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The Polish Ostara Feast

In Poland the Easter Breakfast is generally eaten cold (because of restrictions of cooking on holy days). No complaints here! Having your food cooked ahead and serving it cold makes for an easy meal.

Hard boiled eggs are a biggie for this, of course. My Babcia (grandmother) liked to use brown eggs for this occasion because they look more natural (and possibly because they reminded her of the chickens she had at home). You can also use the dyed eggs above.

A platter of kielbasa, and sliced baked or boiled ham was always on the table with a bowl of horseradish and a bowl of good brown mustard, for slathering on the meats. We'd also have plate of cheeses and a couple loaves of good bread – I recommend a crusty Polish rye or pumpernickel.

I guess my Babcia "cheated" on the no-cooking, because she always made a delicious sausage or chicken soup and her amazing potato pancakes. Unlike the Jewish latkes I've had, these were made from blender-ed potatoes (rather than grated). Fried in butter, they were thin and crisp. Accompany the pancakes with a bowl of apple sauce and another of sour cream.

Another of our staple items for this meal was my Babcia's Cucumber-Sour Cream salad. Flavored with just a bit of dill, it tastes like pure springtime.

Babcia's Potato Pancakes

(Forgive me, I've never measured when I make these. Someday maybe I'll sit down and figure out the measurements. For now, you'll have to deal and estimate.)

Potatoes, raw, peeled and roughly chopped

A small onion, peeled and roughly chopped

Flour, a few tablespoons

1-2 Eggs

Butter

Throw the potatoes and onion into the blender and pulse until they are fully mashed. Add in the eggs and a couple tablespoons of flour (just enough to bind the batter). The consistency should be close to pancake batter, but slightly more grainy.

Heat a skillet and add butter. Pour the batter into small rounds (the same way you'd do with pancakes) and flip when the underside is crispy and golden.

Babcia's Cucumber-Sour Cream Salad

6 cucumbers, peeled

Salt

2 cups sour cream

Sugar, a couple teaspoons (optional)

Dill (fresh if at all possible!) a small handful, chopped

Slice the cucumbers (crosswise) paper-thin. A mandolin can be very helpful for this job. Salt the cucumber relatively heavily and let it sit at room temperature for about a half hour.

Drain the cucumber slices and squeeze them dry. This is easiest to do in small handfuls. The idea is to get as much of the water as possible out of the cucumber.

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Lemon Pig 

Another ornament on our Easter table was a pig made from a lemon. Why a pig? Frankly, I have no idea! Maybe because spring is the time when new pigs are born, or because pork is such an important staple in the Polish diet. There might even be a Slavic pagan tale that has been lost to time. Besides liking the spring-pig idea, I see this as a thank you to the Crone goddess (the sow is sacred to Cerridwen) and a reminder that though spring is here now, winter will return.

This one is also a fun and super-easy project for kids.

You will need:

A whole lemon

4 toothpicks

2 bay leaves

2 whole cloves

Decide which end of your lemon (nose or stem) looks more like a pig's snout. That will be your pig's face. Push the whole cloves into the lemon's peel to form eyes. Break the bay leaves crosswise, and save the point ends (away from the stems) for ears. Slightly above the eyes, cut two small slits into the peel, and slip the bay leaf points into them (point side facing out). Turn your pig belly-side up, and poke the four toothpicks in to serve as its "legs". You'll want to put the legs on a slight diagonal so they can balance the pig.

Your lemon pig makes another cute table-item and can later be used to squeeze on fish or other food items as appropriate.

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Butter Lambs

Another staple on our Easter table was a lamb made from butter. This is a fun project for children, so get them involved!

You'll need:

Three sticks of cold (but not frozen) butter

Two whole cloves

Two bay leaves

A platter

Spring herbs (parsley, green onions, tarragon, etc.)

The first stick forms the base. Cut the second stick in half and stand one half up on the front of the base for the neck/head. Place the other half flat on top of the base for the lamb's back. Cut three small rectangles from the third stick of butter for the front legs and face. Assemble the parts of your lamb together and return it to the refrigerator.

Cream the leftover butter with a fork or mixer and let it cool until it is pliable but hard enough to keep form. Now use the creamed butter to round and fill in the lamb's shape. With a butter knife, swirl the lamb's "wool" into form.

Place the two cloves into the lamb's face for eyes. Break the bay leaves in half crosswise – you want the pointed half that is away from the stem. Curl the leaves gently with your fingers, pressing them into the side of the lamb's head, to create ears.

Put the finished lamb on a platter of fresh herbs, and use as an edible centerpiece.

Though the lamb might be seen as a Christian symbol, it is certainly a sign of spring, and perfect for an Ostara (or Imbolc) feast. If you'd prefer another butter-creature, with a little creativity, you can use the same idea to make a rabbit or other animal.

Onion Skins and Butter Lambs – A Slavic Ostara

I originally wrote this in time for Ostara, but computer problems intervened. Hopefully, I can add the pics for the butter lamb and the lemon pig soon. Still, enjoy!

In Poland, where my father's family comes from, Easter is the most important holiday of the year. Christmas comes in a pale second. In this article I'll offer some of our family customs, for use in your Ostara.

Natural Dyed Eggs

Back before you could get a package of egg dye from the local grocery, folks colored their eggs with food and spices.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs – Put the egg in a saucepan with cold water (this will help keep the egg from cracking) and bring the water to a simmer over medium heat. Once the water simmers, shut off the heat and let the egg cook in the hot water for 10 minutes. Use any of the following ideas to color your eggs. Use only one "color" per batch, or you may end up with a muddled color.

Onion Skins – Wrap a raw egg with the brown outer skins from a yellow onion. You can use a rubber band or kitchen string to make sure the onion skin stays on. Cook the egg as above. When you remove the onion skins, the eggs will be a light golden brown, and the veins of the onion often leave a slightly darker pattern. You can also make a tea of the onion skins first for a slightly darker color.

Black Tea – Put several teabags in with your eggs, for a deeper brown.

Grass – Get a handful of fresh green grass, and wrap the egg, using rubber bands to keep the grass around the egg. This yields an egg with lovely green striations where the grass is thickest on the egg. Be certain to use grass that is not treated with pesticides or chemical fertilizers, and where animals don't wander.

Beets – Boil the egg with slices of red beet or beet juice for a lovely pink.

Red Cabbage – Boil the cabbage first, let the "tea" cool and then cook your eggs in it, for a blue color.

Turmeric – A tablespoon or two of this spice in your boiling water will yield a rich gold color.

Eggs as Sacrament

In my family we started the Easter meal with the head of the family peeling a hard boiled egg and sharing a piece of that egg with each person at the table. Consider blessing an egg along with your usual Cakes and Wine and sharing it around the circle for your Ostara sabbat.