It’s Easter.  Yay.  Childhood memories and dreams abound…

We’ve had a very pleasant Easter Weekend – there are many connections with food that go beyond chocolate at this time of year, but it takes “the cake” in my memory banks.  I received an Easter basket from my Mother until I was almost 30 years old and I know that when I least expect it there will likely be another in my future.  I’m not a chocolate nut – but this day has a special connection with sweetness for me.

It was my Aunt who would buy her two kids and myself the fancy egg from Laura Secord.  It was a big egg – and it had a creamy filling that was so sweet it made you eat it in several sessions.  The filling was a little off-putting in that it looked like a real egg – soft white sugar would give way to a golden yellow treasure hidden in the center.  We were told it was a very adult-candy and very special.  It was a sophisticated treat that I always saved until last because I was intimidated by it.  I didn’t think I liked them and each year I would learn, as a desperate last resort, that I liked it more than I thought.

Sometimes we would get a treat which had our name written in icing sugar on them.  This was magical to me – I knew that candy came from the store and there were very few things – if any - that you could buy with the name “Joel” on it.  I remember feeling so special and loved Easter because the stores cared about all the “Joel’s” enough to make chocolate with out name on them.  This illusion was crushed yesterday when I saw my cousin scribing chocolate eggs for the next generation of our family.

Enjoy your families or time to your self today and I hope you’ve had a lovely Easter Weekend.