Easter at the DeGaish's

If you ever came for Easter during the 2000's, this is what you'd find...

Happy (almost late) Easter to all those who celebrate!

Not to sound like the 70th or 80th Instagram post you’ve seen today, but He is risen, thank you, Jesus!

He is risen is so weird to me, it’s not grammatically correct. He has risen, but who am I to correct an Americanized staple statement…

Anyway! I have written this little special article

1. To reflect on Easter’s past and the positive memories associated.

2. To distract me from my actual responsibilities

3. I’m inspired! Which means we must write.

Easter in America has always been an interesting concept to me. As a child, the actual meaning of Easter had no importance to me, but I was a big fan of the capitalistic traditions.

Chocolate bunnies? Scavenger hunts with plastic eggs with who-knows-what inside? Cascarones? Dying Eggs? I was SIGNED UP and ready to go all in.

Now, as a young adult, I find an appreciation for the fun little childhood traditions but feel fonder of the reasons why the holiday came to be.

**before I go any further, this is my personal experience and is in no way intended to be forceful or an “if you don’t believe the same as I do, then you’re wrong” situation. but I hope you gain perspective on how I view today.

Growing up in a Christian/Catholic household, it was easy to go through the motions of our religion; to say the correct answers, to show up on Sundays and the occasional Wednesday. Now as I grow older and have chosen to follow God on my own, Easter is a beautiful reminder of the hope of newness and where I can find my trust and peace.

I find my peace in Jesus; someone who loved and accepted the marginalized, the oppressed, the downhearted, and the unwanted. I find my hope in the same Jesus that loved unconditionally and left a legacy of how to live. I find my joy in the same Jesus that died and rose again three days later.

There’s a lot of hurt, frustration, darkness, and tension in the world, especially in the States. It’s overwhelming and anxiety-filling, but I find comfort in Jesus. And some days, that’s about all I find comfort in.

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BACK TO WHAT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT!

Easter foods!

Easters as a kid were always fun, but definitely interesting! Similar. to Christmas, we’d eat primarily Lebanese food. But, every other year or so, there’s a Springtime food that’ll make its way into the mix. Like my mom’s potato salad, or. a sweet ham topped with pineapple rings. But! Here are some things I always looked forward to every Easter in the 2000s.

Meat Pies

Also known as Sfeehas. I’ve mentioned meat pies before during the holiday season, but let me remind you how wonderful these are, once again. Traditionally, they are hand pies filled with lean ground beef, pine nuts, onions, spices, lemon, and lots of butter.

My family’s recipe takes an Americanized route to this recipe. We use round steak instead of ground beef and combine labneh and cream cheese to add to the filling. The result is a rich, creamier pie. This may be one of our best recipes, I’ll say it!

Jello Eggs

Shoutout to my Aunt Donna for always bringing these!

It’s literally exactly what you think they are. Jello. formed in egg molds. These were always so fun to eat growing up. Of course, once you ate one, your hands are sticky and your teeth and tongue are now a beautiful artificial color, but who’s complaining! Not I.

Siti’s Carrot Cake

Now, this. THIS was the star of the show. The prima donna of Easter.

last year’s carrot cake. 10/10, SO GOOD.

Not too sweet, always delicious and gorgeously, imperfectly, homemade. As I got older, I became in charge of making this recipe. I am a big carrot cake lover, but none have ever topped this one. I have a friend who came over last year for Easter, has called this recipe “Cara’s Cake” and describes it as one of the best cakes he’s ever tasted. And you know what, I agree with him! It’s just that good.

another carrot cake picture just for good measure.

And of course, we had the other Lebanese DeGaish staples: Syrian Salad, Kibbeh, Syrian Bread, Baba Ghanoush, etc.

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Since being in school…

Easter has looked different. Especially this year! I spent most of the day driving from a spontaneous trip to see family (and go to an audition, lol). My Easter meal was half a sandwich from Buccee’s, a carrot salad, and a baked oats version of carrot cake (a solid 5/10, tasted okay but had the texture of a brick). But! I still got to spend time today to reflect and visit hope once more.

Thanks for reading!

With love,

Cara