The Ostara Feast: Recipes to Celebrate the Spring Equinox

Spinach Dip & Vegetable Platter- vegetarian!

A great starter to have out for your guests as they arrive.

1 envelope of vegetable soup mix

16 oz sour cream

½ cup mayonaise

½ tsp lemon juice

1 10 oz frozen package of leaf spinach

Medium saucepan of water

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 zucchini

Celery stalks

Carrot sticks

Fresh Broccoli

Thaw the spinach thoroughly and remove it from it's packaging. Wrap it in a clean tea towel. Over the sink, twist the ends of the tea towel, tightening it around the spinach, to drain out the excess moisture. Set it aside.

In a bowl, mix the sour cream, mayo, lemon juice and soup mix envelope. Stir in spinach. Place in refrigerator until serving.

Cut the florets off of the broccoli stems. Reserve the stems for other uses.

Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan. Add the broccoli florets for five minutes. Drain and rinse broccoli in cold water to stop cooking process. Blanching like this them will keep them crisp but make them more digestible. Place them in the fridge to cool.

Cut the red and yellow peppers length-wise, remove seeds and stems and cut them into sticks.

Peel the zucchini. Cut it in half. Cut the halves length-wise into sticks.

Lay broccoli florets, pepper strips, zucchini, carrot and celery sticks onto a serving tray. Serve with the spinach dip.

Lemon-Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb

This delicious roast is worth a bit of the fuss. Lamb is a traditional springtime meal.

8 lb leg of lamb, bone in, trimmed of excess fat

3 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

½ cup fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp grated lemon peel

2 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

3 cup beef broth

1 tbsp extra of lemon juice

2 tbsp all purpose flour

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Chop the garlic. Strip the rosemary off the stems and chop the leaves. Place rosemary, garlic and salt into a mortar and grind with the pestle until you achieve a paste. Stir in 2 tbsps of the lemon juice.

With a knife, make approximately a dozen half-inch deep slits into the leg of lamb. Fill each slit with approximately 1/4 tsp of paste mixture.

Rub lamb with olive oil and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.

Place lamb on a roasting rack and pour beef broth into the bottom of the pan. Roast 15 minutes.

Pour the remainder of the lemon juice over the roast. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees. Roast 1 ½ to 2 hours, basting occasionally until done.

Remove the lamb from the pan and place it on a serving platter. Put a foil tent over it loosely and allow it to stand for 15 minutes.

While the lamb is resting, make the gravy. Skim two tbsp of fat from the pan drippings and discard the rest of the liquid. Return fat to the roasting pan, and set over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour, scraping off browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Whisk in 2 cups of beef broth and lemon juice until ingredients are blended. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes, occasionally whisking, until gravy is thickened. Salt and pepper to taste if desired.

Roast Red Pepper Humus & Asparagus Wrap- Vegan!

This dish is really easy to make; you basically roast a pepper and some asparagus for a couple of minutes, throw a few ingredients into a blender, and assemble it on a wrap. Shortcuts can be taken if you want to cut time and fuss- you can use roasted red peppers from a jar or store-bought humus for this recipe, but I've included instructions on how to roast a fresh pepper and make humus. If you prefer, you can always use dried chic peas, just prepare them first according to the package so they are tender. Choose vegan wraps, or, if you're not a vegan, any type of wraps that you like.

1 roasted red pepper

8 oz can of chic peas

1 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 ½ tbsp pine nuts (optional)

1 to 2 tbsps water

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp olive oil

8 Asparagus spears

Your favorite wraps

salt & pepper to taste

Humus: Place chic peas, tahini, lemon juice, pine nuts, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil and about 1 tbsp of water into a blender or food processor. Puree the ingredients. Add another tablespoon of water if the mixture is too thick to blend well, but don't let it get runny. Add salt & pepper to taste and give it another quick spin.

Roasting a pepper: turn your broiler on. Place a large red bell pepper on a small foil tray or pie pan, or piece of heavy duty foil. Place it under the broiler. Keep the oven door open and watch it. Turn it as each sides begins to blister and slightly blacken until all sides are roasted. This can also be done on a grill. Slice, remove seeds and stems.

Roasted Asparagus: Cut off the bottom two inches of the asparagus spear stem and discard. Mix one tbsp of garlic, minced, with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Brush them on the asparagus spears. Place spears in a foil tray or on a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place them under the broiler, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Turn them over and place them in for another 1 to 2 minutes. Keep an eye on them because they can burn quickly.

Assemble the wrap: Spread about 2 tbsp of humus on the center of the wrap. Add two asparagus spears and a couple of slices of roasted pepper. Fold up the bottom over the bottom edge of the spears, flip on side over the spears, then the other side.

Curried Hard-Boiled Eggs

Also known as "Hindoo" eggs, these are a great way to utilize those colored hard-boiled eggs and is much more creative that the usual egg salad. You can even make it vegetarian if you replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth.

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp minced onion

½ to 1 tsp curry powder

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

½ cup chicken broth

1 cup half and half

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

4 pieces of Pita bread, toasted and cut into quarters

Cut hard-boiled eggs into quarters. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, mix the half and half and chicken broth. Put on medium heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.

In a medium non-reactive saucepan, add butter and set over medium-low heat. When butter is melting, add minced onions and stir until onions are translucent.

Whisk in flour and raise heat to medium-high. Whisk continuously to get a roux started, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Whisk in the half and half and broth slowly, whisking until the sauce is smooth. Add curry (less if you like it mild, more if you like it spicy) and salt. Return to heat and bring to a low rolling boil. Simmer on low heat for approximately 10 minutes.

Add eggs and stir gently so not to break them up too much, until the eggs are warmed by the sauce. Stir in lemon juice.

Toast a large pitas and cut into four to six triangle sections on a plate. Spoon egg mixture over pita breads.

Lemon Custard

A sweet dessert with a delicious, lemony spring-time feel.

½ cup sugar

4 large eggs

½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp grated lemon peel

1 cup heavy cream

Hot water

Fresh raspberries

Sprigs of mint

You will also need:

6 half-cup sized heat-proof custard cups

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Separate two eggs. Discard whites (or reserve for another use). Place two eggs and two additional egg yolks into a bowl. Whisk to blend. Add sugar to eggs and whisk until creamy.

Add lemon juice, lemon rind and cream and mix until ingredients are incorporated. Divide mixture into custard cups.

Place custard cups into a roasting pan. Pour in hot water until the water comes about half-way up the side of the cups.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until custard is set.

Remove roasting pan from the oven, and remove the custard cups from the hot water bath. Spread out a dish towel and lay them on top. Allow them to partially cool.

Cover each custard cup with a piece of plastic food wrap. Place cups in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Serve with a few fresh raspberries on top and a sprig of mint.

Happy Spring Tea

This tea is not only delicious, but the herbs promote happy energies

Ingredients:

1 quart of water

1 ½ tbsp fresh lemon balm

1 tbsp fresh or dried chamomile

Sugar or honey to taste

Bring one quart of water to a rolling boil. Pour over herbs in a medium saucepan. Cover with a lid and allow herbs to steep for 15 minutes. Strain. Pour out into cups and sweeten with hone or sugar. Makes four 8-oz cups of tea.