Easter brunch: a bit of breakfast, a bit of lunch...

We were talking at work and Helen, the secretary, asked if we had many eggs at home, in readiness for Easter.

‘We must have about thirty altogether,’ I said, thinking of the fridge full of them.

‘Not real ones,’ she screeched, ‘I’m talking about chocolate ones!’

Therein lies the difference between English Easter and Polish Easter. In Poland, the run-up to Easter is one of anticipation. Good Friday and Easter Saturday are days of fasting – in that they are days without meat – which makes the Easter breakfast all the more special. In England it’s just an excuse for a country with a high proportion of obese / greedy people to eat lots more chocolate. I have heard that some people start stuffing their faces with chocolate eggs on Good Friday. Why? Are people really so ignorant that they do not know what Easter is about? So how did we prepare? The week before we visited the Polish shop on Derby Street in Bolton and stocked up on white sausage and ham and then I popped around the corner from work to the Polish shop in Manchester to get more white sausage in case that wasn’t enough. I like the shop near work, it’s one where the girl doesn’t – or claims she doesn’t – speak English, so I am forced to remember words and practice what I know. She asked me on this visit if I wanted some cake but as Agnieszka had plans I had to say no. Who, in their right mind, would buy a dry and crappy shop-bought cake when they have a wife who makes succulent, tasty, moorish cakes at home? Not me. As part of the table decoration, Agnieszka crocheted some little chickens that looked very cute but didn’t understand they were supposed to sit on the eggs, they insisted on slipping off. The table was full on Easter Sunday: ham, sausage, boiled eggs, cheese, tomatoes, gherkins, onions and I baked some rolls so that we would have fresh bread. A bunch of daffodils added some further colour. My mum and dad were invited and arrived with their own chairs as we only have two. It was a lovely meal and made me look forward to a year that should be full of joy and, hopefully, less trials than the last one.
The cake was a roulade-type, made with honey and spread inside with yoghurt before being rolled and covered in chocolate. It was – because it didn’t last very long – one of the most succulent and tasty cakes I have ever eaten. Even so, it still comes second to my favourite – the apple cake. We haven't had one of those for a while... hint hint.

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