrensblog.org

Online Store: www.dentalhealthandnutritionstore.com

Chocolate bunnies and eggs are as much a part of Easter as a ham dinner or Easter egg hunt. But is this chocolate fetish a modern invention, or do its roots go deeper than that?

In the ecclesiastical calendar, Easter follows immediately after the end of Lent, a time when Catholics and some Protestant denominations refrain from certain foods and festivities in honor of Jesus’s 40 days of fasting in the desert. Rich foods like eggs, milk, cheese, and most meats have traditionally been popular choices for abstaining since the early Middle Ages, and chocolate was added to the list once it was introduced to Europe by the Spanish in the 16th and 17th century. Following the enforced abstinence of Lent, many people enjoyed celebrating Easter with a return to all the delicious foods that they had been missing, and eventually this became a tradition of eating chocolate at Easter time. In addition, chocolate was seen as a luxury item for many centuries, making it a natural choice for the traditional gift-giving that occurred during many Spring festivals.

The chocolate eggs and bunnies that are so popular these days are a more recent addition to Easter lore. As we have seen in our previous discussion of Easter traditions, eggs and rabbits have strong symbolic ties to the holiday through the pagan goddess Eostre and the rabbit’s natural fertility. This made them a natural choice for shaped hard chocolate candies, which were not invented until the 1850′s. Decades later, the Industrial Revolution enabled the chocolate making process to expand into mass production, and with the higher availability of chocolate eggs and bunnies at Easter time began the establishment of it as a widespread tradition.

This concludes our series on Easter traditions. Please enjoy the following recipe from Karen Hood’s wonderful cookbook Easter Delights. It is the perfect way to enjoy the tradition of chocolate this Easter.

Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Eggs

Children love chocolate-covered peanut butter eggs,
so these will disappear quickly.

Ingredients:
¼ c. butter
¼ c. brown sugar, firmly packed
¾ c. powdered sugar
½ c. creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pkg. semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tbs. shortening

Directions:

1. In 1-quart microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter and brown sugar on full power for 1 to 1½ minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or until brown sugar is melted.
2. Stir in powdered sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla.
3. Shape by teaspoonfuls into egg shapes; chill.
4. In double boiler or heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips and shortening over low heat.
5. With wooden pick, dip each egg into chocolate mixture, coating completely.
6. Place on wax paper-lined baking sheets.
7. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

© Karen Jean Matsko Hood 2011

Order your copy of Easter Delights today!

Format & Price

Comb Bound $9.95 Comb Bound- Used $5.95 E-PDF (electronic download) $9.99

Decorating and hunting for Easter eggs is a huge part of celebrating the Spring holiday. In many cultures around the world, the egg has been a symbol of immortality, fertility, and rebirth since ancient times. The ancient Persians, for example, painted eggs during their celebration of the Spring Equinox, and there is evidence that the symbolism of the egg was important as far back as the Neolithic era 7000 years ago. The correlation is not hard to see: many newborn animals are hatched from eggs, and Spring is the time of year for most animals to give birth.

Many of the Easter games and activities involving eggs that we participate in today date back to customs in Medieval Europe. Decorating eggs was popular at this time, and the tradition was eventually carried to America with the first German settlers. Hunting for eggs and egg rolling games also come from medieval times. Furthermore, the name of the holiday itself comes from the pagan deity Ostara, known as Eostre to the Anglo-Saxons, goddess of the dawn and rebirth of the year. As Ostara, she appeared as a beautiful maiden carrying a basket of eggs and accompanied by a rabbit; as Eostre, her symbol was a rabbit that laid eggs itself.

Stay tuned for the third part of this series, in which we discuss the importance of chocolate in the Easter tradition. In the meantime, please enjoy this sample recipe from Karen Hood’s fabulous cookbook Easter Delights. It is a unique way to enjoy the rich symbolism of the egg during your Easter celebration this year. With more than 250 delicious recipes, Easter Delights will make planning for this holiday easy and fun!

Poached Eggs in Roman Red Sauce

The red sauce in this recipe for poached eggs makes this a delightfully zesty dish. If you like a creamier sauce, you may add ½ cup of cream to the sauce as it is simmering, before you add the eggs for poaching.

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. olive oil
½ c. chopped onion
½ c. sliced mushrooms, fresh or canned
1 clove garlic, diced
1 can peeled tomatoes
½ c. cream (optional)
4 eggs
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In skillet sauté onion, mushrooms, and garlic in olive oil.
2. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper; heat to simmering, and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. For creamier sauce, stir in cream and heat through.
4. Crack eggs into sauce and let eggs poach.
5. Serve eggs in dish with red sauce and French bread.

© Karen Jean Matsko Hood 2011

Order your copy of Easter Delights today!

Format & Price

Comb Bound $9.95 Comb Bound- Used $5.95 E-PDF (electronic download) $9.99